Berndes house (Stockholm)

 house, interesting place, listed building / architectural heritage, historical building, 18th century construction

Number 22, the green building on the left side of Kåkbrinken, is from 1758 but is standing on medieval walls. It was occupied by the councillor Johan Berndes who developed the Swedish copper production in the 17th century, then by the Saxon Polycarpus Crumbügel, close friend to King Charles XI who caused the so-called Reduction when an important part of the Swedish nobility lost its estates (for which he was raised to peerage as Cronhielm). During an archaeological excavation in 1998, a vaulted chamber measuring 1.8×1.6 metres (approx. 5'11"×5'3") was discovered in the basement. It was supplied with a channel which is believed to have connected it to privies and kitchen sinks in the building. Along with some wooden tubes found near Kornhamnstorg, it is one of the few indications contradicting the traditional view of medieval Stockholm as a repulsive place where filth and refuse filled the streets.