Mårten Trotzigs gränd, the narrowest alley

Pull your shoulders in. You are in Mårten Trotzigs gränd, the narrowest alley in Stockholm: at its tightest point it is about ninety centimetres wide. It climbs from Västerlånggatan to Prästgatan in 36 stone steps.

1A German merchant

Its name recalls Mårten Trotzig, a German merchant born in 1559 who came to Sweden in 1581 and settled in the town as a burgher. Between 1597 and 1600 he bought several houses beside the alley. He died in 1617. The old town was full of German merchants: nearby are Tyska kyrkan, the German Church, and the square of Järntorget, 'the iron square', where that metal, Sweden's great export, was weighed and sold.

2Many names

The alley existed long before him. In 1544 it was called 'the narrow stair alley', and on a map from 1733 it already appears as Trotz gränd. In the mid-19th century it was boarded up at both ends and for almost a hundred years it was forgotten. It reopened in 1945, and its present name was made official in 1949.

Today it is one of the most photographed corners of the city: wait your turn and frame it from below, with the lanterns in a row.

3Gamla stan, wall to wall

You are walking along the edge of the medieval town. Västerlånggatan, 'the long western street', roughly follows the line of the old western town wall, which had only a few gates opening towards the water.

4What to look for

• The stone plaque with the old name.
• The wrought-iron lanterns.
• The worn steps, polished by centuries of footsteps.