It’s safe to say that Stockholm underground is the longest and most beautiful art exhibition on this planet. All of their metro stations have their specific and original meaning and artwork. They are all different, some more beautiful than others. I only visited a few of them sadly, but I loved Stockholm so I’m planning to go back. I didn’t know exactly where to look for them or how to get there, so this is my guide to the Stockholm metro system for my and your next trip to Stockholm.
- If you want more information about Stockholm check out my post Top Reasons to Visit Stockholm: A Travel Guide
About
The Stockholm metro opened in 1950. The metro consists of 3 lines – green, blue and red. The first line opened was green, after that red and blue following. There are 100 stations in use, many of them are above the ground. Around 90 of the stations are decorated by paintings, mosaics, statues or installations by more than 100 different artists. Politics decided that art should be accessible to everyone. Each artwork has a deeper meaning, they are replying to a political or enviromental situation or it is a personal statement of the artist. In later years it was decided that the older stations were also gonna get an artistic glow up, so they added some statues or installations. Years passing by, new art was and is being created. By taking a tour in Stockholm metro you discover different eras of art.
Lines
Blue line
Solna Centrum
The green and red represent nature and the setting sun. This station also represents the political and environmental situation in Sweden in the 70’s.
Hallonbergen
The artists working in this station were inspired by their childhood. Here you can see a lot of childlike paintings. The artwork is very colorful and honestly fun to look at.
Radhuset
This station is under the courthouse and named after it. The hue of pink was important for the artist, it could be found in the North African Atlas Mountains, and it should also be found in the mountains below Stockholm Courthouse.
Kungsträdgården
Meaning The King’s garden. In the past a royal palace with its gardens was located above this metro station. Now this station is telling the story of the past. This is also a home to a special species of a cave-dwelling spider. This is the only place in northern Europe where the spider can be found.
Red line
T-Centralen
This was the first station to feature artwork. The blue and white flower motifs are supposed to calm the passengers down from the rushed world.
Stadion
This station is one of the first cave stations in Stockholm. The rainbow and the blue ”sky” is supposed to remind the passengers that there is a sky above. It also reminds about the sports history, close to the station The Stockholm Olympic Stadium is located.
Tekniska Högskolan
This station represents science and technology. You can find here the five regular polyhedra representing Plato’s five elements, Newton’s three laws of motion, da Vinci’s attempts at creating a flying machine and more.
Green line
Hötorget
This station is covered in tiles. This is one of the stations that were redecorated later. Bright neon lights were installed on the ceiling, everything else was left and preserved to keep the look of the 50’s.
Odenplan (Stockholm Public Library)
The main art piece is called Life Line and it is jagged white lines of fluorescent light shining in the tunnels. These lights represent the heartbeat of the artist’s son.
Thorildsplan
This is a street-level metro station. The artwork here is recent and is supposed to represent a video game. The artist got inspired by the surroundings of the station and transformed it into a 8-bit aesthetic tile artwork.
Fridhemsplan
This station offers an exhibition. It is focused on the sea and represents an environmentalist movement.
Central metro station
T-centralen is considered to be the central station of Stockholms metro system. This is the only station where all of the metro lines meet. It is located near the main train station and also close to the city center. If you don’t know where to start, this is a good point. You can get anywhere from here.
Note: It is the central station so you have to keep in mind that it’s crowded. The best is to go out of the rush hours.
Tickets and cards
Depending on the length of your stay you can decide if you need a card or a ticket. Stockholm offers you from 24 hour to 1 year card. I had a 3 day card which cost me around 30€. They also offer single tickets. One single ticket is valid for 75 minutes, making it a bit more possible for you to have a little trip through the art exhibition of Stockholm. There are several options on how to get a card or a ticket, making it easy for every traveler.
Note: Keep in mind Sweden has a different currency and it is a bit pricey.
Timetables and systems
Using the metro in Stockholm is very easy. You have to scan your card to get in. The metro runs often. You can easily get around using the google maps as they tell you how to get where and the times. Google maps are pretty accurate in Stockholm. If you want something more trustworthy than google maps you can use the SL official webpage that provides all of the information.
If you are visiting Stockholm you definitely cannot miss the metro!
Source and some pictures from VisitStockholm.
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