Stockholm Olympic Stadium
The stadium was built for the 1912 Olympic Games and looks like a medieval brick fortress, with towers and vaults. It is one of the oldest Olympic arenas in the world still in use. Many world records have been set on its track.
When Stockholm was awarded the 1912 Olympic Games, a new sports arena was needed. The architect Torben Grut designed it, and it was built in 1910–1912. Grut wanted the arena to fit into the Swedish tradition and chose a National Romantic style with dark brick, towers and vaults. The 1912 Games were the first with electronic timing and a photo finish.
The arena is horseshoe-shaped, with stands around the running track and the pitch. The building is of handmade brick and has towers at the main entrance and at the corners. The stands rest on vaults, with passages and rooms beneath them. The form recalls a fortress or a medieval town.
The stadium is still used for athletics and football and has been the scene of many world records. The arena shows how National Romanticism could be used even for entirely new building types, and how sport became a national concern in the early 20th century.