The hidden stories behind the bronze sculptures of Kungsholmen

Two sculptures, Vesslan and the Fountain of a Woman, and a fountain on Kungsholmstorg in Kungsholmen, Stockholm, carry a quiet story. They were created by Otto Strandman in 1911, one as a gift from Magna Sunnerdahl, and they were moved to the square in 1912. Magna Sunnerdahl was an active figure in Swedish culture and the arts, and she donated Vesslan to Stockholm. Vesslan, a sculpture to the east, depicts a nude young man discovering a vessel, hence its name.

It hides in a grottto in the sculpture's lower part, and the young man rises above it. The entire composition stands on a sockel of red granite, flanked by two drinking fountains on its south side and a fontain damm to the south side of Vesslan. The Fountain of a Woman, to the west, was created and donated as one piece with the drinking fountains that flank it. A plaque on the back of Vesslan's base says 'Gåfva af M.S. - 1911', reminding us of its donation from M.S. in 1911.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons