Vanadislunden Water Reservoir

Stockholm’s center is full of beautiful old buildings and is home to several residences of the king. When walking past this structure in particular, one could easily assume that this is one of the homes or an old defensive fort. In actuality, it’s a large water reserve that keeps pressure on the pipes of people who live in the area.

The Vanadislunden water reservoir was built between 1913 and 1918 after the designs of Gustar Améen. The building was constructed atop an old reservoir in the 1870s and made to resemble a castle with four towers and a  glazed tile roof.

Inside these walls is a 19 foot (six-meters) deep pool that holds around 8,100 cubic meters of water that stands on top of several large concrete pillars that raise it above the height of the old reservoir. The water reaches 177 feet (54 meters) above sea level, a height that is still sufficient to keep the pipes operable.

On April 4, 1954, a leak turned into a full-blown breach when the water managed to get through an iron security door and around eight million liters of water washed across the area and down the hill, taking cars and other objects in tow. Fortunately, nobody died during the flood, but it became quite a sensational event in the Swedish news due to the fact that an orphanage had to be evacuated by ladder. 

The reservoir is still used today.