Tyska Skolgränd

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Tyska Skolgränd, or German School Alley, is a short street in Stockholm’s old town, Gamla stan. It runs from Svartmangatan to Baggensgatan and is crossed by Själagårdsgatan. The name first appeared on an early-18th-century map as Tyska Scholæ Gatan, after the German school that stood at number 8 Själagårdsgatan in the late 16th century. The German parish bought the site and built a school there in 1626, with a new building completed in 1670. The building was enlarged several times, and most of the current structures date from 1887. In the 17th century the building was also used by itinerant theatre groups. The German school operated for over 300 years, but a new German school opened in 1941 on Östermalm.

The eastern part of the alley, east of Själagårdsgatan, has had different names reflecting activities there. In 1557 it was called Tynnebindare gaten after a cooper, Peter Tunnbindare, who lived nearby. On the north side stood Vårfrugillet av den tyska nationen, the Guild of Our Lady of the German Nation, which gave the alley the name Gillestugegaten in 1579. In the 18th century it was also called Persiljegränd, perhaps a playful version of the name Perseus for the nearby block. Since the 1885 street-name revision, this part is counted as part of the western section of the alley.

Over the porch of number 4 is a sandstone cartouche from the 1670s with a Latin inscription: “As long as the school of the German parish prospers, conscientious studies will bring true honour.” The Latin letters encode the year 1670.