Jewish Stockholm tour
Stockholm has had presence of Jews since at least the 17th century. Sweden stands out as one of few European countries unaffected by the Holocaust, and has great collections of Jewish objects.
Understand
| Walking tours in Stockholm |
While Jews have resided in Stockholm since the height of the Swedish Empire in the 17th century, their religion was prohibited until 1774, requiring Jews to be baptized at immigration. King Gustav III approved their religion, still barring them from land ownership and many professions, and limiting their residence to Stockholm, Gothenburg and Norrköping. Jews got full civil rights in Sweden in 1870. Since 2000, Jews have been recognized as one of Sweden's national minorities, together with the Romani, Sami, Finns and Tornedalians. As of the 2020s, there are around 20,000 Jews in Sweden, many of them in Stockholm.
Destinations
Map of Jewish Stockholm tour
- 1 Adrat Jisrael Synagogue, S:t Paulsgatan 13. The synagogue of an orthodox congregation founded in 1871, featured in the Millennium series; see Millennium Tour.
- 2 German Church (Tyska Kyrkan), Svartmangatan 16A. Officially named Sankta Gertrud, this church is the home of the first German-speaking parish outside Germany. As most Jews in Sweden came from German lands, this was the site for baptizing Jewish immigrants.
- 3 Jewish Museum (Judiska museet), Själagårdsgatan 19. This 17th-century building was an auction chamber until it became Stockholm's first synagogue from 1795 to 1870; the year when Jews got full civil rights, and the Great Synagogue was inaugurated. The building has among other things been used as a police station, until the Jewish Museum (on different premises since 1992) moved into the building in 2019.
- 4 Forum för levande historia. A museum with exhibitions focused on human rights and crimes against humanity. Previous exhibitions have depicted Sweden's role in World War II in Europe and the Holocaust.
- 5 Charles XVI John Statue. King of Sweden and Norway from 1818 to 1844. In 1838 he repealed the Jew Reglement, granting many civil rights to Jews.
- 6 Sjöfartshuset. A private palace. In the mid-19th century it was the residence of Carl David Skogman, a bureaucrat who wrote the 1838 Jew Reglement. In summer 1838, a row of anti-government protests (the Crusenstolpe riots) took place in Stockholm, which also had an anti-Semitic elements. A mob smashed the windows of Skogman's home to protest aganist the integration of Jews. Some Jewish homes in the Old Towns were also attacked.
- 7 Great Synagogue, Wahrendorffsgatan 3B. Inaugurated in 1870.
- 8 Raoul Wallenberg Monument. A monument for Raoul Wallenberg. The aesthetics are questioned, and a more traditional bust has been set up at Strandvägen 7.
- 9 Strandvägen 7 (Hotel Diplomat). In World War II, Germany occupied Denmark and Norway in 1940, while Finland was co-belligerent with Germany. Sweden remained formally non-belligerent (not explicitly neutral), but made many concessions to Germany to keep peace, including iron export and passage of German troops. With Europe at war, Stockholm became a haven for diplomats, with an opportunity to spy on their enemies. Östermalm was the embassy district, and the palace at Strandvägen 7 hosted several embassies; for the United States, Italy, Yugoslavia and Turkey, and the German military attaché. On the backstreet was the local branch of the German Nazi Party. Sweden had strong ties with Germany since centuries, and many Swedish businesspeople remained pro-German well into the war, but the Nazi ideology still failed to become popular in Sweden. As the Axis atrocities became well known, Sweden had to mend its reputation through humanitarian missions. Raoul Wallenberg travelled to Budapest, issued diplomatic passports to Jews, and housed them in Swedish embassy buildings. Wallenberg was detained by the Soviet Union in January 1945, was never found again, and was long rumoured to be alive. He was declared dead in 2016.
- 10 Adat Jeschurun. Orthodox synagogue.
- 11 Bajit, Nybrogatan 19 A. Jewish cultural centre with a library, a school, and a kosher grocer.
Go next
- 12 Swedish Holocaust Museum, Torsgatan 19. Sweden's first museum dedicated to Holocaust remembrance was founded in 2022, and opened its first exhibition in 2023.
- 13 Kronoberg cemetery.
- 14 Aronsberg cemetery. Named for Aaron Isaac.
- 15 Southern Jewish cemetery. Part of Skogskyrkogården (the Woodland Cemetery), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- 16 Northern Jewish cemetery (On the large Northern Cemetery in Solna.).