Stockholm – the design capital of the world? For me, yes. Stockholm is also my favorite Scandinavian capital. The city already benefits from an exceptionally beautiful location, and everything human-made also matches the beauty of the surrounding nature.
Nobis Hotel, located right in the center of Stockholm, is no exception. The experience at Nobis Hotel can be described as “Stockholm in a nutshell” – stylish decoration, good food, friendly people, and lively atmosphere. On top of all of this, Nobis Hotel is a hotel with a striking history.
Nobis Hotel, a stylish stay in a historical bulding
As usual, I found out about Nobis Hotel on my favorite hotel website Tablet Hotels. Even though the Nobis Hotel does not occupy a gigantic building, it is still big enough to host a separate bar, bistrot, common areas, and a restaurant.
The rooms and common areas each have own unique design. The rooms are immaculately clean and many feature large windows overlooking one of the prettiest squares in Stockholm – Norrmalmstorg Square.
The only thing that I wish was different at Nobis Hotel was the location of the breakfast area, which is on the basement floor in a windowless room. That is why I spent the better part of my stay in this hotel at the upstairs bistrot, which had good food, a lively atmosphere, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the street. The separate bar is also on the first floor and gets full as early as 4 pm during winter short days in Stockholm when it gets dark at around 3.30 pm.
The origin story of Stockholm Syndrome
Now are you ready for the surprise? Are you familiar with the physiological phenomenon of “Stockholm Syndrome” – a state where hostages develop some sort of emotional connection with their capturers? Well – as the internet tells us, a bank robbery that occurred in Stockholm in 1973 gave rise to this phenomenon, and guess where the bank was located? Right in the building, which is now occupied by the Nobis Hotel and the adjacent Acne store.
Four bank employees were held hostage by a prison escapee during the robbery for six days. During that short time frame, the hostages grew an intense connection with their capturer, thus the term “Stockholm Syndrome”. The connection was so strong that the police suspected that some of the hostages could also be a part of the robbery plot, but that was not the case.
To release the hostages, the capturer Jan-Erik Olsson, a prison escapee, demanded the release of another convict Clark Olofsson in addition to nearly USD 700,000. The robbery quickly became a media event with daily features on TV. The capturers did not harm the hostages and the siege ended after six days when the police entered the premises with a tear gas. It is reported that some of the hostages visited the capturers in the prison after the whole ordeal.
With the stylish design, friendly staff, and an interesting historical background, Nobis Hotel is a wonderful choice for any visit to Stockhold.
