Stadshustornet: the Stockholm City Hall tower

Closed for renovation now. I climbed it on 22 September 2026.

Tall red brick tower with a green copper top and gold crowns, seen from below between brick walls and red tile roofs in the courtyard.
Stadshustornet, seen from the courtyard of Stockholm City Hall. Photo: Zayera Khan
  • StatusClosed to visitors for renovation. The City Hall page says the work is planned from early 2027 to the end of 2028. Details below.
  • Why visitA 106 meter brick tower, a small museum with plaster models, and a view over Gamla stan and Lake Mälaren. When it is open.
  • Best forAnyone who can climb stairs and likes brick, wood and views.
  • WhereStockholm City Hall, Kungsholmen, Stockholm.
  • Opening hoursThe tower is closed now. The City Hall page gives no opening hours or prices.
  • TicketsTickets for City Hall guided tours and events are on the City Hall ticket page. The page lists no tower ticket.
  • AccessibilityThe City Hall page says you climb by stairs and sloping corridors, about 365 steps. There is a lift in the tower. It goes up to the upper section, where the statues are.
  • Official websitestadshuset.stockholm: Stadshustornet and Stockholm City Hall, main site

I climbed Stadshustornet on 22 September 2026. Now I cannot go back.

The City Hall page says the tower is closed to visitors because it will be renovated. My photos and two videos are what I have of the inside.

In this article I show what the sources say about the closure, what the tower is, how the climb goes and what I saw at the top.

Closed for renovation until the end of 2028

Two official pages give two statements. I give both.

The City Hall page says the tower is closed to visitors now, because it will be renovated. It also says the renovation is planned from early 2027 to the end of 2028.

The Växer project page, from the City of Stockholm, says the work starts in early 2027 and ends at the end of 2028. It says the work is planned, not started. It says the tower closes during the construction. Guided tours, weddings and events continue as usual.

The project page lists this work: the copper roof, including parts that nobody has touched before; new gilding of the tower top and the three crowns; a check of the brick facade; new lighting for the whole building; a new lightning rod system; a new sealing layer on a concrete beam; a check and repair of the wood construction; restoration of the wooden details and the painting on two balconies; and renovation of the clock mechanism, called Örjansleken.

About the tower

The tower is 106 meters high. The City Hall page says you go up by stairs and sloping corridors, and that it is about 365 steps to the top.

The same page says a copper statue of St. Erik stands on the tower and faces Lake Mälaren. Gustaf Sandberg made it. A star sits at the top. My photos show a gold star on a tall pole next to the balcony.

Ragnar Östberg designed City Hall. The project page says it opened in 1923. It calls the building a national monument and a symbol of Stockholm as a capital. Stockholms läns museum writes that the tower alone needed as many bricks as three apartment buildings in the city. The museum says the building used 7 million bricks, and that number does not include the 1 million bricks of the facade. Wikipedia gives about 8 million bricks in total.

I write about Stockholm City Hall itself in a separate article. It comes later. Until then, see the official City Hall website.

The tower also holds Tornmuseet, the tower museum. The City Hall page says it shows plaster models and sketches of sculptures and architectural details from City Hall.

The climb, step by step

The steps follow the order of my photos. The real route can differ a little.

  1. Go to the courtyard of City Hall. A sign says “Torn / Åhörarläktare / Tower / Public Gallery”. A black iron gate and a small wooden door stand beside it.
  2. Inside, there is a hall with lockers and a bench.
  3. Brick stairs go up between close walls. A handrail runs along the side. A small sign on the wall points to the tower.
  4. You pass a landing with orange doors and a herringbone brick floor.
  5. A narrow spiral stair of worn stone steps goes on. A small sign points to the top of the tower.
  6. A lift goes up to the upper section, where the statues are. You reach the round platform of Tornmuseet, with busts and statues. More about it below.
  7. Steep wooden stairs go up through the timber of the roof.
  8. Narrow brick passages and a tunnel lead to small windows with a mesh.
  9. The last stairs lead to the open balcony at the top.
Narrow spiral stair with worn stone steps inside a red brick passage, with a handrail and a small sign that points to the top of the tower.
The spiral stair of worn stone steps. Photo: Zayera Khan

Not all of the climb is on stairs, because of the lift. The passages are narrow. In some of them, two people cannot pass each other with ease.

Tornmuseet and the round platform

The museum is a round platform under a brick dome. A round opening in the dome lets in light from above.

I saw white plaster busts with small signs, white statues, painted statues, a large dark figure and three panels with green and gold patterns.

One statue is gilded and sits in a window. It faces the city. I took that photo from behind it.

The view from the top

The top is an open balcony with iron bars and a mesh.

The balcony at the top of the tower with black iron bars, a green copper railing and a small gold star in the corner, with the water and the city behind.
The balcony at the top, with a small gold star in the corner. Photo: Zayera Khan

Above the balcony, bells hang between green copper columns. The City Hall page does not mention them.

View up through black iron bars at green copper columns and several dark bells in the top of the tower, with grey clouds behind.
The bells above the balcony. Photo: Zayera Khan

Across the water I see Gamla stan and the church on Riddarholmen. Below me I see the courtyard, the red roofs and the green copper. The water was calm. A white boat left a long wake.

View from high above over dark blue water to the buildings of Gamla stan and Riddarholmen, with a bridge on the left and a big cloudy sky.
Gamla stan and Riddarholmen, seen from the tower. Photo: Zayera Khan

This is my video of the view from the tower.

Watch this video on Instagram

View from the tower, video on Instagram

Climbing down

I walked down by the stairs. I filmed it, and I sped the video up five times.

Watch this video on Instagram

Climbing down the tower, video at 5 times speed, on Instagram

I climbed it before it closed. Do you plan to climb it when it opens again?

Dark sign on the stone wall that reads Torn, Åhörarläktare, Tower and Public Gallery, beside a black iron gate with curled lettering in front of an arched opening.
The sign at the tower entrance. Photo: Zayera Khan
Black wrought iron gate with a lantern in front of a small arched wooden door in a red brick wall, on a cobblestone path.
The iron gate and the small door. Photo: Zayera Khan
Narrow stairway with stone steps and a handrail between red brick walls and an arched brick vault, with two people at the top.
The first stairs, between brick walls. Photo: Zayera Khan
Pair of orange wooden doors with diamond shaped panels under a red brick vault, with a herringbone brick floor and stairs on the right.
A landing with orange doors. Photo: Zayera Khan
Very narrow passage with orange brick walls and a pointed brick vault, and a pointed opening of light at the far end.
The narrow passage. Photo: Zayera Khan
Dark, narrow brick tunnel with a curved ceiling and a steep floor that goes up toward a small bright window at the end.
The tunnel to the small window. Photo: Zayera Khan
White statues of a lion and two standing figures on a brick slope, with a round lit opening in the dark dome above and brass signs in front.
Statues under the round opening. Photo: Zayera Khan
A large dark standing figure against a brick wall with white statues of two figures in front, and curved brick arches in the roof. Some visitors stand at the bottom left.
The large figure in the tower gallery. Photo: Zayera Khan
A white statue of a standing woman in a narrow brick window niche with an arched top, lit warm from the left.
The white statue in the brick niche. Photo: Zayera Khan
A gilded crowned statue seen from behind, in an arched brick window with blue sky and the roofs of the city beyond.
The gilded statue in the window. Photo: Zayera Khan
A painted wooden statue of a standing woman in a green dress with a red cloak, on a round base in front of a red brick wall.
The statue in the green dress. Photo: Zayera Khan
A tall statue of a woman with a raised hand and a green cloak, with round reliefs on both sides, in front of a brick wall. A visitor looks at a phone at the base.
A statue with round reliefs beside it. Photo: Zayera Khan
Round platform with a low wooden wall and tall painted statues on it, under a domed brick roof with a wide window on the left.
The round platform with tall statues. Photo: Zayera Khan
Three tall panels with green and gold patterns and faces, hung on a red brick wall, with a small white statue and a bust below.
The three patterned panels. Photo: Zayera Khan
Wide view of a round platform in the tower with a row of white plaster busts with small signs, in front of a brick wall and a vault.
The busts on the round platform. Photo: Zayera Khan
View down a square shaft of wooden stairs with a pale round plate at the bottom, between dark timber beams.
The wooden stair shaft from above. Photo: Zayera Khan
Steep wooden stairs with worn steps, between dark wooden walls, that go up and away from the camera.
The steep wooden stairs. Photo: Zayera Khan
Heavy dark timber beams with iron bolts in a cross over a round metal platform and a wooden stair, in a large room with a concrete floor.
The timber beams in the upper tower. Photo: Zayera Khan
View through a square metal mesh from a high window: a long green copper roof, a lawn with paths, the water and a green tower top on the far side.
The view through the mesh. Photo: Zayera Khan
High view down at a brick courtyard with a paved square, red tile roofs, a green copper tower top and the water on the left.
The courtyard from the top of the tower. Photo: Zayera Khan
View to the east from the tower: a gold star on a tall pole, a bridge, roads and large buildings, with a heavy grey cloud above.
The star and the view to the east. Photo: Zayera Khan
View from the tower over the water with a bright sun reflection, a green lawn and a green copper roof at the bottom right, and large clouds above.
The sun on the water. Photo: Zayera Khan
Wide view from the tower over a long brick building with a green roof, the lake and the bright water, with the city and bridges on the right.
The wide view from the tower. Photo: Zayera Khan
Wide view over dark water with the sun low behind clouds and a bright reflection, the gold star at top right and a quay with boats on the right.
The sun over the water, with the star. Photo: Zayera Khan
Wide view from the tower over dark water with a white boat and its wake at the bottom, the far shore on the horizon and a sky full of clouds.
A boat and its wake, seen from above. Photo: Zayera Khan

All photographs on this page were taken by Zayera Khan during a visit to Stadshustornet, and are her own property. Please do not reuse them without permission.