Stockholm (help·info) (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈstɔkhɔlm]) is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag (parliament), and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of Stockholm as his workplace and official residence.

The prime minister lives in the Sager Palace. As of 2008, the Stockholm metropolitan area is home to approximately 21% of Sweden's population and contributes to 35% of Sweden's gross domestic product. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden with a population of 818,603 in the city, 1.25 million in the urban area (2005) and around 2 million in the metropolitan area.

Stockholm has been the cultural, media, political, and economic centre of Sweden since the 13th century. Its strategic location on 14 islands on the south-central east coast of Sweden at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, by the Stockholm archipelago, has been historically important. Stockholm has been nominated by GaWC as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-.

In the The 2008 Global Cities Index, Stockholm ranked 24th in the world, 10th in Europe, and first in Scandinavia. Stockholm is known for its beauty, its buildings and architecture, its abundant open water and many parks. Stockholm is one of the most visited cities in the Nordic countries, with around one million visitors in 2006.

The location has been uncertainly identified with Agnafit, a place appearing in Norse sagas in connection with the legendary king Agne. The earliest mention of Stockholm in writing dates from 1252, by which time the mines in Bergslagen made it an important site in the iron trade. The first part of the name (stock) means log in Swedish, although it may also be connected to an old German word (Stock), meaning fortification, while the second part of the name (holm) means islet, and is thought to refer to the islet Helgeandsholmen in central Stockholm.

The city is said to have been founded by Birger Jarl in order to protect Sweden from a sea invasion by foreign navies, and to stop the pillage of towns such as Sigtuna on Lake Mälaren. Stockholm's core, the present Old Town (Gamla Stan) was built on the central island next to Helgeandsholmen from the mid-13th century onward. The city originally rose to prominence as a result of the Baltic trade of the Hanseatic League.

Stockholm developed strong economic and cultural linkages with Lübeck, Hamburg, Gdańsk, Visby, Reval and Riga during this time. Between 1296 and 1478 Stockholm's City Council was made up of 24 members, half of whom were selected from the town's German-speaking burghers.

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