Stockholm is the capital and most populous city of Sweden. It serves as the county seat of Stockholm County and represents the largest urban area in the Nordic countries. The municipality has a population of approximately 1 million people, while the broader urban area houses 1.6 million and the metropolitan area reaches 2.5 million.
The city is situated across fourteen islands where Lake Mälaren flows into the Baltic Sea. It is bordered to the east and along the coast by the Stockholm archipelago. While the area has been inhabited since the Stone Age in the 6th millennium BC, it was officially founded as a city in 1252 by the Swedish statesman Birger Jarl.