Architecture in Stockholm
The buildings that survive from this period are mostly churches and royal buildings, since these were built from more durable materials than most other buildings from that period. Birger Jarls torn ("The Tower Of Birger Jarl") was considered the oldest building in the entire city, however, it is now known to have been erected by Gustav Vasa in the 16th century. The Riddarholmen Church from the late 13th century is considered to be the oldest surviving building in Stockholm. While it came to serve as the church of choice for royal burials, another church, the Storkyrkan ("Great Church") came to be used for coronations. Both of the churches have been redesign several times since their erection.
Stortorget
Built by the merchant Hans Bremer in the 1640s and originally featuring pointed cairns, Number 3, on the right side of Köpmangatan still features the original cross vaults and a German inscription in the entrance hall. However, the building is today called "Grillska huset" ("The Grill House") after the goldsmith Antoni Grill, who immigrated from Augsburg to Sweden in the 1680s during the era of Gustavus Adolphus to found the Grill Dynasty, said to descend from the Grillo family in Genoa. He bought the building which came to remain in the family's possession for more than a century. The cloverleaf-shaped gables were added in 1718 together with the blue livid colour and the Rococo portal. The Dynasty's most prominent member was the merchant Claës Grill (1705–1767), leader of the East India Company, owner of several banks and many mining industries and shipping companies, and a great art collector. The building is today the headquarters of the Stockholm´s City Mission, an independent Christian charity devoted to support homeless and exposed citizens with food, accommodation, and education, also running advisory bureaus and others elsewhere in the old town.