SWEDEN

SWEDEN / SVERIGE.

750th Anniversary of Stockholm.
Stadsholmen Island in an ancient gravure.
Second stamp in a set of 2, issued on 21.03.2002.
Face value: 10 Swedish krona.
Design and engraving: Lars Sjööblom (b. 1956). 
Printed by Sweden Post Stamps.
Printing: Recess.
Size: 31 x 31 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 2214.
- Facit No. 2307.
- Michel No. 2290.
- Scott No. 2433.
- StampWorld No. 2292.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2216.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2272.

Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, is currently made up of 14 islands where Lake Mälaren empties into the Baltic Sea. The first mention of the city ─ which was reduced then to the island of Stadsholmen (the one that reproduces the engraving on the stamp), where the current Gamla Stan is located ─ is from the year 1252. It was founded by Birger Jarl, with the aim of to protect Sweden from invasions by foreign fleets and to be able to put an end to looting in towns on the shores of the lake. The first building built was a fort that controlled maritime traffic between the sea and the lake. Under the influence of Magnus Ladulås, it prospered thanks to its commercial relations with Lübeck. It was part of the Hanseatic League. In 1270, it is described in documents as a true city, and in 1289 it is already the largest city in Sweden.

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Thanks to Dragan Buškulić for his contribution (https://worldofstamp2.wordpress.com/).