Stockholm, capital city and seaport of Sweden, on the eastern coast of the country, where Lake Mälaren enters the Baltic Sea. It is also the capital of Stockholm County. Stockholm is situated on about 20 islands and the adjacent mainland and is the largest city and the chief commercial, manufacturing, financial, transportation, and cultural center of Sweden. Major manufactures include printed materials, electrical equipment, processed food, machinery, metal products, paper, chemicals, textiles, and clothing. Government operations, tourism, and shipbuilding also are important to the city's economic base.
Stockholm is known for its beauty; it has many waterways and much parkland and is often referred to as the Venice of the North. It is the seat of the University of Stockholm (1877); the Royal Institute of Technology (1827); the College of Fine Arts (1735); schools of music, economics, medicine, and physical education; the Royal Library; the Nobel Foundation (1900), which oversees the awarding of Nobel Prizes; and the Swedish Academy (1786). Among the many museums in the city are the Swedish Museum of Natural History; the National Museum, with large collections of paintings, sculpture, drawings, and prints; the Contemporary Art Museum; the National Museum of Science and Technology; the Ethnographical Museum of Sweden, with a collection of artifacts from around the world; and the National Maritime Museum, with displays relating to Swedish naval and merchant-marine history.
