The Treasuiy QanApril & OctDec MonSat llam3pm, Sun noon4pm; MaySept MonSat 10am4pm, Sun noon4pm; 25kr, students 15kr), on the other hand, is for once worthy of the name. Its ranks of jewelstudded crowns grab the eye, the oldest that of Karl X (1650), the most charming belonging to the princesses Eugene (1860) and Sofia (1771). Also worth catching is the Armouiy GanApril & SeptDec TuesFri 10am4pm, Sat & Sun llam4pm; MayAug MonFri lOampm, Sat & Sun llam4pm; 40kr, students 30kr), less to do witn weapons and more to do with ceremony suits of armour, costumes and hpr drawn coaches from the sixteenth century onwards. It certainly accused of skipping over historical detail. King Gustav II Adolf died in the Ba of Lutzen in 1632 and the museum displays his horse (stuffed) and the blood an OLD S Т О С К Н О L МI ЗЫ d spattered garments retrieved after the enemy had stripped him down to his '"'des on the battlefield. For those with the energy, the Palace Museum Gune a" daily noon3pm; 5kr) contains parts of the older Tre Kronor castle, its ruins demeath the present building. Also there's the Museum of Antiquities (t" „e_Aug daily noon3pm; 5kr) and the Hall of State (MaySept daily noon 3pm Oct Sat & Sun noon3pm; 5kr) for real palace junkies. Into Gamla Stan: Stortorget and around Beyond the Royal Palace you're into Gamla Stan proper, the streets suddenly narrower and darker. ТЪе highest point of old Stockholm is crowned by Storkyrkan, almost the first building you stumble upon: the Great Church, consecrated in 1306. Pedantically speaking, Stockholm has no cathedral, but this rectangular brick church is now accepted as such, the monarchs of Sweden married and crowned here. Storkyrkan gained its present shape at the end of the fifteenth century, with a Baroque remodelling in the 1730s. The interior is marvellous. Twentieth4;entury restoration has removed the white plaster from the red brick columns and, although there's no evidence that this was intended in the original church, it gives warm colouring to the rest of the building. Much is made of the fifteenthcentury Gothic sculpture of St George and the Dragon, certainly an animated piece but easily overshadowed by the royal pews more like golden billowing thrones and the monumental black and silver altarpiece. If you're around, organ recitals take place every Saturday at 1pm. Stortorget Gamla Stan's main square, is still handsome and elegantly proportioned. Crowded by eighteenthcentury buildings whose walls bear wroughtiron lamps, it's well placed for access to the surrounding narrow shopping streets. In 1520 Christian II used the square as an execution site during the socalled "Stockholm Blood Bath", dispatching his opposition en rnasse with bloody finality. Now, as then, the streets Vasterlwtan and Osterltoggatan, Stora Nygatan and Ша Nygatan run the length of the old town, although today their timeworn buildings harbour a succession of art and craft shops, restaurants and discreet fastfood outlets.