This Stunning Metro Station Is Also an Ecological Wonder

Beneath Stockholm runs one of the world’s most beautiful subway systems. Since the 1950s, the majority of the stations have been decorated with paintings, art installations, sculptures and mosaics created by more than 150 artists. The Kungsträdgården station is not only one of the most impressive artistically, it is also the deepest and, as researchers have recently discovered, home to its own self-sufficient ecosystem.

The Kungsträdgården metro station was opened in 1977 after considerable controversy. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, large swaths of central Stockholm were being demolished and replaced with modern buildings. Stockholmers were seriously fed up with all this construction, and when plans to build the new Kungsträdgården subway station were announced, things got heated.