Up and down, up and down we wander the colorful streets of Stockholm’s Old Town — chasing legends, chasing stories. Gamla Stan has stood here since the 13th century, and over the centuries it has collected layer upon layer of strange details, mysterious symbols, and tales that blur the line between history and myth. You’ll find cannonballs stuck in the walls, rune stones telling stories from the Viking Age, and stones that hold ghost stories born from real events — all hidden in plain sight.
And the best part? You can easily explore Stockholm Old Town on a self guided walk. I’ll just share a few clues and highlights of what to see in Stockholm Old Town — so you’ll know what to watch for as you follow the trail of legends.
Now… let’s go chase the legends of Gamla Stan.
Location: Stockholm old town
Cost: Free
How to get there: Get to old town by public transport & then walk between the atrractions
Check out my full weekend in Stockholm itinerary
Jump to:
- The Warm Hues of History in Gamla Stan
- Story of the Boy Watching the Moon in Stockholm Old Town
- Legends of Stortorget, the Heart of Gamla Stan
- Rune Stone Mystery: Tracing Viking Legends in Stockholm Old Town
- Walking Where Merchants and Craftsmen Used to Walk: Västerlånggatan
- Squeezing Through History on Stockholm Old Town’s Slimmest Street
The Warm Hues of History in Gamla Stan
Since the main attractions in Stockholm Old Town tend to get crowded, it’s best to ease into your Stockholm self guided itinerary by wandering the quieter, cobblestone backstreets. These charming alleys wind between mustard yellow, pastel yellow, and pale peachy houses that look like they’ve soaked up centuries of sunlight — and now radiate it back with a gentle, golden warmth.
Despite countless fires and rebuilds, Stockholm Old Town still follows its original medieval layout: a tight maze of narrow lanes and densely packed buildings leaning into each other like old friends.
It’s easy to imagine stepping back in time… but be careful. Go too far back, and you’d find yourself in an era when Gamla Stan was an overcrowded slum, with raw sewage running down the streets and little of the charm we see today. So let’s stay in the present — where everything is picture-perfect.
Now that we’ve savored the quiet early morning charm, it’s time to seek out some of the most well-known attractions in Stockholm Old Town. Wondering how to find them on your Stockholm self guided tour through Gamla Stan? It’s simple —look for places where crowds of people are gathering.
Story of the Boy Watching the Moon in Stockholm Old Town
In a quiet courtyard of Stockholm old town, surrounded by curious tourists, you’ll find a tiny statue of a little boy sitting on a small bench, hugging his knees. In front of him lies a scattered collection of coins, offerings from passersby — but the little iron boy doesn’t seem to notice. He’s deep in thought, lost in his own quiet world.
This is Järnpojken, and at just 15 centimeters tall, he’s officially the smallest public monument in Stockholm.
Legend of the Järnpojken statue in Stockholm Old Town
They say if you pat the boy’s head three times and make a wish, it will come true within a year. Or… you’ll return to Stockholm. No one can quite agree on which one the legend promises — but really, it sounds like a win-win situation.*
Next, our Stockholm Old Town Self guided walk takes us to the bustling heart of the Gamla Stan, which also happens to be an epicenter of various legends and tales
Legends of Stortorget, the Heart of Gamla Stan
I’m always amazed how the most beautiful places can carry the most horrific stories — ones most visitors have no idea they’re standing on. Following the steady stream of people, we arrive at what might just be the most picturesque square in Stockholm’s Old Town.
It’s framed by rows of colorful houses, the stately Nobel Prize Museum, and — right in the center — a dark stone fountain crowned with a cup. The stone is worn, scarred, and stained by centuries, and yet water still flows from the mouths of the carved stone monsters, as if time hasn’t dared to stop it.
Legend of the fountain
Turns out distances in Stockholm Old Town used to be measured from this old well. So you could say it is the very heart of the Gamla stan.*
White Stones That Remember: Haunting Tales of Stockholm’s Old Town
Now take a look at the brightly colored buildings surrounding the square. There’s a green one with a slight curve at the top, a red one shaped a bit like a multi-tiered cake, a narrow orange one, and a sunny yellow house. Beautiful, right? Almost like a cheerful little rainbow framing the square.
But don’t let the charm fool you — that red building, the one decorated with white stones and twisted iron ornaments, tells a horror story.
In 1520, this very square ran as red as the building itself. After luring Swedish nobles to a fake peace banquet, Christian II of Denmark turned on them — executing more than 80 people right here. The massacre became known as the Stockholm Bloodbath.
Legend of the white stones of Schantzka huset.
Years later, a man named John E. Schantz rebuilt the red house and chose to commemorate the horror. He added a white stone to the facade for every soul lost during the executions.
Legend says that as long as all the stones remain in place, the spirits will rest. But if even one is removed… the ghost it represents will rise — and haunt the streets of Stockholm Old Town forever.*
How Did a Cannonball Stuck in a Wall in Stockholm Old Town?
So far, you’ve been doing great on this Stockholm Old Town treasure hunt — but here’s your next challenge. Somewhere in Stortorget, there’s a cannonball stuck in a wall. Can you find it?
Legend of the cannon ball in the wall in the corner between Stortorget and Skomakargatan
Legend has it, the cannonball was fired during the Stockholm Siege and it’s been lodged in the wall ever since.
However, a more likely story is that the cannonball was placed there later to commemorate the event — a dramatic little historical prop. Then, a jealous neighbor decided, “If they can have one cannonball in their wall, why not a few more in mine?” and added three balls to the facade of his house as well.*
Now, let’s continue our self-guided journey through the streets of Stockholm Old Town to discover something even older than the medieval rivalries.
Rune Stone Mystery: Tracing Viking Legends in Stockholm Old Town
You spot a group of curious tourists staring at the facade of an otherwise ordinary building. What are they looking at?
There — set right into the wall — is a large stone, carved with what looks like a twisting bundle of snakes and some ancient script you can’t begin to decode. It’s a rune stone, a real relic from the Viking Age, quietly whispering a story that’s lasted for a thousand years.
What does it say? Most runestones were made to commemorate the dead—something like a Viking-era gravestone. This one, it turns out, was raised by Torsten and Frögunn in memory of their son. Which only makes it stranger: what is this thousand-year-old rune stone doing embedded in a wall in Stockholm Old Town?
The Legend of the Rune Stone in Stockholm Old Town
The most accepted explanation for how a rune stone — older than Stockholm itself — ended up in a wall is surprisingly mundane: it was simply reused as building material. Back in medieval times, people weren’t too concerned with preserving ancient relics. A stone was just a stone, and if it was big, solid, and conveniently nearby, it might just become part of a wall.*
Although not as magical as one might hope, the legend of the rune stone in Stockholm Old Town is still quietly intriguing. But now, let’s keep tracing those medieval footsteps — they’re about to lead us from ancient tales into more recent times.
Walking Where Merchants and Craftsmen Used to Walk: Västerlånggatan
What is now Stockholm Old Town’s prime tourist-shopping street has seen its fair share of ups and downs. It began as a simple path just outside the medieval city walls, eventually filling with blacksmiths and other craftsmen who were required to stay outside the city center due to fire hazards. Over time, it rose to prominence as the city’s main commercial street — bustling with trade and drawing in influential merchants.
Then came a decline, as modernization swept through Stockholm and large department stores shifted the city’s commercial heart elsewhere. But in the 20th century, the street found new life — and a new role as the colorful, shop-lined tourist destination we see today.
Today, the street is draped in flags and signs, each one pointing to a little shop or a lively restaurant. Between them, the cobbled path buzzes with people window shopping and soaking in the charm. Peek into any souvenir store and you’ll spot shelves packed with cheerful little trinkets — painted wooden horses, mugs, Christmas baubles, and toys of every kind.The prices are steep, but it is still fun to look around even if you don’t buy anything.
No legends to be found here, I’m afraid. So let’s move on as the next (and the last) attraction of Stockholm Old Town is in an arms reach.
Squeezing Through History on Stockholm Old Town’s Slimmest Street
There are many charming little lanes in Stockholm Old Town, but none capture people’s imagination quite like the narrowest one. At its tightest point, Mårten Trotzigs Gränd squeezes down to just 90 centimeters wide. With stairs leading upward, it feels less like a street and more like a secret passage — yet somehow, there are still lanterns tucked in, making it surprisingly picturesque.
It’s easy to imagine medieval townsfolk hurrying through here after dark, every footstep echoing, every creak in the shadows setting their nerves on edge.
And to add to the mystery? In the 19th century, this narrow gap in the city was closed off for years… and no one knows exactly why.
That’s the end of our Stockholm Old Town self guided itinerary. But if you’re getting hungry, just around the corner you’ll find Stockholm’s Viking restaurant — where you can feast by candlelight in true Norse style. You can find more about that in my full Stockholm trip itinerary!
Thoughts? Although I enjoy guided walking tours, traveling to Stockholm isn’t cheap, so it is always good to have a DIY option. Stockholms Old Town is gorgeous. But knowing the legends behind the various mysterious details of Gamla stan is what makes the self guided Stockholm Old Town walk so fascinating. So I hope this guide saved you some extra Googling.
*Please note these are all legends traveling through the internet, so they may or may not be true. Take it all in good fun and not as facts.
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