Södra Bancohuset, Stockholm, Sweden
Sveriges Riksbank is the oldest central bank in the world. It was formed in 1668, when the Swedish Parliament bought the private bank Stockholm Banco (also known as Palmstruchs Bank).
This house was bulit for the bank in 1675–1682, designed by architect Nicodemus Tessin d. ä. (the older).
In 1772 the bank could also move into another new house, Norra Bancohuset to the left in this picture. There is a viaduct joining the two buildings, called Suckarnas Bro (Bridge of Sighs) like the famous bridge Ponte dei Sospiri, joining the Doge Palace in Venice and a prison building.
Like many buildings in the periphery of Stadsholmen (the bigger of the three islands forming the Old Town), this house was built on land fill, so deep foundation with long wooden piles was used. This became a problem, when the water table began to drop. The tops of the piles were then exposed to air and started to rot. You can see that the right side of this house is no longer straight. The house underwent a large renovation in 2003-2004, where the foundation was repaired. Concrete piles, made up of shorter sections, were then driven down parallel with the old wooden piles. I believe that the sunken parts were gently jacked up in the process, but not enough to make the house completely straight.
As before the renovation, Statens Fastighetsverk now has its head office in the building, the state agency in charge of all state-owned buildings in Sweden.
Södra Bancohuset, Stockholm, Sweden
Sveriges Riksbank is the oldest central bank in the world. It was formed in 1668, when the Swedish Parliament bought the private bank Stockholm Banco (also known as Palmstruchs Bank).
This house was bulit for the bank in 1675–1682, designed by architect Nicodemus Tessin d. ä. (the older).
In 1772 the bank could also move into another new house, Norra Bancohuset to the left in this picture. There is a viaduct joining the two buildings, called Suckarnas Bro (Bridge of Sighs) like the famous bridge Ponte dei Sospiri, joining the Doge Palace in Venice and a prison building.
Like many buildings in the periphery of Stadsholmen (the bigger of the three islands forming the Old Town), this house was built on land fill, so deep foundation with long wooden piles was used. This became a problem, when the water table began to drop. The tops of the piles were then exposed to air and started to rot. You can see that the right side of this house is no longer straight. The house underwent a large renovation in 2003-2004, where the foundation was repaired. Concrete piles, made up of shorter sections, were then driven down parallel with the old wooden piles. I believe that the sunken parts were gently jacked up in the process, but not enough to make the house completely straight.
As before the renovation, Statens Fastighetsverk now has its head office in the building, the state agency in charge of all state-owned buildings in Sweden.