Great Stockholm Fire of 1759
1759 CE
The Great Stockholm Fire of 1759 is the city’s greatest fire since 1686.
It rages in the Eastern Södermalm on Thursday July 19 and over the following night, reduces about twenty blocks with about three hundred houses to ash, and renders about two thousand persons homeless.
While no deaths are reported, there are nineteen injuries.
In Sweden, the fire is named Mariabranden (Swedish brand = fire) after the Maria Magdalena Church, which is severely damaged.
Outside Sweden, the fire is most famous because an occult anecdote claims the scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg by a sort of clairvoyance could ”see” the fire from Gothenburg.
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Fire is a serious threat to urban centers in the eighteenth century.
Most houses in Northern Europe are made of wood, and are often built very close to adjoining structures.
Open fires are used for cooking, heating, and light.
When a fire breaks out, firefighting mainly dependson bucket or pail teams, in addition to fire axes and equipment to tear downs houses for firebreaks.
Like most major cities at this time, Stockholm does not have any professional firefighters.
As cities have expanded in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, fires have become more threatening, as with the Great Fire of London, the Great Fire of Copenhagen in 1728, and the Great Fire of Bergen in 1702.
The increased fire threat also applies to Sweden.
Throughout the seventeenth century, Sweden had experienced over thirty devastating fires that had destroyed many cities and villages.
In addition, the Russians had burned down more than twenty cities or towns between 1714 and 1721, during the Great Northern War.
In 1751, the year before Karlstad burned for the third time since 1616, a violent fire (Klarabranden) had destroyed at least a hundred buildings in Stockholm.
The fire had originated in Norrmalm during a whole gale and grew into a firestorm.
Some copper plates, glowing with heat from the fire, blew above Riddarfjärden (an arm of the sea Mälaren), at least four hundred meters, and, in turn, had set fire to buildings on Södermalm, as well.
Most houses in Northern Europe are made of wood, and are often built very close to adjoining structures.
Open fires are used for cooking, heating, and light.
When a fire breaks out, firefighting mainly dependson bucket or pail teams, in addition to fire axes and equipment to tear downs houses for firebreaks.
Like most major cities at this time, Stockholm does not have any professional firefighters.
As cities have expanded in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, fires have become more threatening, as with the Great Fire of London, the Great Fire of Copenhagen in 1728, and the Great Fire of Bergen in 1702.
The increased fire threat also applies to Sweden.
Throughout the seventeenth century, Sweden had experienced over thirty devastating fires that had destroyed many cities and villages.
In addition, the Russians had burned down more than twenty cities or towns between 1714 and 1721, during the Great Northern War.
In 1751, the year before Karlstad burned for the third time since 1616, a violent fire (Klarabranden) had destroyed at least a hundred buildings in Stockholm.
The fire had originated in Norrmalm during a whole gale and grew into a firestorm.
Some copper plates, glowing with heat from the fire, blew above Riddarfjärden (an arm of the sea Mälaren), at least four hundred meters, and, in turn, had set fire to buildings on Södermalm, as well.
A severe drought strikes Stockholm in 1759.
As both buildings and vegetation dry out, the fire hazard grows.
In addition, the water supply is on the verge of running dry (except near Mälaren), which means that any fire will be harder to fight.
The drought may also have contributed to fires in the towns of Skövde and (in south-eastern Norway) Halden the same year.
At around 4:15 PM on July 19, the fire breaks out in the Besvärsbackan (literally: Trouble Hill) area.
High (and increasing) winds spread the fire quickly in all directions, but especially to the west and southwest.
About an hour and a half later, the Maria Magdalena Church catches fire.
Panic spreading among the people makes the situation worse.
Attempts to fight the fire are hampered by a lack of available water, and the lines bringing water from Mälaren (one of the few bodies of water not shrunk by the drought) grow longer as the fire advances away from the sea.
Given the inferior equipment available at the time and the difficulties in transporting water, it is probably not possible the extinguish the fire itself.
As the fire crosses the major street (Hornsgatan) in the area, firefighting efforts turn towards the construction of firebreaks well in advance of the fire's spread.
Using some open areas on either side of Hornsgatan, the firebreaks are able to halt the fire's advance, and it burns itself out early on the morning of July 20 (Friday).
The Maria Magdalena Church is severely damaged.
The tower has collapsed, and the interior is burned out.
However, the people demands that the church be restored, and it will be reopened four years later, at the Pentecost of 1763.
After the fire, the city government requires all constructions to consist of brick and stone.
With these regulations in place, the Great Fire of 1759 will be the last on such a scale to strike Stockholm.
As both buildings and vegetation dry out, the fire hazard grows.
In addition, the water supply is on the verge of running dry (except near Mälaren), which means that any fire will be harder to fight.
The drought may also have contributed to fires in the towns of Skövde and (in south-eastern Norway) Halden the same year.
At around 4:15 PM on July 19, the fire breaks out in the Besvärsbackan (literally: Trouble Hill) area.
High (and increasing) winds spread the fire quickly in all directions, but especially to the west and southwest.
About an hour and a half later, the Maria Magdalena Church catches fire.
Panic spreading among the people makes the situation worse.
Attempts to fight the fire are hampered by a lack of available water, and the lines bringing water from Mälaren (one of the few bodies of water not shrunk by the drought) grow longer as the fire advances away from the sea.
Given the inferior equipment available at the time and the difficulties in transporting water, it is probably not possible the extinguish the fire itself.
As the fire crosses the major street (Hornsgatan) in the area, firefighting efforts turn towards the construction of firebreaks well in advance of the fire's spread.
Using some open areas on either side of Hornsgatan, the firebreaks are able to halt the fire's advance, and it burns itself out early on the morning of July 20 (Friday).
The Maria Magdalena Church is severely damaged.
The tower has collapsed, and the interior is burned out.
However, the people demands that the church be restored, and it will be reopened four years later, at the Pentecost of 1763.
After the fire, the city government requires all constructions to consist of brick and stone.
With these regulations in place, the Great Fire of 1759 will be the last on such a scale to strike Stockholm.