Night in the old town
ⓒRebecca Bugge, All Rights Reserved
Do not use without permission.
The alley Yxsmedsgränd - Axesmith alley - in the Old Town, Stockholm. (The same view, more or less, in the daytime: www.flickr.com/photos/dameboudicca/51212754958 )
The alley is first mentioned, at least by name, in 1474 and then called Olof Biurs gränd (Olof Biur's alley) - Olof Biur was a prominent person in Stockholm at the time, at one point he was mayor of Stockholm, and he owned a house along this little street. When his house was bought in 1488 by a man named Bengt Smålänning (Bengt from Småland) who also had become mayor, the name was changed to Benct smalennings borgamestares gränd (Bengt from Småland the mayor's alley). Yes, Bengt and Benct is the same name (there was no consistency in spelling back then). The current name dates from the early 17th century, first mentioned in 1612.
But the name probably has nothing to do with smiths making axes. It was named after a Göran Yskemes, and he was a night watchman. The name is probably after the Finnish word for that: yö-mies (or possibly the Estonian öitsi-meets). At this time Sweden was a much bigger kingdom than today and included both Finland and the northern part of Estonia.
Night in the old town
ⓒRebecca Bugge, All Rights Reserved
Do not use without permission.
The alley Yxsmedsgränd - Axesmith alley - in the Old Town, Stockholm. (The same view, more or less, in the daytime: www.flickr.com/photos/dameboudicca/51212754958 )
The alley is first mentioned, at least by name, in 1474 and then called Olof Biurs gränd (Olof Biur's alley) - Olof Biur was a prominent person in Stockholm at the time, at one point he was mayor of Stockholm, and he owned a house along this little street. When his house was bought in 1488 by a man named Bengt Smålänning (Bengt from Småland) who also had become mayor, the name was changed to Benct smalennings borgamestares gränd (Bengt from Småland the mayor's alley). Yes, Bengt and Benct is the same name (there was no consistency in spelling back then). The current name dates from the early 17th century, first mentioned in 1612.
But the name probably has nothing to do with smiths making axes. It was named after a Göran Yskemes, and he was a night watchman. The name is probably after the Finnish word for that: yö-mies (or possibly the Estonian öitsi-meets). At this time Sweden was a much bigger kingdom than today and included both Finland and the northern part of Estonia.