Tunnelbanan in Stockholm, pop up in art heaven

Tunnelbanan in Stockholm (Underground) has around 90 stations with individual artwork on display. The world’s longest art gallery.

Stockholm

Stockholm, the capital of Sweeden, is maybe the most beautiful of the Scandinavian Capitals, but not necessarily my favorite of the three. Still, Gamla Stan has a lovely atmosphere, and with trendy cafes and a love of design, you know you are in a place of taste and culture. However, there is also a hidden treasure underground; in Tunnelbanan in Stockholm. Pop up or down into the stations.

Tunnelbanan

Stockholm’s Tunnelbana is home to the world’s most extended art gallery. It has 100 underground stations, of which 90 have artworks on display, the oldest coming from the 1950s. Commuters and visitors can thus enjoy visually-stimulating contemporary and historical art for free or the price of a train ticket.

The most striking stations in Tunellbanan are the “grotto” stations – cavernous stations left with the bedrock exposed. In the 1960s, it was decided to spray the blasted rock with a layer of rendering concrete instead of coating it, resulting in a cave-like ambiance.

The stations in Stockholm’s Tunnelbana

I woke at seven on a Sunday morning and started hunting for exciting stations to see. I visited about 15 of them, and here are those I thought were worth showing. They are in chronological order after their appearance in the blog.

• Stadion station
• Kungstädgården station
• Rådhuset station
• Täkniska station
• Tensta station
• Solna Centrum station
• T-Centralen station

The Stockholm Public Transport is trying to have an active working relationship with contemporary artists. This to ensures that the inner city stations continue developing by encouraging temporary exhibitions. Free guided art tours for visitors who want to know the stories behind the artworks in the underground are available in the summer.

My favorite

I know there are many reasons for wanting to go and visit Stockholm. So Tunnelbanan should not be the reason for going there, but I wanted to share the fantastic, long-lasting, and ongoing project to be known to more people. It is tough to find a favorite station. However, I do find Rådhuset station very overpowering. It is like the vast columns are swallowed into burning orange lava.

Take a day trip, ride the trains and discover the most stunning works at Stockholm’s art heaven underground.