Stockholm isn't only the capital and largest city of Sweden, but also the most populous city in the Nordic region, with almost one milion inhabitants. Spread across 14 islands on the coast in the southeast of Sweden, at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, it was founded as a city by Birger Jarl in 1252, to protect Sweden from a sea invasion. 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. The second part of the name (holm) means islet, and is thought to refer to the islet Helgeandsholmen in central Stockholm. The core of the present Old Town (Gamla Stan) was built on the central island next to Helgeandsholmen from the mid-13th century onward.
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