A unique 20 öre stamp

The 20 öre green blue/orange Posthorn from 1965 is a beautiful stamp. It is also pretty unique in some ways. First of all it was the first Swedish two-coloured steel engraved stamp. It was the new three-tone steel-engraving rotary press from Goebel AG in Germany delivered at the end of 1964 that made this possible. It also was unique in the way that it has the year of issue printed between the initials of the artist and the engraver. That was a mistake actually. Beginning  in 1963 the year-of-issue was printed on non-definitive stamps, i.e. commemorative stamps. The Posthorn is the only definitive stamp that has the year printed. The stamp to the left on the parcel address card below is the 20 öre Posthorn.

Domestic Parcel 6 kg; fee: 7 kr.
1965, 17 May. 20 öre green blue/orange Posthorn. Qty: 28,200,000.
1967, 16 October. 30 öre red-orange/blue Outer Archipelago of Stockholm. Qty: 184,000,000.
1967, 12 January. 2.80 kr orange-red Three Crowns. Qty: 15,000,000.
1967, 15 February. 3.70 kr violet The Lion Fortress. Qty: 16,000,000.

This parcel address card makes me a little bit excited. It displays very well the changes in Swedish stamp design that occurred in the mid sixties. I think that maybe the 20 öre Posthorn was meant to be the first in a series of definitive stamps, just like the New Numeral Type it was intended to replace. Considering the design it would have been well suited for that, adding new denominations over time. That did not happen. The thing that happened was that Swedish Post got a new Director-General in 1965, the distinguished civil servant Mr. Nils Hörjel. The task given by the Swedish Government was to rapidly modernize the Swedish Post and make it more effective and profitable. He did and he also on the fly modernized the conservative Swedish stamp issuing policy.

Instead the Posthorn became the first of a long line of single series definitive stamps. Before Mr. Hörjel the definitive series had traditional motifs like the king, the denomination value itself or Swedish symbols. The definitive series at the time consisted of Gustaf VI Adolf type III, Three Crowns, Rock Carvings and New Numeral Type. They used to be stretched over decades and consisted of many stamps (of the same motif) and of course of many different denominations. No more from now on. Mr. Hörjel increased the number of stamps issued, both commemorative and definitive ones, and he granted single stamps series of definitive stamps. One effect was that the definitive stamp series got a much shorter lifespan and at the end there were more stamps to collect.


The next stamp is the 30 öre Outer Archipelago of Stockholm and belongs to the series called Definitive Stamps, a series of  stamps with different motifs and different denomination. There were four motifs in that series from 1967. If the old policy would have still been in place that stamp would maybe rather have been a 30 öre Posthorn.


The third stamp from the left is the 2.80 kr Three Crowns and represent the old policy. The Three Crowns was the longest running stamp series with 34 stamps in almost 30 years. The 2.80 kr was the next to the last issue of the Three Crowns.


Finally to the right the 3.70 kr Lion Fortress. One of these new stamps representing the big change in stamp issuing policy. A single definitive stamp with a unique motif. It was aimed for for covering the rate for domestic parcels, 1 - 3 kg, it did that well until January 1969 when it was discontinued. If the old policy would have still been in place that stamp would instead maybe have been a 3.70 kr Three Crowns. Who knows?

Furry bulky box

Another domestic parcel address card. This time the parcel was filled with furs and it was bulky too. The furs were delivered from Tranås Furs Inc. (Tranås Pälsvarukompani AB) in Tranås to the shop Hats & Furs (Hatt & Pälsvaru AB) in Stockholm owned by Mr. Tore Gustafsson. Actually it looks like Mr. Gustafsson himself has signed the card, look in the lower left corner. The 4 kg parcel was delivered pretty fast, it took only one business day between Tranås and Stockholm in mid-November 1968.

Tranås used to be the fur hub of Sweden and fur was a big business there. The consumers' view on furs have drastically changed since 1968 and now there are hardly any fur shops at all in the country.

Domestic parcel 4 kg and bulky; fee 4.50 + 50% = 6.75 kr
1967, 16 June, 45 öre ultramarine Gustaf VI Adolf, type III. Qty: 364,000,000, 2-sided perforation.
1958, 17 September. 5 kr blue The royal Palace, Stockholm II. Qty: 16,500,000, 2-sided perforation.
1962, 2 July. 30 öre violet Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 123,000,000, 2-sided perforation.
1968, 21 February. 1 kr green-black Dancing Cranes. Qty: 140,000,000.

At the time the 45 öre ultramarine was the stamp used for the most common postal rate, the one for domestic letter  - 20 g. The 30 öre violet from 1962 seems correct as well, there was a 30 öre red available to at the time but only in booklets (released in 1966). The first version of the 5 kr blue The Royal Castle was released as early as in 1941. It was not until 1958 it was released in coils, it is the coil version we can admire on the card above. The 5 kr blue was phased out in the beginning of the seventies when it was replaced by the 5 kr blue-green National Seal 1439.

The 1 kr Dancing Cranes is of a more modern design and belongs to the series of new definitive stamps that were issued from 1967 and on. One might say that the 1 kr Dancing Cranes during the end of the sixties replaced the 1 kr orange Three Crowns from 1939.

Where are the places:
Tranås is situated 230 km SW of Stockholm, the distance by road is 270 km.

Shoes

Pretty much ordinary

Here is another domestic parcel address card, but is it not something peculiar, something special with this card? - no, it is a pretty much ordinary parcel address card from the beginning of the seventies. By this time the long running Three Crown series was replaced with newer stamps, often single stamp series. The black 4 kr "Blood Money" Coin 1568 was such a stamp. The complementary denomination stamp series New Numeral was also replaced by individual stamps, as the 25 öre black/yellow-brown The Grödinge Tapestry. The only reminder of past times was the still running Gustaf VI Adolf series, the 55 öre red on the card. The 55 öre red was usually used to cover the rate for domestic letter  - 20 g.

A shoe shop called Shoe Center (Sko-Centrum) seems to return 2 kg of shoes back to the distributor Hefa Inc (Hefa AB). It was on Thursday 12 August 1971 that a representative of the shoe shop entered the doors to the Post Office in Hagfors with the parcel under the arm. The parcel reached its destination Ytterby on the Saturday and it was picked up by Hefa on the following Monday.

Domestic parcel  - 3 kg, fee: 4.80 kr
1971, 22 January. 4 kr black "Blood Money" Coins, 1568. Qty: 33,300,000
1971, 23 April. 25 öre black/yellow-brown The Grödinge tapestry. Qty: 10,300,000
1969, 28 February. 55 öre red Gustaf VI Adolf type III. 269,000,000

The 4 kr black the "Blood Money" Coins stamp is regarded as a single issue. Instead of series with several stamps the Sweish Post started in the beginning of the seventies to issue them one at the time but sometimes with a theme. The 4 kr stamp was one of the higher denomination definitive stamps with a medieval theme, the other ones were the 5 kr blue-green National Seal 1439, the 2.55 kr light blue Seal of King Magnus Ladulås 1285 and the 3 kr green-blue Seal of Duke Erik Magnusson 1306 from 1970, followed by the 4 kr stamp and in 1972 the 6 kr blue-grey Old Swedish Coin. All stamps did good services on parcel cards.

The 25 öre Grödinge tapestry was also of a medieval theme and there were two stamps issued a griffen with a brown-yellow background and the lion with a black background (the stamp above). The  two of them form two versions of se-tenant pairs.

Here is where the Post Office Hagfors 1 used to be.
[Note the Swedish Post vehicle at the left and the present Post logos on the building,  and the yellow mail box.]
(photo: Google maps)

Where are the places:
Hagfords is situated 257 km NW of Stockholm, the distance by road is 377 km.
Ytterby is situated 392 km SW of Stockholm, the distance by road is 492 km.
The distance between Hagfors and Ytterby is 327 km by road.

Read more about the Grödinge tapestry here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C3%B6dinge_tapestry

Two seven kg

Parcel address card variations

This post is about two 7 kilo domestic parcels. The first one was sent on Thursday 11 April 1968. It was solely a local matter. The parcel was handed over to the Post Office Stockholm 16 at 3 Ore Square Street (Malmtorgsgatan 3) in the city centre of Stockholm the part that is called Norrmalm and it arrived two days later at the Post Office Stockholm 19 on 54 Döbeln's Street (Döbelnsgatan 54) in the north part of town. Where a representative from the firm Piping Inc (Rörlednings AB) paid 60 kr (since it was a C.O.D.) and picked it up on the following Wednesday. The parcel contained printed matter in the form of drawing pads, 7 kg of paper. Pretty heavy.

Domestic address parcel  - 7 kg, Collect On Delivery; fees: 7,00 kr + 0,70 kr, total 7.70 kr
1964, 25 June. 40 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 94,200,000 (3-sided perforation).
1967, 12 January. 1.80 kr dark blue Three Crowns. Qty: 7,600,000
1967, 15 February.3,70 kr  violet The Lion Fortress. Qty: 16,000,000

It seems odd that the 40 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf  is the 3-sided perforated version not the 2-sided one, but at this time the 40 öre was a left over. It used to be the rate for domestic letter  - 20 g until July 1967, but now it is 1968. The 40 öre stamp was taken from the 165th booklet issued by Swedish Post. The 1,80 kr dark blue Three Crowns was not originally aimed for parcels. Its single use was for domestic letter  - 500 g until March 1969. But the 3,70 kr violet The Lion Fortress on the other hand was made for parcels 1 - 3 kg, that lasted until January 1969.

From here to there . . .                                                                                                                    
Top: the Post Office Stockholm 16 used to be here.                                                                    
Bottom: the plumber firm Piping Inc. used to be here and most likely the basement door to
the left was the entrance. Note that the name of the street is misspelled on the address card,
should be Rehnsgatan.

The next parcel was an ordinary domestic parcel sent from the town Söderköping about 180 km south of Stockholm to the Post Office Stockholm 1. The sender was the company Fix Tricot Factories Inc. (Fix trikåfabriker AB), still in business. The parcel was picked up by Holgersson's Men's Clothing - that store is long gone, but it was situated across the Stockholm Central Station, just two blocks away from Stockholm 1. What about the content? Tricot of course, 7 kg of nice gentlemen's tricot one can assume.

Domestic Parcel  - 7 kg, fee: 7,00 kr
1967, 16 June. 45 öre ultramarine Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 364,000,000
1967, 12 January. 2,80 kr red Three Crowns. Qty: 15,000,000.
1961, 7 June. 5 öre red New Numeral Type type II. Qty: 205,000,000
1967, 15 February. The Lion Fortress. Qty: 16,000,000

The 45 öre ultramarine Gustaf VI Adolf single use was domestic letter  - 20 g and probably the most common stamp of the time. The 2,80 kr red Three Crowns was as The Lion Fortress intended for domestic parcels, but for the lighter ones weighing up to 1 kg. The 2,80 kr red was issued at the same day as the 1,80 kr dark blue on the first address card above. That day (12/01/1967) also a lighter blue 1,85 kr was issued in the Three Crowns series. You can read about the Three Crowns series - here. The 5 öre red New Numeral Type stamp on the card had been around since 1961 and was of course a complementary denomination. It is a type II since its colour is bright red, not red carmine as type I.

Here is where the parcel was picked up on Friday 15 November 1968.This corner at the back of the block that was the head quarters of Swedish Post and the Post Office Stockholm 1 was where the entrance for the special office for parcels was located. Today the building is used by the Swedish Government.

To sum up, two of the stamps on the cards above were aimed for domestic parcels, the 2,80 kr red Three Crowns [ - 1 kg] and  the 3,70 kr  violet The Lion Fortress [1 - 3 kg]. The Three Crowns representing the old kind of stamp issuing policy, long series with the same motif but different denominations. Where The Lion Fortress was one of the new more contemporary designed stamps that came in the late sixties, with different motifs and just one stamp.


Postal rates domestic parcels for 1968:

- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg	5 - 7 kg	7 - 10 kg
[2.80 kr]	[3.70 kr]	4.50 kr	[7.00 kr]	10.50 kr

First violet, then blue and finally grey

35 öre stamps of Gustaf VI Adolf type III series

The  Gustaf VI Adolf definitive series was given a face-lift in 1961. It was the second time since the series was introduced in 1951. This time not only the background was re-engraved, the portrait was redesigned and it became slightly different from type I from 1951 and II from 1957. The background was engraved tighter than type II as well, which made the stamps much more colourful, but with the same pattern. Another difference was that the numeral and the word “Sverige” (Sweden) now became white coloured.

Another novelty was that for the first time the denomination 35 öre was introduced in the series. Last time a stamp with the king's portrait had that denomination was the Gustaf V right profile type II. The new 35 öre got the same colour as the old one, violet.

October 1961 to June 1962

Domestic collect on delivery parcel,  - 3 kg, fee: 2 kr + C.O.D. fee: 45 öre; sum: 2.45 kr
1961, 23 October. 35 öre violet Gustaf V Adolf type III. Qty: 26,100,000.
1952, 10 December. 2.10 kr blue Three Crowns. Qty: 15,600,000.

From its release in October 1961 the 35 öre violet was just a complimentary denomination. That lasted until 1 July 1962 when 35 öre become the new postal rate for domestic letter  - 20 g.

July 1962 to July 1964

Domestic parcel  4 kg fee: 4.50 kr + bulky fee 50 % 2.25 kr; sum: 6.75 kr  
1962, 2 July. 35 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 366,000,000 (2-sided perforation)
1958, 17 September. 5 kr blue Royal Palace, Stockholm II. Qty: 16,500,000 (2-sided perforation)
1948, 1 April. 1 kr 40 öre dark green Three Crowns. Qty: 72,900,000
This address  card was originally presented in this post - here.

But suddenly there was a new 35 öre issued, a blue one. The reason for that was that Swedish Post also needed to issue new slot machine booklets with the 35 öre denomination and until 1966 the Swedish Post stamp printers could only print one colour at the time. Blue had since 1954 been the colour of the stamp for domestic letter  - 20 g. In the booklets it was accompanied by the 10 öre blue New Numeral Type type II. That was most likely the reason the new 35 öre had to be blue. Such a booklet is shown here. However, Swedish Post also issued a slot machine booklet with 25 öre brown Gustaf VI Adolf and 10 öre New Numeral Type type II, but then both stamps became brown because the 25 öre was brown.

35 öre for domestic letters lasted until July 1964. The blue 35 öre was then replaced by the blue 40 öre, but from July 1967 until  December 1968 35 öre was the postal rate for domestic and Nordic postcards.

The parcel address card above was cancelled as late as December 1968 but the blue 35 öre was still used by the Post Office in Karlshamn.

From July 1964

Domestic parcel,   - 7 kg fee: 7 kr + bulky fee (50%): 3.50 kr; sum: 10.50 kr
1964, 25 June. 35 öre grey Gustaf VI Adolf, type III. Qty: 51,700,000. (2-sided perforation)
1962, 15 October. 15 öre green New Numeral Type type II. Qty: 22,300,000
1958, 17 September. 5 kr blue The Royal Palace, Stockholm II. Qty: 16,500,00 (2-sided perforation)

The blue 35 öre was substituted by the grey 35 öre in the last days of June 1964, but they seem to have co-existed . . .


Some postal rates for domestic and Nordic postcards and domestic letters:

	Postcard	- 20 g
. . . 1961	20	30
July 1962	25	35
July 1964	30	40
July 1967	35	45

Missing addresses

Something went wrong here, the red boarded white label to the left signals error . . .

The company Sunne Textiles Inc. (Sunne Textil AB) had to deliver a box of clothes to Mr. Lindell living in the village Ytterby outside of Kungälv. The weight of the parcel was 3 kg so there must have been quite a lot of clothes. The problem was that the Sunne Textiles did not fill in the address at all. They just wrote "Mr. Lindell Ytterby" and added the postal code "440 32" as well. Maybe they thought that Ytterby was a small place and that Mr. Lindell was well known. The parcel took of for Ytterby on Thursday August 5 1971 and arrived on the Saturday.

. . .  the error is that the address is missing (option: utelämnad) and the label urges the receiver of the parcel to get in touch with the sender and sort that out. As you can see Sunne Textiles did not even add there own full address.

It looks like Mr. Lindell was well-known after all since a man called Lennart Lindell paid, signed the card and picked up the parcel on the Monday. But the story do not to end there. The next Friday the card and presumably the parcel were back again at the Post Office in Ytterby, according to the last cancellation stamp. It looks like the word canceled (makulerad) is written over the cancellation stamp. Lennart's signature was also crossed out. I guess it became a return.

Domestic parcel,  - 3 kg fee: 4.80 kr
1971, 22 January. 80 öre blue/brown the Waxholm Boat. Qty: 58,100,000.
1971, 22 January. 4 kr black "Blood Money" Coins, 1568. Qty: 33,300,00

In the fall of 1971 the older Three Crowns series had start to fade away. It used to be the backbone of parcel stamps, but not anymore. The Waxholm Boat and the "Blood Money" Coins was issued oat the same time in February 1971 and both did good service on parcel cards.

The 4 kr black the "Blood Money" Coins was the one of the higher denomination definitive stamps with a medieval theme that were issued at the beginning of the seventies, the other ones were 5 kr blue-green National Seal 1439, 2.55 kr light blue Seal of King Magnus Ladulås 1285 and 3 kr green-blue Seal of Duke Erik Magnusson 1306 from 1970, followed by the 4 kr stamp above and in 1972 the 6 kr blue-grey Old Swedish Coin.

The 80 öre Waxholm Boat would during 1971 get company by more definitive stamps in the lower denomination range. Each and every one a stamp of its own, no more long definitive series of the same motif as before.


Domestic Parcel rates effective by January 1971 until October 1971: (an unusually short period of time)

- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg	5 - 7 kg	7 - 10 kg
3.80 kr	[4.80 kr]	5.80 kr	9.00 kr	13.00 kr

Where are the places:
Sunne is situated 283km NW of Stockholm, the distance by road is 377 km.
Ytterby is situated 392 km SW of Stockholm, the distance by road is 492 km.
The distance between Sunne and Ytterby is 231 km by road.

Valuable books

Businesses have to get their books reviewed at least annually. In the fall of 1968 the Stockholm based cooperative the Milk Central  (Mjölkcentralen) had their books reviewed by a chartered account in Gothenburg (Göteborg). The Milk Central was a cooperative owned by Swedish farmers, its successor Arla still exists and the Arla brand can now be found in quite many countries outside Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

The chartered account Mr. Ruhne was employed at a subsidiary to the Federation of Swedish Farmers (Lantmännens Riksförbund - LRF) and was responsible for the review. It seems like he was done with his work on Monday 21 October because then he sent back the books to Stockholm. Better safe than sorry he insured the package for a whooping 25,000 kr, close to $5,000 USD in those days.

Domestic parcel   - 3 kg, fee: 3.70 kr; insured for 25,000 kr, fee: 3.90 kr
1961, 7 June. 10 öre ultramarine-blue New Numeral Type, type II. Qty: unknown.
1961, 28 August. 2.50 kr light green Three Crowns. Qty: 19,600,000.
1958, 17 September. 5 kr the Royal Palace, Stockholm II. Qty: 16,500,000.

The red label marked with a capital V for value marks that the item is insured. In 1968 the fee for insurance was 1.40 kr + 0.10 kr per 1.000 kr insured. It took only one day to get the parcel to Stockholm and two days later the parcel was picked up by the General Manager Mr. Pehrsson.

The stamp at the left is the 10 öre in the low denomination series New Numeral Type, the two others are typical parcel stamps: the 2.50 from the Three Crowns series and the 5 kr Royal Palace. Originally the 2.50 kr was used to cover the fee for parcels weighing between 3 and 5 kg from 1961 to until July 1964 when it instead covered the weight class 1 - 3 kg until July 1965.

Adding up to 1.40

Traversing rates

For more then nine years the postal rate for a Swedish domestic parcel weighing less than 1 kg was 1 kr and 40 öre. There was a definitive stamp designated for that rate, of course a stamp from the Three Crown series, the 1.40 kr dark green. The stamp was first issued in April 1948, but back then it covered the rate for parcels weighing 3 to 5 kg and from June 1951 on  parcels 1 - 3 kg. Its carrier as single stamp on parcel address cards ended the last day of June 1961. It had many other single uses from 1948 and well into the late sixties. The excellent website of the Swedish Postal History Society  have researched all kind of single uses of the Three Crowns series and at the moment they have registered 492 single uses for the stamps in the series. The 1.40 kr stamp has 32 single uses identified. Here are some clips from 1959:

Domestic parcel card,  - 1 kg, fee:1.40 kr
1948, 1 April. 1.40 kr dark green Three Crown series. Qty: 72,900,000.

As described above the parcels rates kind of traversed through the weight classes. It was the same with 1.10 kr, 1.70 kr and the 2 kr rates.

Domestic parcel rates: (öre)

	- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg
04-1948	80	110	[140]
06-1951	110	[140]	170
06-1952	[140]	170	200
07-1961	170	200	250

But there was not every Post Office that used a single 1.40 kr stamp, some of them applied more stamps to ad up. Have a look at these clips below, also from 1959:

Domestic parcel card,   - 1 kg, fee: 1.40 kr
1954, 8 November. 60 öre red Rock Carvings type I. Qty: 53,800,000.
1957, 15 October. 20 öre grey Gustaf VI Adolf type II. Qty: 193,000,000. (two-sided perforations)
1957, 15 November. 40 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type II. Qty: 38,400,000.
1954, 8 November. 50 öre grey Rock carvings type I. Qty: 115,000,000.
1954, 8 November. 20 öre grey Gustaf VI Adolf type II. Qty: 16,800,000 (three-sided perforation, pairs)

In 1957 the Swedish post decided to print the initials of the designer (del. = latin  delineavit) and the engraver (sc. = latin sculpsit) at the bottom of new stamps. The Gustaf VI Adolf stamps has that new kind of information. Check it out. "D T del." stands for David  Tägström and "S E sc." stands for Sven Ewert. The Rock carvings stamps from 1954 do of course not have that information, but the next editions of Rock carving stamps from June 1957 have the del. and sc. printed at the bottom, forming the type II version. Oddly enough the del. and sc. policy was never applied to the Three Crown series.

Stamps in the back

The last post showed a domestic address parcel card where both sides of the card had to be used for stamps. This post's parcel card uses the back side of the card for the required stamps. There is more space there . . .

The amount 4 kr 80 öre is written where the stamps should be and the note in blue ink to the left says "stamps - turn", in other words: for stamps please look at the back of the card. 4.80 was in February 1971 the rate for domestic parcels weighing more than 1 kg, but less than 3 kg. The weight of this parcel was 2 kg.

Domestic Parcel Card, - 3 k g fee: 4 kr 80 öre.
1968, 21 February. 1 kr green-black Dancing Tranes. Qty: 140,000,000
1968, 21 February. 50 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 65,200,000
1969, 17 November. 30 öre multi-coloured 300th Anniversary of the Swedish Lighthouse Service*. Qty: 14,200,000
                                                                            *a commorative stamp

The parcel was handed over to the Post office in Österjörn on Wednesday 17 February 1971 by Mrs. Stenlund. It contained 2 kg of pillows, must have been pretty small pillows and heavy ones too. The Post Office clerk brought out four  1 kr Dancing Tranes, one 50 öre Gustaf VI Adolf type III and in addition, a commemorative stamp, the 30 öre 300th Anniversary of the Swedish Lighthouse Service. That last stamp should have been sold out by then, normally commemorative stamps were for sale six to eight months or so, not for well over a year like in Österjörn.

The pillows went from Österjörn to Gilleby, and arrived the following Tuesday. That is a pretty long time, six days. The receiver Mrs. Olsson picked it up the same day. Both Österjörn and Gilleby are rural places indeed. The village Österjörn is situated in the inland of the province of Västerbotten in the north and Gilleby village is on the island of Orust at the Atlantic coast of Sweden. The Gilleby Post Office was closed 31 March 1973 and the Post Office of Österjörn lasted three more years.


Some domestic parcel rates effective 1 January to 30 September 1971: (öre)

- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg	5 - 7kg	7 - 9 kg
380	[480]	580	900	1300

Where are the places:
Österjörn is situated 644 km N of Stockholm, the distance by road is 826  km.
Gilleby is situated 398 km SW of Stockholm.
The distance between Österjörn and Gilleby is 1,175 km by road.

A very local parcel

In August 1971 the postal rate for a Swedish domestic parcel weighing up to 1 kg was 3 kr 80 öre. At this time there was no specific definitive stamp with that denomination as it use to be in the sixties. The postal rates were raised much more frequently from the end of that decade and a specific stamp for parcels up to 1 kg would have been short lived. The 3 kr 80 öre rate was effective just a mere nine months.

But there was the 3 kr green-blue Seal of Duke Erik Magnusson 1306 from April 1970 and combined with the 80 öre blue/brown The Waxholm boat from January 1971 they would sum up to 3 kr 80 öre. Pretty convenient, but not at the Post Office Kungälv 1. They used one 30 öre red-orange/blue Outer archipelago of Stockholm at the front and five 70 öre red-lilac Gustaf VI Adolf type III at the back. The first one is a complimentary denomination but the 70 öre was aimed for international letters first weigh class (- 20 g). That worked too.

Domestic parcel card  - 1 kg; fee: 3 kr 80 öre.
1967, 16 October, 30 öre red-orange/blue Outer archipelago of Stockholm. Qty: 184,000,000
1967, 16 June, 70 öre red-lilac Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 26,700,000

The parcel contained blue prints and it was meant for Mrs. Karlsson living in Ytterby. Ytterby is situated about 4 km outside of Kungälv. The address of the Post Office Kungälv 1 was actually Ytterby Road (Ytterbyvägen) the road that went to Ytterby. Most likely the old road to Ytterby.

Yesterday . . .

The entrance to the Post Office Kungälv 1 where the parcel was sent from. (Photo: Swedish Post Museum - Postmuséet).

... today according to Google Street

Here is what is left of the Post Office Kungälv 1.

Plain and simple in '70 or is it '71?

Here is a plain address card. It was for a domestic parcel  - 1 kg, the most common weight for parcels. It was sent from a cloth making company in Gothenburg to nearby Kungälv on Friday 6 November 1970 and it was picked up by the customer Mrs. Gerd Åkerberg the following Monday. The parcels contained clothes of course. The postal rate for the parcel was in November 1970 3 kr 50 öre, and had been so since 1 January 1969.

Domestic parcel card  - 1 kg, fee: 3.50 kr
1968, 21 February. 50 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 65,200,000.
1970, 6 April. 3 kr green-blue Seal of Duke Erik Magnusson 1306. Qty: 95,500,000.

But have a closer look at the stamps, the cancellation stamp has the date "6.11.71", but it was sent 6 November 1970 not 1971! A year ahead I would say. The postal clerk at the Post Office Göteborg 2 made an embarrassing error and used the wrong year. Even a simple postal item might be interesting when you have a closer look.

Wrong year! The parcel was sent in the year of 1970.

Well, I did not notice that at first. The thing I noticed was that the fee was not correct for November 1971, by then the postal fee for the parcel would have been 4.60 kr since 1 October 1971. Not a mere 3.50 kr.

The 50 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type III was the second 50 öre stamp in the series. The first one, the olive green came in July 1962 and then it covered international letter  - 20 g. When the rate was raised to 60 öre in July 1964 it was phased out. The 50 öre green on the picture was in addition printed on fluorescent paper so it could be sorted automatically by special sorting machines.

The 3 kr green-blue Seal of Duke Erik Magnusson 1306 from April 1970 was also printed on fluorescent paper until 1976. This was a typical definitive stamp in the beginning of the 70s. It is related to the 5 kr blue-green National Seal 1439 and the (less common) 2.55 kr light blue Seal of King Magnus Ladulås 1285 that were emitted the same spring. Even though the motifs were seals they are not regarded as a series, just single definitive stamps.

Material for clocks and watches

Yet another parcel address card. This parcel contained metal, what kind of metal one might wonder? One clue is that the parcel was addressed to the horologist Mr. S. Ljungberg living in Dannemora a small mining community 45 km north east of Uppsala. Three kilos of metal - must have been a lot of of clocks and watches made out of that. The parcel was sent on Wednesday 4 July 1962. It reached the Post Office Dannemora the next day and the parcel card got into the hands of Mr. Ljungberg the same day since he signed it then, but it took him an additional eight days before he picked up the parcel. He was not in a hurry.

Domestic parcel 1 - 3 kg fee: 2.00 kr + Cash on Delivery fee: 45 öre
1952, 1 July. 2 kr red-violet Three Crowns. Qty: 84,800,000
1957, 1 June. 10 öre blue New Numeral Type, type II. Qty: 239,000,000
1957, 15 October. 25 öre brown Gustaf VI Adolf, type II, Qty: 77,800,000

The postal rate for domestic parcels had been changed four days earlier but only two of the highest weight classes were affected. The C.O.D fee was however raised, from 40 öre to 45 öre.

A some what puzzling thing is that the older 25 öre brown Gustaf VI Adolf from 1957 was used instead of the newer 25 öre  Gustaf VI Adolf type III from October 1961. Maybe Uppsala 1 still had some stock of the older one?

The new domestic parcel rates effective 1 July 1962:   (öre)

- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg	5 - 7 kg	-10 kg	-15 kg	-20 kg
170	[200]	250	450	600	900*	1200*

*only these weight classes were affected by the raise

Address known

Another parcel card, this time it is a cash on delivery. A whooping 6 kilos of books. It was sent on Tuesday September 16 from the Post Office Stockholm 3 at 31 Svea Road (Sveavägen 31) to Mrs. Magnhild Grahn living somewhere in Karlstad. The sum of the denominations are 3 kr 90 öre. The postal rate for parcel weighing 5 - 7 kg was 3.50 kr in 1958 and the C.O.D. fee was 40 öre when the amount was paid directly to the an account at the Swedish Post called the Postgiro. The Postgiro was the Swedish Post's own money transaction system,

Domestic parcel 5 - 7 kg fee: 3.50 kr + Cash on Delivery fee 40 öre
1954, 10 December, 2 kr 10 öre blue Three Crowns. Qty: 15,600,000
1951, 1 June.  kr 70 öre red Three Crowns. Qty: 56,300,000
1957, 1 June. 10 öre blue New Numeral Type, type II. Qty: 239,000,000

The red 1.70 kr Three Crowns was a workhorse among the three lowest weight classes for domestic parcels from its first appearance in June 1951 to June 1964. Another workhorse was of course the ultramarine-blue 10 öre New Numeral Type, type II. The ultramarine-blue 10 öre was issued in coils and in various slot machine booklets, often as se-tenant pairs, between 1957 and 1966. The 2.10 kr Three Crowns is actually of the same blue nuance as the ultramarine-blue 10 öre. It was also the same blue nuance as the blue 30 öre Gustaf VI Adolf type II, the most common denomination in 1958 since it covered the postal rate for domestic letter first class (- 20 g). The single uses for the blue 2.10 kr Three Crown in 1958 was domestic C.O.D. parcel  1 - 3 kg when the amount was paid directly to the Postgiro or fragile domestic parcel  - 1 kg.

The parcel arrived the next day, a Wednesday, at the Post Office Karlstad 1. However the parcel had to be redirected because Mrs. Grahn had moved. First it went to the Post Office Karlstad 4, where they found out that it has to be redirected to another Post Office, the Karlstad 5. Finally on Monday Mrs.Grahn got the books in her possession. Nowadays there are no Post Offices in Sweden anymore All postal services for the public can now be found in corner stores, gas stations and other kind of convenience stores. The service hours are increased, but it was more fun to visit the old kind of Post Offices.

Here is where the Post Office Karlstad 1 used to be. There is still a sign over the door marked "Post Office". . . 

. . . Karlstad 4 used to be in this building . . .

... and finally Karlstad 5 could be find here.

Where is Karlstad situated:
Karlstad is situated 259 km west of Stockholm.
The distance by road is 314 km between the two places.

One kilo - single stamp

60 öre during 23 years

This is a typical single use of the 60 öre red-carmine Three Crowns. It covered the rate for domestic parcels up to 1 kg from when the stamp was issued in February 1939 until April 1948. Actually the rate 60 öre lasted for an impressive long time, it was in effect already from July 1925. That is nearly 23 years. The rates for the other weight classes 1 - 3 kg, 3 - 5 kg, 5 - 6 kg, 6 - 7 kg e.t.c.  was also untouched until 1948. The 60 öre was the first of a long row of Three Crown stamps. All in all there were 34 stamps. The last one was issued in February 1969.

Domestic parcel card up to 1 kg fee: 60 öre
1939, February 10, 60 öre red-carmine Three Crowns. Qty: 77,900,000

The Swedish Post was so self confident that the rates would last for a long time that the rates were even printed on the front of the card, look below the stamp. There were in fact 45 possibilities to use the 60 öre Three Crown as a single stamp during its life time according ton the excellent website of the Swedish Postal History Society (SSPD). Check out the link!

This parcel was sent from a person called L. Fast to Mrs Amanda Borgström. Fast must have lived in the town of  Jönköping and Mrs. Borgström in the small village of Ulvhestra close to Dalstorp. The parcel was handed over to the Post Office Jönköping 1 at 10 Main Street West (Västra Storgatan 10) on Tuesday 8 July and reached Dalstorp the next day and finally on Thursday 10 July the parcel containing textiles was picked up by Mrs Borgström herself.

In order to see when the parcel arrived at its destination you have to look on the other side.

The back side of the parcel card.

Where are the places:
Jönköping is situated 285 km SW of Stockholm, the distance by road is 324 km.
Dalstorp is situated 43 km SW of Jönköping.

Postal rates fo rdomestic parcels effective July 1925 until April 1948 [öre]:

- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg	5 - 6 kg	6 - 7 kg	+ per  kg
[60]	90	120	180	240	60

First red-violet than wine-red

2 kr in two colours

2 kr was the last denomination to be issued in the long running Three Crown series. It was however the second time it was issued. The first 2 kr Three Crown, the red-violet one, is from July 1952. The event that triggered the release was that the rate for domestic parcels 3 - 5 kg was raised from 1.70 kr to 2 kr from 1 July. The last raise to 1.70 kr occurred just a year earlier but the 2 kr rate was effective until 1 July 1961, a long time for a parcel rate.

As usual with the Three Crown series the old rates kind of traveled down the weight classes and 2 kr became the new rate for the next weight class the 1 - 3 kg. The rate 2 kr lasted only a year, until 1 July 1962. After that the 2 kr covered the lowest weight class  - 1 kg. It did so until 1 July 1965. Which meant that the 2 kr red-violet did good service on domestic parcel cards for 13 years in a row. It was also used as single stamps for insured and express deliveries as well as various money orders during those years. 2 kr was also a good denomination to use for higher rates since it was easy to use many 2 kr stamps to count the correct sum. A very versatile Three Crown stamp indeed.

Domestic parcel card 15 kg fee: 14 kr
1952, 1 July. 2 kr red-violet Three Crowns. Qty: 84,800,000
1958, September 17. 5 kr blue Royal Palace, Stockholm II. Qty: 16,500,000 

The parcel address card from 1968 above is an excellent example where the 2 kr was used for higher rates. It was sent from the Post Office Göteborg 2 at 3 Oak Groove Street (Ekelundsgatan 3) in Gothenburg on Friday 1 November 1968 and arrived three days later at the Post Office Stockhom 1, the general post office at 28 - 34 Vasa Street (Vasagatan 28 - 34). Stockholm 1 was also co-located with the head office of the Swedish Post, where the Swedish Post filled up two blocks. Among many functions the stamp print shop was located there at the back towards Klara North Church Street (Klara Norra kyrkogata). Also at the back in the corner of Brewer Street and North Klara Church Street (Bryggargatan/Klara Norra Kyrkogata) was the special parcel office where this parcel was picked up on 5 November 1968.

The parcel card was actually sent just two months before the new version of the 2 kr showed up, the 2 kr wine-red. To me it is puzzling why the Swedish post as the last stamp in this series of 34 stamps choose to issue another version of the 2 kr stamp. Why? They could have kept the 2 kr red-violet. In the end of the 60s the Three Crown series was slowly phased out in favor of the new kind of definitive stamps for parcels that begun with the 3.50 kr olive-grey Ale´s Stones in 1965 and the three new parcels stamps from the spring of 1967, the 3.70 violet the Lion Fortress, the 4.50  red Uppsala Cathedral and the 7 kr blue/red Gripsholm castle.

Below is a domestic parcel card with the new 2 kr wine red Three Crowns, as earlier mentioned the last stamp issued in the series. Yes, it was sent outside the time period for this blog, but it looked so similar to the one above and all the stamps were issued before the end of 1973 so I made an exception . . .

Domestic address parcel card  - 5 kg fee: 9.80 kr + fragile 50% extra fee: 4.90 kr,
over franked with 10 öre.
1969, 20 January. 2 kr wine-red Three Crowns. Qty: 67,700,000
1971, 22 January. 80 öre blue/brown the Waxholm Boat. Qty: 58,100,000
1973, 12 November. 10 kr six-coloured Goosegirl. Qty: 14,700,000

New and old Cash On Delivery

This post is about two C.O.D. parcel address cards. The first one is of an older version. The parcel was handed over to the Post Office Bromma 19 in Nockeby a suburb of Stockholm on Monday 2 December 1968. The odd thing is that they used a card designed in January 1939 [more precisely form 398 b.] almost thirty years old by that time. Nockeby was built in the 30s and maybe this card was from the original stock from the opening of the Post Office?

Cash On Delivery parcel 2 kg fee: 3.70 kr + C.O.D fee 0.70 kr + unknown fee 1.20 kr
1958, 17 September. 5 kr blue Royal Palace, Stockholm II. Qty: 16,500,000 (2-sided perforation)
1967, 16 October, 30 öre red-orange/blue Outer archipelago of Stockholm. Qty: 184,000,000

The total sum paid was 5.60 kr. The fee for a parcel weighing up to 3 kg was 3.70 kr in 1968 and the C.O.D. fee was 0.70 kr. That makes 4.40 kr but the sum is 1.20 kr more. My guess is that this parcel was bulky since that fee was an extra 50%, which is the missing 1,20 kr. Maybe the bulky lable came off or they just forgot to label. Anyways the stamp 5 kr blue Royal Palace Stockholm II was first issued in 1941 but then printed on panes. The 2-sided perforated version in coils actually on the card arrived not until 1958. The 30 öre red-orange/blue Outer archipelago of Stockholm single use was for printed matter, but it was a new kind of definitive stamps. One can say that it replaced the New Numeral Type series from the fifties when it came in 1967.  The 30 öre stamps belonged to a series called just Definitive Stamps. The denominations of the series were 5 öre, 10 öre, 30 öre and 90 öre. Read more about the Definitive Stamps series - here.

The content of the parcel were boots and they were bound for the shop called The Shoe Company (Skokompaniet) on King's Street (Kungsgatan) downtown Stockholm. The parcel was picked up the next day. We can also note that the sender filled in the correct postal code 111 22. Postal codes were a novelty for 1968 and introduced in May.


The second C.O.D. parcel address cards was sent more than a year earlier, on Wednesday 25 October 1967, but it looks much more modern. The card came in 1964 and was called form 2010.5. In this case the card has to be printed 1965 or later beacuse the card has the new logotype that was introduced the same year. The parcel was sent from the town Linköping to the village Tandsbyn in the province of Jämtland. The weight was 3 kg and the fee was in this case the same as above, 3.70 kr, the C.O.D. fee was 70 öre totaling 4.40 kr. It was sent from Post Office Linköping 1 situated in a magnificent building at 18 - 20 St. Lars Street (S:t Larsgatan 18 -20).

C.O.D. parcel 3 kg fee 3.70 kr + C.O.D. fee 0.70 kr
1967, 15 February, 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress. Qty: 16,000,000
1957, 1 June. 70 öre orange Rock Carvings type II. Qty: 10,900,000

In this case it is the 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress that is new, issued in February 1967. The 70 öre orange Rock Carvings is a definitive stamp of an older generation where the first stamp in that series was issued in 1954 as a complement to the long running Three Crown series. In the fifties the Rock Carving series felt fresh and it stayed around at least as long as in the beginning of the 70s. On this card both stamps are a nice couple of Swedish definitive stamps.

Here is where the Post Office Bromma 19 used to be. (Google)

. . .  and here is where you could find the Post Office Linköping 1. (Google)

Where are the places?
Nockeby is situated 8 km W of Stockholm
Tandsbyn is situated 446 km NW of Stockholm.
Linköping is situated 174 km SW of Stockholm.

From unknown to known

Shorter life spans

The stamp 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress from spring 1967 had as a purpose to cover parcel rates. It covered parcels weighing 1 to 3 kg.  The domestic parcel address below got one Lion Fortress stamp and it was sent from Helsingborg Thursday 13 June 1968 to Stockholm. Mr. Münch the sender did not have the correct address to Mrs. Wedar, as it seems. Apparently Mrs. Wedar did not live on 2 Tor's Street (Torsgatan 2). That building was used as office building and was not residential. The address card got stamped "back to sender" on the front and "address unknown" on the back. However the Post Office Stockholm 1 did not give up and sent it to its special bureau for finding addresses.

Domestic parcel 2 kg fee: 3.70 kr.
1967, 15 February, 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress. Qty: 16,000,000

The back side of the parcel address card.

On Monday 17 June the card got in the hand of the special address bureau according to the oval stamp on the back and they sorted out the problem quickly. The parcel was intended for the Swedish magazine Swedish Journal (Svenska Journalen). The correct address was added to the card on the front. Mrs. Wedar worked there as a journalist, she was also an author of several books. The parcel was picked up the next day.

The 3.70 kr violet the Lion fortress was a new kind of definitive stamps that replaced the old Three Crowns series. The new thing in 1967 was the fact that it was just a single stamp not a series of stamps with the same motifs but different denomination as before.

Take the 1.70 kr red Three Crowns for example. That stamp had the same main purpose as the Lion fortress. It was issued in 1 June 1951 and then it covered the new rate for domestic parcel 3 - 5 kg. In June 1952 it covered the new rate for 1 - 3 kg parcels and finally in June 1961 it covered the new rate for parcels up to 1 kg until July 1964 when the rates were raised again. The denomination 1.70 kr propagated through the postal rates for parcels. After that the 1.70 kr faded away.

The Lion Fortress on the other hand did not last after the raise of the parcel rates in January 1969. The reason was that in the sixties the raises had to become much more substantial than before. Often these specific stamps just lasted during one period of parcels rates.

The life span of the 1.70 kr Three Crowns as a stamp for domestic parcels [öre]

June 1951 to June 1952 to June 1964

- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg
110	140	[170]
140	[170]	200
[170]	200	250

The life span of the 3.70 kr the Lion Fortress as a stamp for parcels [öre]

January 1967 to December 1968

- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg
280	[370]	450

Movie box

1941 - 1948 - 1962

First we have the stamp 5 kr blue Royal Palace, Stockholm II, originally issued in July 1941 as a four sided perforated stamp, and the two sided variety on the card was issued in 1958. Then there is the 1.40 kr dark green Three Crowns issued in April 1948 and the 35 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type III from July 1962. That sums up to 6.75 kr. The weight of the parcel was 4 kg. In December 1968 such a parcel cost 4.50 kr to send anywhere in Sweden. However this particular parcel was also big and bulky and the fee for that was 50 % of the parcel fee; that is 2.25 + 4.50 = 6.75 kr. Check!

Domestic parcel  4 kg fee: 4.50 kr + bulky fee 50 % 2.25 kr, sum: 6.75 kr
1958, 17 September. 5 kr blue Royal Palace, Stockholm II. Qty: 16,500,000 (2-sided perforation)
1948, 1 April. 1 kr 40 öre dark green Three Crowns. Qty: 72,900,000
1962, 2 July. 35 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 366,000,000 (2-sided perforation)

On Wednesday 4 December 1968 it was time to return a movie that have been shown in the small town of Karlshamn in the southern Sweden to the movie production company Swedish Culture Films Inc (AB Svensk Kulturfilm) in Stockholm. Mr. Jönsson carried the parcel to the Post Office in Karlshamn. The next day the parcel arrived in Stockholm and was picked up on Thursday 5 December. The card was printed with the address to the movie company. But it was not really completed since by this time the novelty of postal codes were used. The postal codes were introduced in May 1968 in Sweden. In this case the postal code 111 20 was stamped on the card. The parcel reach its destination the Post Office Stockholm 1 located at 28 - 32 Wasa Street, the funny thing is that the office of the movie company was just across the street. The company also assures that the film was fireproof.

The Swedish Culture Films was not the most productive production company. Actually they produced only nine movies between 1949 to 1957. Mostly documentaries and short films. They were also distributors of religious movies in the fifties. Not all of them were even sound film and of course they were shot in black and white only. The first movie got a sound track recorded in 1968 and maybe that was the movie that were shown in Karlshamn?

Where is the place?
Karlshamn is situated 400 km SW of Stockholm. the distance by road is 532 km.

Urgent needs and fragile

Overflow of stamps

By some reason Lingbo Manufacturing Incorporated (Lingbo Verkstäder AB) at the absolute beginning of the new year 1968 needed some thermometer glass and quickly.  The weight was under 1 kg, but of course it was fragile. Labels with the text Colis Fragile, Exprès and Urgent in French were attached.

Domestic Parcel - 1 kg fee: 2,80 kr  + express fee 100 % +  fragile fee; all sums up to 8.40 kr
1967, 15 February, 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress. Qty: 16,000,000
1967, 12 January, 45 öre orange Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 13,700,000 (3-sided perforated pairs). 190th booklet.

The first stamp we notice is the upside-down 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress. It was issued in February 1967 and its main purpose was to cover the rate of domestic parcels, 1 - 3 kg.

Then there are four 45 öre orange Gustaf VI Adolf type III series. That is maybe more surprising in the beginning of 1968. It is the 3-sided perforated version and they came from the 190th booklet. Unfortunately they are vertical pairs and not the preferred horizontal ones and there by not really interesting for stamp collectors. The 45 öre orange Gustaf VI Adolf came in October 1964, but then only in the 2-sided perforated format. It was not until January 1967 until the booklet showed up. The reason was that the postal rate for domestic letter  - 20 g was raised from 40 öre to 45 öre effective 1 January 1967. Since 1957 the Swedish Post had followed a policy that the stamp for domestic letter - 20 g (first weight class) should have a blue colour. Quite like the by now abounded UPU-colouring policy, but for domestic letters. It had the same side effects which meant that existing stamps had to be cancelled and new blue ones printed. But orange is not blue, it was not until June 1967 when the 45 öre ultramarine Gustaf VI Adolf arrived and replaced the orange one. It is remarkable that it was almost six months after the raise of the postal rate.

However in January 1968 the 45 öre ultramarine should have been used. Maybe the Post Office Johanneshov 4 had a surplus of the old 45 öre booklets and they wanted to get rid of those stamps first. Johanneshov 4 was situated in Bagarmossen a suburb to Stockholm.

The sum of the stamps are 5,50 kr. The rate for domestic parcel  - 1 kg was 2,80 kr. The fee for express delivery was a 100% extra, which was 5,60 kr and the fee for fragile had to be added as well. Where are the rest of the stamps? - on the backside of course:

1961, 7 June. 10 öre ultramarine-blue New Numeral Type, type II. Qty: unknown
1967, 11 April, 35 öre red-violet World Table-tennis Championships. Qty: 3,300,000 (3-sided perforated pairs).
. . . from the 189th booklet. [commemorative stamp]

The stamps on the backside are the 10 öre ultramarine-blue New Numeral Type, type II from 1961 and the commemorative stamp 35 öre red-violet World Table-tennis Championship. The championship was played 11 - 21 April  1967 . . .  Also a quite obsolete booklet stamp in January 1968.

There are stamps for 8,40 kr on the parcel address card which indicates that the fee for fragile was in this case also a 100% of the ordinary rate. 2,80 kr parcel  - 1 kg + express fee 2,80 + fragile fee 2,80 kr = 8,40 kr. The Post Office Johanneshov 4 in Bagarmossen sure had good use for their surplus booklets that day.


The  domestic parcel rates 1 January 1967 until December 1969:
- 1 kg 1 - 3 kg 3 - 5 kg 5 - 7 kg 7 - 10 kg 10 - 15 kg 15 - 20 kg
[2.80 kr] 3.70 kr 4.50 kr 7.00 kr 10.50 kr 14.00 kr  17.00 kr


Where are the places:
Bagarmossen is a suburb of Stockholm situated 7 km SE of the city centre.
Lingbo is situated 205 km NW of Stockholm.
The distance by road is  233 km between the two places.