Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that can help answer the question.
Query: What is the oldest building in Stockholm?
The buildings that survive from this period are mostly churches and royal buildings, since these were built from more durable materials than most other buildings from that period. Birger Jarls torn ("The Tower Of Birger Jarl") was considered the oldest building in the entire city, however, it is now known to have been erected by Gustav Vasa in the 16th century. The Riddarholmen Church from the late 13th century is considered to be the oldest surviving building in Stockholm. While it came to serve as the church of choice for royal burials, another church, the Storkyrkan ("Great Church") came to be used for coronations. Both of the churches have been redesign several times since their erection.
Riddarfjärden (, "The Knight Firth") is the easternmost bay of Lake Mälaren in central Stockholm. Stockholm was founded in 1252 on an island in the stream where Lake Mälaren (from the west) drains into the Baltic Sea (to the east); today the island is called Stadsholmen and constitutes Stockholm's Old Town.
Gamle rådhus (English: The Old Town Hall) is a building with a long history in Oslo, Norway. It is one of the oldest buildings in the Norwegian capital. It was built as the first town hall in Christiania (a former name of the City of Oslo, not to be confused with the Old Town, Oslo) in 1641. The construction of the town hall got financial support by King Christian IV. The building has historically been used for many purposes. A restaurant was appointed in a side wing in 1856 and moved to the main house in 1925. From 1980 to 2010 a theatre museum was located in the side wing of the first floor. The Old Town Hall is listed and protected by law by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
To the southeast of the park is Oslo’s oldest building – Aker Kirke, built around 1100, but restored from ruins around 1860, and then again in the 1950s in a more authentic style. Next to the church is the cemetery Vår Frelsers gravlund, created in 1808 as a result of the great famine and cholera epidemic of the Napoleonic Wars. The nearby area around Damstredet and Telthusbakken is interesting since it retains the small town character of Oslo in the first part of the 19th century.
In 1784, a Catholic parish was formally founded in Stockholm. The members lacked suitable premises, however. Therefore, until 1837, Stockholm's Catholics celebrated mass in the Freemasons hall inside the building of today's Stockholm City Museum, which they were offered to rent for the purposes.
The oldest building on the lot is a house built in 1867 for Colonel F.P.L. Næser by architect Wilhelm von Hanno. From 1926, the house was the residence of German minister Edmund Rohmberg, and later by Curt Bräuer. The building closest to Drammensveien, was built by the Germans in 1926, and drawn by Oscar Hoff. After the conclusion of World War II, the building was seized by the Norwegian government and made available for the Soviet Union.
According to the European Cities Monitor 2010, Stockholm is the best city in terms of freedom from pollution. Surrounded by 219 nature reserves, Stockholm has around 1,000 green spaces, which corresponds to 30% of the city's area. Founded in 1995, the Royal National City Park is the world's first legally protected "national urban park". For a description of the formation process, value assets and implementation of the legal protection of The Royal National Urban Park, see Schantz 2006 The water in Stockholm is so clean that people can dive and fish in the centre of the city. In fact the waters of downtown Stockholm serve as spawning grounds for multiple fish species including trout and salmon. Regarding CO2 emissions, the government's target is that Stockholm will be CO2 free before 2050.
Oslo Kunstforening is located at "Rådhusgata 19". The gallery, situated in one of the oldest houses in the Kvadraturen area, is the oldest art gallery in Norway. During the year, many varied shows are organized within the fields of drawing, painting, photography, lithography, textile, collage and sculpture. There is usually a new exhibition every month. The gallery features temporary exhibitions of Contemporary Art.
Old Aker Church () is a medieval era church located in Oslo, Norway. An active parish, the church is the oldest existing building in Oslo. The church is surrounded by Old Aker Cemetery.
The Old Bishop's Palace in Oslo ("Oslo Bispeborg") was the residence of the Roman Catholic bishops of Oslo. The estate is located in what is now called Gamlebyen (old town) in Oslo, Norway. Various remnants of the medieval bishop's original palace are still visible.
The construction was begun around 1210 by the then bishop, Nikolas Arnesson, continuing through to the early 14th century. The palace built in stone replaced a previous bishop's residence built in wood, established in the 12th century. The main buildings were surrounded by tall walls, and from a tower, a wooden bridge connected the palace to the neighboring Hallvards Cathedral. The palace was built like a fortified castle. 
Together with the cathedral, the palace was not only a religious centre in Middle Age Oslo, it was also of significant political importance. The first agreement of union between Norway and Sweden was signed in the bishop's palace just after the death of Håkon V of Norway, in 1319.
During the Swedish War of Liberation of 1521–23, Danish-controlled Stockholm was under siege by the Swedes. The abbess of the nunnery, Anna Leuhusen, offered to allow Swedes living in Stockholm to safely escape the Danes by exiting the city through the nunnery. When they arrived to the nunnery, however, she signaled the Danish authorities, and the refugees were executed as traitors. In June 1523, Stockholm was retaken by the Swedes and made capital of the independent Kingdom of Sweden. In 1525, Elin Thomasdotter is noted to have replaced Anna Leuhusen as abbess.
Built in 1856, PS "Skibladner" is the oldest steamship still in operation, serving towns along lake Mjøsa in Norway.
Gustaf V ("Oscar Gustaf Adolf"; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Reigning from the death of his father Oscar II in 1907 until his own death 43 years later, he holds the record of being the oldest monarch of Sweden and the third-longest reigning after Magnus IV and Carl XVI Gustaf. He was also the last Swedish monarch to exercise his royal prerogatives, which largely died with him, although formally abolished only with the remaking of the Swedish constitution in 1974. He was the first Swedish king since the High Middle Ages not to have a coronation and hence never wore a crown, a tradition continuing to date.
Old Aker Church was built as a three-naved Romanesque style basilica and constructed from limestone. It is believed to have been erected by King Olav Kyrre in 1080 as a church for all of Vingulmark, the historic area surrounding Oslo. The grounds of Old Aker Church were originally likely the former site of the regional thing during the pre-Christian period.
The Old or Grand Bazaar "(Çarshia e Madhe)" in Gjakova is the oldest bazaar in Kosovo, and it served as an Ottoman trading centre and heart of the town economy. It suffered damage during the Kosovo War but has since been renovated. The Hadum Mosque, built in the 16th century, lies by the bazaar, and includes a highly decorated graveyard, where the town notables were buried. Within the mosque complex were the "hamam" which was destroyed in 2008, the "Old library" from 1671, damaged in the Kosovo War, and also a "meytepi" from 1777. The Bazaar is linked to the city centre, just five minutes away via the Islam-Beg Bridge. The bazaar covers an area of about and the length of its main road is 1 km, with about 500 shops situated along it. It is, however, still home to an active mosque, several türbes, and a clocktower.
Depending on the definition, the world's oldest bank is either Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena or Berenberg Bank. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena was founded in its present form in 1624, but traces its history to a mount of piety founded in 1472. The Berenberg company was founded in 1590 and has operated continuously ever since with the same family as owners or major co-owners. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena is today a large Italian retail bank, while Berenberg Bank is primarily involved in investment banking and private banking for wealthy customers; in any event Berenberg Bank is the world's oldest merchant bank or investment bank. The world's oldest central bank is the Sveriges Riksbank, which was founded in 1668.
The Broadcasting House (in Norwegian, "Kringkastingshuset"), also known as the Radio House ("Radiohuset") or the White House ("Det hvite hus"), is the oldest building of the NRK headquarters at Marienlyst, Oslo. The other main building is known as the Television House.
Church of the Holy Spirit is a Lutheran church and the oldest existing building in Bauska, Latvia. Built between 1591 and 1594 for the needs of the city's Baltic German population. The original building did not have a tower, which was built in 1614 and completed in 1623 by master craftsman Michael Ulrich from Arnstadt who built cupola and high steeple tower. In 1799 the steeple was ruined by a direct lightning strike and the tower was covered by a temporary wooden structure. In 1815 the damaged tower was hit by a lightning once again and the temporary four-sloped roof become permanent.
Thus, Sweden emerged from the war not only a military power, but also one of the largest states of Europe, possessing more than twice as much territory as modern Sweden. The land area of Sweden was 1,100,000 km. While modern Sweden is bounded by the Baltic, during the 17th century the Baltic formed a bond between various widely dispersed dominions. All the islands in the Baltic, except the Danish group, belonged to Sweden. The estuaries of all the great German rivers lay within Swedish territory, which also included two-thirds of Lake Ladoga and one-half of Lake Peipus. Stockholm, the capital, lay in the very centre of the empire, whose second greatest city was Riga, on the other side of the sea. This empire contained less than a third of the population of modern Sweden — at only 2,500,000 people, or about 2.3 people per square kilometer. However, Sweden's expansion had been possible partly due to turmoil and weakness in countries in its vicinity, and when they became more stable, they began to look for chances to regain what was lost.
Swedish pre-history ends around 800 CE, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity. Scandinavia was formally Christianized by 1100 AD. The period 1050 to 1350 – when the Black Death struck Europe – is considered the Older Middle Ages. The Kalmar Union between the Scandinavian countries was established in 1397 and lasted until King Gustav Vasa ended it upon seizing power. The period 1350 to 1523 – when king Gustav Vasa, who led the unification of Sweden, was crowned – is considered the Younger Middle Ages.
The Viking Ship Museum overlooking the inlet of Roskilde Fjord was built in 1969 with the main purpose of exhibiting the five newly discovered Skuldelev ships. In the late 1990s, excavations for the shipyard expansion of the museum uncovered a further 9 ships from the Viking Age and early medieval period. It is the largest discovery of prehistoric ships in Northern Europe and includes the longest Viking warship ever found; the "Roskilde 6" at 36 metres. The excavations are not yet completed.
The oldest building in Stockholm is the Riddarholmskyrkan from the late 13th century. After a fire in 1697 when the original medieval castle was destroyed, Stockholm Palace was erected in a baroque style. Storkyrkan Cathedral, the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Stockholm, stands next to the castle. It was founded in the 13th century but is clad in a baroque exterior dating to the 18th century.
The name 'Stockholm' easily splits into two distinct parts – Stock-holm, "Log-islet", but as no serious explanation to the name has been produced, various myths and legends have attempted to fill in the gap. According to a 17th-century myth the population at the viking settlement Birka decided to found a new settlement, and to determine its location had a log bound with gold drifting in Lake Mälaren. It landed on present day Riddarholmen where today the Tower of Birger Jarl stands, a building, as a consequence, still often erroneously mentioned as the oldest building in Stockholm. The most established explanation for the name are logs driven into the strait passing north of today's old town which dendrochronological examinations in the late 1970s dated to around 1000. While no solid proofs exists, it is often assumed the Three Crown Castle, which preceded the present Stockholm Palace, originated from these wooden structures, and that the medieval city quickly expanded around it in the mid 13th century. In a wider historical context, Stockholm can be thought of as the capital of the Lake Mälaren Region, and as such can trace its origin back to at least two much older cities: Birka (c. 790–975) and Sigtuna, which still exists but dominated the region c. 1000–1240 — a capital which has simply been relocated at a number of occasions.
Stockholm's oldest city wall was originally a fortification line built during the second half of the 13th century around Stadsholmen. This line of fortifications is thus intimately connected with the origin of Stockholm, founded by Birger Jarl around the year 1250. The old city wall exact design and location is disputed and unknown. According to one common belief, they are remnants of the oldest city wall preserved in buildings where the wall once was. At the excavations and building surveys, however, such residues have never been found.
The second oldest square in Stockholm, slightly younger than Stortorget, Järntorget dates back to around 1300 and remained the city's most important trade centre for centuries — constantly busy and crowded, scents and noise intermixing while goods were transported from shore to shore across the square and up and down the attics of the surrounding buildings.