Medieval ruins found near Stockholm castle

The palace occupies the site of Stockholm's medieval castle. John Hedlund of the Stockholm Stadtmuseet told The Local the discovery of what appears to be a house, warehouse or combination of the two sheds new light on early Stockholm's appearance.

"We didn't know that there were buildings this close to the castle," he said. "We always thought there was a big gap between the town and the castle."

Most urban castles in the Middle Ages were set apart to make them more defensible. In fact, the research team believes the newly discovered buildings were emptied in the 16th century when King Gustav Vasa made the castle stronger, the newspaper said.

The buildings appear to date from the 14th century, about a century after Stockholm was founded in 1252. That would make them about the same age as the two oldest churches in the Old Town of Stockholm.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International