Stockholm City Hall: A Nobel Prize Venue Worth Seeing
Alfred Nobel, a 19th-century Swedish chemist, once said, “If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I’m satisfied.” The Stockholm City Hall is built in his remembrance.
Despite having a slew of brilliant ideas, his rise to fame resulted in him, being dubbed the “Angel of Death” by the press. On December 10th, 1896, he died, and on the same day, in 1901, the “Nobel Prize Awards” were constituted to make mortals forget about his past and focus on his generous philanthropic legacy. The Nobel Prize is conferred to a Laureate who deliberates a noteworthy exhibit in domains of chemistry, peace, literature, physics, or medicine and is recognised, as the world’s most distinguished prize.
I may have developed an interest in the Nobel Prize venue since I come from a family with a strong passion for literature. Nobel Prize is a great idea that commands honourable competition and recompenses! Despite the fact, that the Nobel Prize’s journey began with a journalistic blunder, it drew the attention of the public like no previous scientific honour. Although for many years, the literary prize hypothesis remained vague, generating great concern. For a long time, the Swedish Academy mistook “ideal” for “idealistic,” and refused to award the prize to less ideological authors, such as Tolstoy and Ibsen.
This misconception has since been corrected by granting the prize to José Saramago and Dario Fo, who did not fit within literary transcendentalism’s wigwams.
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Stockholm Nobel Prize Venue
Stockholm, Sweden’s capital city, is a water-based masterpiece and the birthplace of Alfred Nobel. Despite being spread out across 14 islands, Stockholm is a relatively small city, with bridges linking the majority of the islands and boats connecting the others. The capital is looming with well-preserved culture, a historic centre, and cobblestone streets. Hands down, one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever seen! Its enchanting gabled architecture, royal palaces, and world-class galleries instantly mesmerised me. It is a city that exudes legendary style in each of its landmarks. Whether it’s the Nobel Prize venue, or the buried Viking riches, Stockholm, is a revolutionary and exciting combination of history, present, and eternity.
The Stockholm Nobel Prize Venue, with its simple architecture and harmonious ambience, is one great representation of the city’s cultural transformation. The Swedes refer to it as Stadshuset. It’s a magnificent structure made of 8 million bricks that creates a perfect orange silhouette into the turquoise blue waters of the Kungsholmenstorg strait. For aspiring photographers, this is a picture-perfect setup. I have to admit, this site, created by Swedish architect Ragnar Ostberg, is just as important as the Nobel Prize itself. The Hall is capped, with a golden tower and three Royal crowns that symbolise Swedish dominance from the start.
A huge black iron gate leads to the anthology of two notable courtyards. The annual Nobel Prize dinner banquet is an immaculate structure constructed in Crayola orange brickwork with an open roof.
The Blue Hall
The 23 gilded figurines on the vault, which symbolise several professions important to the Nobel Prize Venue, are not to be overlooked. The main hall, on the other hand, is distinguished by murals by Swedish painter Prins Eugen displaying classic real-time lake vistas. The banquet foyer, also known as the Blue Hall, is 160 feet long, 98 feet wide, and 72 feet tall, with a floor area of 16,000 square feet. It is here that the Nobel Prize banquet, jubilees, state visits, and other major events, such as student balls, are held. The yearly banquet, which is attended by the Swedish Royal Family, lawmakers, ministers, and over a thousand guests, is Sweden’s most coveted invitation.
The Blue Hall has unplastered walls, a grand staircase, a balustrade and an open-sided gallery. It was originally planned, to be painted blue to reflect the bay, but Östberg changed his mind since he feared the colour scheme could clash with the red bricks in the background. The room, however, kept its former name, the “Blue Hall.”
In this room, you’ll also find Stadshusorgeln, Scandinavia’s second-largest musical instrument, a 19th-century “Pipe Organ” with 10,000 pipes. It should be noted, that the Nobel Prizes are presented, at the Stockholm Concert Hall prior to the banquet at the Blue Hall. Following my visit to the Blue Hall, I was escorted, to the Golden Hall on the first floor, where a dance ceremony takes place after the yearly feast. I arrived in the Golden Hall after a rapid walk up the huge marble staircase.
The Golden Hall
The Golden Hall is located directly above the Blue Hall and is known for its golden mosaics. They claim that over 10 kg of pure gold were used to create the splendour of this ballroom. This Golden Hall, designed by Swedish artist Einar Forseth, depicts Sweden’s antiquity via millions of golden mosaics. It was initially constructed of stone and granite in the 18th century, but it was subsequently transformed, thanks to an anonymous contribution of 300,000 SEK. This Hall now has unrivalled ornamentation, mosaic artwork, and hand-crafted images that expand the range of ethnic celebrations.
The Byzantine account of Swedish rational chronicles is shown in each tile. The imprints of Saint Erik, Tre Kronor castle, Riddarholmen Church, Katarina Elevator, and the Stockholm Harbour are followed, by the imprints of Saint Erik, Tre Kronor castle, Riddarholmen Church, Katarina Elevator, and the Stockholm Harbour on the Hall’s Southern Wall. The Queen of Lake Mälaren effigy, on the other hand, can be seen on the northern wall. Definitely – one of the nicest gallery compositions I’ve seen in a long time.
Stadshuset is certain to blow you away with its National Romanticism and modern designs, whether you are here to receive the major prize, or to tour the intellectual base of the world’s wisest people. The Stockholm Pass entitles you to free admission. The City Hall Tower is only open from May to September and requires a special ticket. Every day at 9.15 AM the tower opens to the public, and groups are allowed to move every 40 minutes.
Halfway up the tower, a lift is accessible. Regardless of which halls are open on a day, the tour always lasts roughly 45 minutes. Between November and March, the price is 90 SEK (8€ / $8.80 / £6.80) and between April and October, the price is 120 SEK (11€ / $12.10 /£9.40). Seniors receive a 20 SEK discount, and children under the age of 11 are free to attend. Students with proper identification are also eligible for a discount.
