Shopping
Design in Sweden is often simple with an edgy style to affordable prices. Well-known Swedish brands are IKEA and HM. We also have a lot of designers who produce more exclusive items with a Nordic twist. It’s also easy to find handmade crafts and second-hand shops. Thus, shopping in Stockholm suits all budgets and tastes.
In the central City, we highlight some shopping areas and malls as well as the iconic department store NK. The island Södermalm has some relaxed shopping areas.
Combine the shopping day with looking at some art along the walk. Within the same (almost) blocks.
Bibliotekstan – the Area For Luxury Shopping
Biblioteksgatan (the Library Street) got its name in 1885. It starts at Norrmalmstorg, passes Stureplan, and ends at Humlegården with the National Library of Sweden.
The street Biblioteksgatan together with the street Birger Jarlsgatan is an area with exclusive shopping. As a concept, it’s called Bibliotekstan. Here, you find many luxury and designer boutiques – mainly for clothes, shoes, and bags (click on the button below to see which ones). Also, some of Sweden’s most famous nightclubs are in the area: the Spy Bar, Atrium, and Riche. You also have the classic restaurant Prinsen (the Prince) and the tasty Surfers here (see Some Restaurants).
The shopping mall Sturegallerian is also situated in this area. It was built between and in old buildings from 1870–1910. This mall is nicer than the central Gallerian, though the shops are more exclusive. There're restaurants and cafés in it as well. Two are very good: Tures and Sturehof. And it's a bath here
If you’re interested in jewellery, you’ve Kaplans Auktioner (Biblioteksgatan 5) which is one the Nordic region's leading auction houses for such items. It also sells new jewellery. An unexpected shop with non-precious stone jewellery is on street Mäster Samuelsgatan 11: Antikt Gammalt & Nytt.
Stockholm's Smallest and Oldest Shopping Mall
Stockholm's smallest and oldest shopping mall is Birger Jarlspassagen (the Passage of Birger Jarl). It's a combination of two buildings.
In 1891, the master builder Johan Sjöqvist (1852–1923) bought a plot of land in today's Bibliotekstan. In the corner stood already Birger Jarl's bazaar (1887), which was one of Stockholm's earliest office buildings. It also had shops, artists' studios, and an art salon. The design resembled a stately knight's castle with pinnacles and towers, at the top adorned with a three-metre-high statue of Stockholms's founder Birger Jarl. The architect was the Swede Ernst Haegglund (1851–1927) who also made the Cirkus in Stockholm. In the 1950s, the façade got its today's simplified version.
Inside the bazaar, Sjöqvist wanted a passage. He took the architect Ludwig Peterson (1853–1931) with him to Berlin to study the 130-metre-long and luxurious shopping complex Kaisergalerie on the main street Unter den Linden. The Galerie existed 1873–1943 (destroyed in World War II).
The Sjöqvist’s Passage became 40 meters long. The arch motif for the high shop windows and portals on the ground floor was inspired by Henry Hobson Richardson's architecture. On the street Birger Jarlsgatan, the façade was accentuated by a balcony. The beautiful main entrance is on street Smålandsgatan (number 10). The façades on these streets were covered with the red Swedish Roslag sandstone.
The Passage was completed in 1896 but was not inaugurated until the following year by King Oscar II – in connection with the Stockholm Art and Industry Exhibition in 1897 (see also webpage Day 2 Stockholm, the box about the Inn Ulla Winbladh). Thanks to the glass roof, daylight came into the mall – and that's still the case.
The Temple of Delicate Food
Close to the Bibliotekstan is Östermalms saluhall, also called Östermalmshallen (or nickname Hallen) – a historic food market hall opened in 1888. It still is a temple for the preservation of good food and the food culture. Everyone who values fine ingredients comes here. Many of the stalls offer both national and international specialties, as the restaurants around the walls, making it a perfect place for food lovers.
Hallen has a beautiful architecture designed by the Swedish architects Isak Gustaf Clason (1856–1930) och Kasper Salin (1856–1919), whom also accounted for the complex internal cast iron construction. They were inspired (on site) by many new examples of brick architecture in northern Germany, Italy, and France. The Hallen’s cast-iron construction became advanced and was the backbone of the brick cathedral. The façades were covered in Swedish Börringet bricks.
The construction was a novelty in Sweden and built in record speed (8 months). From the very beginning, it had electric lighting. On the walls in the interior, 28 Swedish well-known proverbs were painted in light blue, yellow, red, and gold.
The stalls in Hallen are accessed from five different gates. In the main corner is a tower crowned by a lantern with the winged Hermes hat (symbol of trade) on top. The building is one of Sweden's finest brick buildings from the late 1800s.
Hallen is owned by Stockholms stads fastighetskontor (the City’s estate office). It was renovated 2016–2020 och awarded the City's architecture prize Årets Stockholmsbyggnad 2021.
NK – the Iconic Department Store
Sweden’s most beautiful shopping building is Nordiska Kompaniet (NK). It's worth a visit without spending anything.
The NK was founded in 1902 by merging the two largest retail companies in Stockholm: K.M. Lundberg and the company Joseph Leja. The initiator of this was Josef Sachs (1872–1949), the owner and CEO of the Leja-company. NK was inaugurated in 1915. The ambition from the start was clear; the department store was a commercial and cultural theatre.
The Art Nouveau building was designed by the Swedish architect Ferdinand Boberg (1860–1946). He also designed the Thiel Gallery and Waldemarsudde (covered on webpage Art Galleries). It’s after him that the elegant restaurant Bobergs Matsal (Boberg’s Dining Room) is named in the building.
To gain inspiration and knowledge about modern department stores, Boberg did study trips abroad to Europe and the USA. The Wertheim department store in Berlin (destroyed in the World War II) can be seen in the floors laid out around a large, glass-covered central hall. The building itself is a steel skeleton structure with Baroque-inspired heavy granite façades. To the delight of many, Sweden's first escalator was included in the interior.
NK's special Christmas display in its street windows has been a tradition since 1915. It starts on the so-called sign Sunday (nowadays usually the last weekend in November).
The NK brand and the building in Stockholm are owned by the listed real estate company Hufvudstaden AB.
Drottninggatan – Shopping for Everybody
The main shopping street in Stockholm is Drottninggatan (Queen's Street). It's 1,5 kilometres long (mostly) pedestrian street, starting in the south after the Parliament Houses and ending in the north at the Observatorielunden (Park/Grove). The part between the Parliament Houses and the deparment store Åhléns at Sergels Square is very touristic. Thereafter, the shops, restaurants, bars, and cafés get nice. On the road from the bath Centralbadet (see box Baths) to the direction of the Observatiorielunden, the shops are more unique. When walking on Drottninggatan, do spot some art (see page Art Along...).
Today, Drottninggatan still has the same direction and width as when it was built in the mid-1600s. The name was a tribute to the – by then – underaged Queen Kristina (1626–1689). Together with Regeringsgatan and Götgatan, the street is part of the three historic entry and exit roads to and from Stockholm.
From the mid-1830s, a slow shift of the city centre from the Old Town towards the new Norrmalm began. The street came to be filled with fashionable shops and also became a popular stroll for the bourgeoisie, and was popularly called Snobbrännan (Snob Chute). With the shops came the bank palaces in the around 1900s, mainly at the southern end of the street around Fredsgatan. Drottninggatan was also affected by the demolition fury in the mid-1900s.
Hötorget (the Square of Hay) with its markets
Near the intersection of Drottninggatan and Kungsgatan (King’s Street) is Hötorget (the Square of Hay). Until 1856 it was a hay market here. The Square is surrounded by the blue Stockholm Concert Hall (see Classical Music), the food market hall Hötorgshallen, the Haymarket building, and the food court Kungshallen.
From Monday to Saturday, there's a fruit and flower market on the Square. It changes to a flea market with everything from books to antiques on the Sunday.
There has been a food market hall at this square since the end of the 1800s. It was demolished in 1953 (there's a box about the Demolition Fury). The new Hötorgshallen was put on the same place with one floor below ground level. The designer was the Swedish architect David Helldén (1905–1990). He also designed one of the five high-rise office buildings behind the Concert Hall. In 1995, the cinema Filmstaden Sergel was added on the corner to the food market hall. This gave the facade an airy touch as first intended in the 50s.
The building Haymarket was originally built for the department store PUB. The store was named after the founder´s initials: Paul U. Bergström (1860–1934). The designers were the Swedish architects Edvard Bernhard (1874–1954) and Hakon Ahlberg. (1891–1984). The doors to the store were opened in 1925 and closed 90 years later.
In 2016, the hotel chain Scandic Hotel opened Haymarket with hotel rooms and restaurants designed in a mixed style from art deco, the roaring 1920s, and the film world from this time. The Swedish Hollywood star Greta Garbo (1905–1990) was one inspiration source. She worked at PUB as a clerk in the beginning of the 1920s. When she appeared in commercials for PUB as a mannequin, showned at Stockholm's cinemas, people in the film industry discovered her. Haymarket has one restaurant named after her.
The relaxed island Södermalm
If you want trendy and relaxed shopping, take the underground to the station Slussen (the Lock) on the island - and district - Södermalm. (The meaning of the word "malm" is an area with forest outside a town or village.) The nickname of Södermalm is "Söder" (the South). From Slussen you either go to Hornsgatspuckeln (“The Horngatan hump”) in the beginning of the street Hornsgatan. The Hump is known for its many art galleries and historically important buildings is known for its many art galleries and historically important buildings. It’s also a great place to start your Sunday walk, with its close proximity to the scenic Monteliusvägen.
Hornsgatan It is a trendy and relaxed place with a delightful variety of shops, including a number of specialty shops, such as the vintage clothing boutiques, children’s shops and design stores. Also known as “Söder”, this is where Stockholm's trendy set like to hang out.
The area is also known for its clutch of independent galleries. There are many places worth checking out while you are on the island.