for its position and its
temple-like form; it stands on the ledge of a rock facing the royal
palace, on the opposite shore of the same indentation of the Baltic. A
long bridge of boats leads from the one to the other.

The church of St. Catharine is large and beautiful. In an outer angle of
the church is shewn the stone on which one of the brothers Sturre was
beheaded. {53}

On the Ritterplatz stands the Ritterhouse, a very fine palace; also the
old royal palace, and several other royal and private mansions; but they
are not nearly so numerous nor so fine as in Copenhagen, and the streets
and squares also cannot be compared with those of the capital of Denmark.

The finest prospect is from a hill in one of the suburbs called the Great
Mosbecken; it affords a magnificent view of the sea and the lake, of the
town and its suburbs, as far as the points of the mountains, and of the
lovely country-houses which border the shores of lake and sea. The town
and its environs are so interspersed with islets and rocks, that these
seem to be part of the town; and this gives Stockholm such a curious
appearance, that I can compare it to no other city I have seen. Wooded
hills and naked rocks prolong the view, and their ridges extend into the
far distance; while level fields and lawns take up but a very small
proportion of the magnificent scenery.

On descending from this hill the traveller should not fail to go to
Sodermalm, and to inspect the immense iron-stores, where iron is heaped
up in countless bars. The corn-market of Stockholm is insignificant.
The principal buildings besides those already enumerated are, the bank,
the mint, the guard-house, the palace of the crown-prince, the theatre,
&c. The latter is interesting, partly because Gustavus III. was shot in
it. He fell on the stage, while a grand masquerade was taking place, for
which the theatre had been changed into a ball-room. The king was shot
by a mask, and died in a few hours.

There is not a representation in the theatre every night; and on the one
evening of performance during my visit a festival was to be celebrated in
the hall of antiquities. The esteemed artist Vogelberg, a native of
Sweden, had beautifully sculptured the three heathen gods, Thor, Balder,
and Odin, in colossal size, and brought them over from Rome. The statues
had only been lately placed, and a large company had been invited to meet
in the illuminated saloon, and do honour to the artist