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All Sweden Stockholm Storkyrkobadet
Storkyrkobadet is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

Storkyrkobadet

A hidden bathhouse in one of Stockholm's oldest and busiest neighborhoods is open to anyone who can find it.

Stockholm, Sweden

Added By
Henrik Johansson
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The vault and pool of Storkyrkobadet.   I99pema/CC BY-SA 3.0
The vault and pool of Storkyrkobadet.   I99pema/CC BY-SA 3.0
Svartmangatan 20 in 1903.   Larssons Ateljé/Public Domain
Entrance to the school is on the right while entrance to the baths is on the left.   Udo Schröter/CC BY-SA 3.0
The sign outside of Storkyrkobadet.   Holger.Ellgaard/CC BY-SA 4.0
  Elgaard
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About

This tiny public bath is hiding in plain sight in the most touristy part of Stockholm.

Storkyrkobadet is located in a vault, in the basement of a building dating back to the 17th century in Stockholm's Old Town. The building was originally a Dominican convent during which time the vault served alternately as a coal and wine cellar. In the 1890s, the building was converted to a primary school, and the vault became the baths for the students. It would take another half century before a sauna was built and the bath was opened to the public.

The bath is still old fashioned in many ways, with its architecture and interior unchanged since it was first built. It consists of just one shallow pool and a number of tiny tubs where visitors can sit and relax.

Throughout the years, Storkyrkobadet has become a popular meeting point for the gay community, probably because of the separate opening hours for men and women. Sweden's most famous gay couple, Jonas Gardell and Mark Levengood, met here in the 1980s.

Despite its popularity and history, Storkyrkobadet's existence is in danger. The city planned to close it in the '80s but thanks to a volunteer organization called Föreningen De Glada Badarnait ("Society of Merry Bathers") it was able to live on—at least for another few decades. Facing increasing costs, as of 2016 the future of this hidden oasis is again uncertain, but a small group of enthusiasts are doing everything in their power to keep it open.

Update: Storkyrkobadet has closed.

 

Related Tags

Bath House Pools Water

Community Contributors

Added By

hrnick

Edited By

CoolCrab, Molly McBride Jacobson, Dea, jesuscortes

  • CoolCrab
  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • Dea
  • jesuscortes

Published

December 28, 2016

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Sources
  • www.stockholmgamlastan.se/se-gora/storkyrkobadet.php
  • www.svt.se/nyheter/uutiset/svenska/storkyrkobadet-tvingas-lagga-ner
  • https://sv.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storkyrkobadet
  • http://www.dn.se/arkiv/stockholm/homosexuella-i-badhus-delikat-fraga/
  • https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Levengood
  • https://sv.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankt_Nicolai_skola
Storkyrkobadet
Svartmangatan 20
Stockholm
Sweden
59.323722, 18.072732
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