Remarks
Entering Norrmalm, the la Crown Prince's Palace (18 C, in classic French style), housing the Foreign Office, backs onto the Gustav Adolph Square with its equestrian statue of the monarch (1790). On the other side of the square, the Opera, a rather ordinary building (1891) replaces the former rococo structure, now the new Dance Museum. Behind the Opera House, lawns lead north into the King's Garden where the statue of Charles XII stands facing his coveted Russia. This park is a favourite meeting place for chess games and bowls. Once Gustav III's vegetable garden, it was transformed into a private rococo garden, and contains the market church of St-James (1643, door 1744). You can get back to the centre by Jakobsgattan or by the underground Galleries, a vast shopping centre that comes out near Sergels Torg, a modern square surrounded by banks and department stores. (NK, Ahlens City, PUB). The huge concrete and glass structure to the south is Peter Celsing's Cultural Centre, and in the centre is a modern obelisk in the middle of a vast circular fountain. To the west, behind the modern buildings, you can see the steeple of the high tower (108 m) of de St-Claire's Church built on the site of a Franciscan convent destroyed by Gustav Wasa. Built between 1577 and 1590, restored in 1751 by Harleman after a fire, it has a carillon of 35 brass bells which ring every 3 hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.