Bollhustäppan

Bollhustäppan (Swedish for 'The Ball House Patch') is a small public space in Gamla stan, which is the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.

It is named after the proximity to the two ball game buildings constructed in 1627-1792 and 1648–53, the bigger of the two used as a theatre from 1667, the smaller transformed into the Finnish Church in 1725 and still existent.

On the eastern half of the patch was a building during the Middle Ages at least three storeys tall, and during the 17th century named Hedersköldska huset after the proprietor and trader Anders Hedersköld.

Made of sandstone and wrought iron, its stylized form contrasts the warmth of its expression; its informal and restrained manners making it one of the most appreciated pieces of art in the city, fondled by crowds of tourists every year, as the shiny head shows, and given coins and goodies, while Stockholmers occasionally knits neckerchiefs and caps for the boy to wear during winters.

Martin Stugart, an expert on the history of Stockholm, writes the coins tourists give to the sculpture, in spite of the advice given by the guides, are collected by the Finnish Church which attempts to restrain the phenomenon.