Setting the scene
A monument to merchants, a boules pit, and your first glimpse of three very different churches—all from one spot at the crest of the hill.
The story
This obelisk honors Stockholm’s merchant class for backing Sweden in an 1788 war against Russia. Nearby, a boules pit reflects an unlikely royal habit: the family picked up the French game on a Mediterranean vacation, and it’s stayed popular around town ever since.
From here you can see three churches representing Stockholm’s post-Reformation religious landscape. Storkyrkan, the cathedral, shows its Baroque facade—added later to match the newer palace. The deep-orange Finnish church started life as the royal tennis hall; once the 1527 Reformation allowed services in local languages instead of Latin, each merchant community needed its own church—Finns got this one, Germans built their own (coming up later on the walk), and Swedes got the cathedral.
What to notice
- The obelisk: honoring merchant support in the 1788 war with Russia.
- The boules pit: a royal habit picked up on vacation, still popular today.
- Storkyrkan’s Baroque facade: visible from this angle.
- The Finnish church: orange building, formerly the royal tennis hall.
Next stop
Head up the lane beside the Finnish church into the shady churchyard to find the Iron Boy.