promoted by loans and bounties and import limited to raw materials not available in Sweden by tolls. The era saw the rise of the so-called "Skeppsbro Nobility" (Skeppsbroadeln), the wealthy wholesalers at Skeppsbron who made a fortune by delivering bar iron to the international market and by controlling the chartered companies. The most successful of them was the Swedish East India Company (1731–1813) which had its headquarters in Gothenburg, but was of significant importance to Stockholm because of the shipbuilding yards, the trade houses, and the exotic products imported by the company. Furthermore, before these ships left Stockholm some 100–150 men per ship were recruited, most of them in the city, and as a single trip to China would take 1–2 years the company had a huge impact on Stockholm during this era. During the 18th century, several devastating fires destroyed entire neighbourhoods which resulted in building codes being introduced. They improved fire safety by prohibiting wooden buildings and further embellished the city by implementing the 17th-century city plans. In the old town, the new royal palace was gradually completed and the exterior of the Storkyrkan church was adopted to it. The skilled artists and craftsmen working for the royal court formed an elite which considerably raised the artistic standards in the capital. Gustavian era (1772–1809) During the enlightened absolute monarchy of Gustav III Stockholm managed to maintain its role as the political centre of Sweden and developed culturally. The king had a great interest for the city's development. He created the Gustav Adolf square and had the Royal Opera inaugurated there in 1782 — in accordance to the original intentions of Tessin the Younger for a monumental square north of the palace. The façade of Arvfurstens palats on the opposite side is identical to the now replaced façade of the opera. The neoclassical bridge Norrbro, designed by Erik Palmstedt (1741–1807) and was completed in ten years. It was a very ambitious project that caused the centre of the city to gradually move out of the medieval city. The colourful and often burlesque descriptions of Stockholm by troubadour and composer Carl Michael Bellman are still popular. The period ended as King Gustav IV Adolf was deposed in 1809 in a coup d'état. The loss of Finland that same year meant Stockholm ceased to be the geographical centre of the Swedish kingdom. Early industrial era (1809–1850) For Stockholm, the early 19th