Helgeandsholmen
Encyclopedia
Helgeandsholmen is a small island
in central Stockholm
, Sweden
. It is located north of Stadsholmen
, and east of Strömsborg
, with which, together with Riddarholmen
, it forms Gamla stan
, the old town of Stockholm. Helgeandsholmen contains the Swedish Parliament Building
and the Museum of Medieval Stockholm
, and is connected to neighbouring islands through three bridges: Riksbron
, Stallbron
, and Norrbro
.
The terrace in the eastern end, called Strömparterren ("The Stream Parterr"), is a public park with a restaurant dating from 1832, while the flight of stairs leading down to the water is from 1807-1810. The quay west of the Parliament once surrounded the Bank of Sweden and was thus named Bankkajen ("The Bank Quay"), while the streets on southern and northern side are called Norra/Södra Helgeandstrappan ("The Northern/Southern Helgeand Stairs"), all of them named in 1925.
"), appears as in insula dicta helghaanzsholm ("on the island called Helgeandsholm"). At the time, helgeandshus (Old Swedish: hälgha ands hus. hälandzhus, helghanzhhws, hälianshus) was a name used for charitable institutions spiritual in nature, in Stockholm first mentioned in a testament from April 24, 1301 (domus sancti spiritus).
by King Gustav Vasa
(1496–1560) in 1531. Though the appearance of Helgeandshuset is not known, it is believed to have resembled similar institutions elsewhere and thus consist of a hospital ward and a church surrounded by other buildings and a graveyard.
stretched diagonally across Helgeandsholmen from (what is today) Mynttorget
to Gustav Adolfs torg
. Though not mentioned until 1288, the first bridge is believed to have been built with the foundation of the city in 1252. Like virtually all bridges during the Middle Ages, Norrbro was built in wood, at the time considered appropriate as bridges then easily could be dismantled during sieges.
Drawbridge
s are mentioned in 1318, and the general urban code from the mid 14th century prescribes six cities around Lake Mälaren
- Arboga
, Enköping
, Sigtuna
, Strängnäs
, Västerås
and Uppsala
- to share the costs of maintenance with Stockholm, thus indicating the bridge wasn't merely of interest to the city, but a vital part of the regional road system. These neighbouring cities gradually came to question this obligation however, and during the 16th and 17th centuries Stockholm was, bit by bit, to take charge of the bridge alone.
Until the 1640s, the width of the street varied from 10 to 20 ell
s (5.9-11.9 metres), but as the northern settlements were incorporated with the city in 1635, so was Helgeandsholmen, and the standard street width was regulated. Over-Governor
Klas Fleming
(1592–1644) had Norrbro straightened out, in line with his own site on the street, and the width set to 24 ells (14.3 metres).
Norrbro was rebuilt as one of the city's first stone bridges, the northern section completed in 1797, and the southern in 1806.
(1615-1684). Destroyed by a fire in 1696, the stables were immediately rebuilt in the design of Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
(1654-1728), a structure surviving different alternations until the beginning of the 20th century.
Having bought a site north of the Royal Stables in 1637, Klas Fleming had his private palace, Flemingska huset ("The Fleming House"), built after his own German-Dutch renaissance design, and, subsequently, the entire neighbourhood adapted to it. In 1696 however, the Crown bought the house to have it demolished for the extension of the stables.
During the 1640s, several people close to the Crown and Royal Court were alloted sites on Helgeandsholmen, and in 1645, Queen Christina
donated the site north of The Fleming House to Anders Gyldenklou (-1665 ?), Secretary of the Chancellery, who had two buildings erected there, called Gyldenklouska huset ("The Gyldenklou House"), and subsequently sold to Lord High Chancellor (Riksdrots) Per Brahe (1602-1680). The palace, a Dutch renaissance structure four storeys tall with a stepped gable and called Braheska huset ("The Brahe house") until its demolition, is often appearing next to the Fleming House in engravings and paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries. It was taken over by the Crown in 1696, and used for the royal administration after the fire at the Royal Palace
in 1697. By 1770, the building was handed over to the Royal Stables, who used it for various purposes until its demolition in 1815.
Completed in 1807-10, the semicircular space on Norrbro's eastern side was first used as a storage space for fisheries, finally removed on the commands of the king in 1821. Ten years later, a park was established, at the time still with a canal passing through it. Opened to the public in 1832, it became the first municipal park in Stockholm. During the following 100 years, the park was furnished with various pavilions, bookstalls, and stages, and became a popular spot among the city's society. By the 1930s however, the park had become abandoned and shabby, and it was therefore redesigned first in 1937-38 , and then again following the archaeological operations in the 1970s.
A bazaar
called Norrbro-basaren built on the western side of Norrbro in 1838-39, remained a vital social and commercial meeting place until its removal in 1903 for the creation of the small park in front of the Parliament Building.
By the 1870s, the old Parliament Building on Riddarholmen
had become too small and was regarded as not representative enough, a problem also plaguing the Bank of Sweden, then residing at the Järntorget
square in Gamla stan
. Helgeandsholmen was soon suggested as an appropriate site for both institutions, under the condition that the new structure didn't overshadow the Royal Palace. The winning proposal from an architectural competition in the late 1880s was further developed by the architect Helgo Zettervall
(1831-1907) assisted by Aron Johansson (1860-1936). The old buildings were demolished in 1893, and both institutions completed during 1897-1906. The bank of Sweden was moved to Brunkebergstorg in 1976, and the building taken over by the Parliament.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in central Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It is located north of Stadsholmen
Stadsholmen
Stadsholmen is the historical name of an island in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden. Together with the small islands Riddarholmen and Helgeandsholmen it forms the Old town of Stockholm....
, and east of Strömsborg
Strömsborg
Strömsborg is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden, located north of Stadsholmen, and west of Helgeandsholmen, between the bridges Centralbron, a motorway passing through central Stockholm, and Vasabron...
, with which, together with Riddarholmen
Riddarholmen
Riddarholmen is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden. The island forms part of Gamla Stan, the old town, and houses a number of private palaces dating from the 17th century...
, it forms Gamla stan
Gamla stan
Gamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, Gamla stan...
, the old town of Stockholm. Helgeandsholmen contains the Swedish Parliament Building
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
and the Museum of Medieval Stockholm
Museum of Medieval Stockholm
The Museum of Medieval Stockholm , centrally located north of the Royal Palace, was constructed around old monuments excavated in an extensive archaeological dig in the late 1970s...
, and is connected to neighbouring islands through three bridges: Riksbron
Riksbron
Riksbron is an arch bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden leading from Drottninggatan on Norrmalm 44 metres over to Riksgatan on Helgeandsholmen....
, Stallbron
Stallbron
Stallbron is an arch bridge located in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching some 20 meters over Stallkanalen it connects Riksgatan passing through the Parliament Building on Helgeandsholmen to the square Mynttorget on Stadsholmen from where Västerlånggatan extends it...
, and Norrbro
Norrbro
Norrbro is an arch bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm. It extends north from the northern front of the Stockholm Palace passing over Helgeandsholmen in front of the parliament building, Riksdagen, and from there over to Gustaf Adolfs torg...
.
The terrace in the eastern end, called Strömparterren ("The Stream Parterr"), is a public park with a restaurant dating from 1832, while the flight of stairs leading down to the water is from 1807-1810. The quay west of the Parliament once surrounded the Bank of Sweden and was thus named Bankkajen ("The Bank Quay"), while the streets on southern and northern side are called Norra/Södra Helgeandstrappan ("The Northern/Southern Helgeand Stairs"), all of them named in 1925.
Origin of the name
First mentioned in a letter written in Latin July 28, 1320 the name 'Helgeandsholmen', a corruption of Helige andens holme ("Islet of the Holy SpiritHoly Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
"), appears as in insula dicta helghaanzsholm ("on the island called Helgeandsholm"). At the time, helgeandshus (Old Swedish: hälgha ands hus. hälandzhus, helghanzhhws, hälianshus) was a name used for charitable institutions spiritual in nature, in Stockholm first mentioned in a testament from April 24, 1301 (domus sancti spiritus).
History
A set of islets
Though one regular shaped island today, Helgeandsholmen was until quite recently a set of islets. Before the start of extensive archaeological excavations in 1978, it was traditionally believed that the present island once encompassed three islets:- A larger main island to the south, called Helgeandsholmen from the 14th century. The excavations, however, convincingly showed that during the early Middle Ages this island in fact consisted of two smaller islets, of which we know absolutely nothing.
- And, north of this major island, two smaller ones, once the property of the abbey at Klara:
- One called Barkarholmen ("Bark Islet"), suggesting there was a tanningTanningTanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
business here as barkBarkBark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
was an important raw material for tanning. This islet was also known as Klosterholmen ("Abbey Islet"). - And, east of Barkarholmen, a rocky islet called Lilla Stockholm ("Little Log Islet") in the 16th century, renamed Bryggeriholmen ("Brewery Islet") during the 17th century (in reference to a brewery in operation 1641-45), and after that called Slaktarholmen ("Butcher's Islet") after a slaughterhouse operating there. Lilla Stockholm disappeared when NorrbroNorrbroNorrbro is an arch bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm. It extends north from the northern front of the Stockholm Palace passing over Helgeandsholmen in front of the parliament building, Riksdagen, and from there over to Gustaf Adolfs torg...
was finally completed in 1806.
- One called Barkarholmen ("Bark Islet"), suggesting there was a tanning
The Helgeand House
As mentioned above, a charitable institution organized by a pious foundation was located on the island, receiving sick people, poor and elderly as well as foreigners, and accepting donations from burghers in city, through which the institution became an important landowner. The original Helgeandshuset ("The House of the Holy Spirit") probably dates back to the 13th century but is not mentioned until 1301. Rebuilt after a fire in 1410, it was moved to RiddarholmenRiddarholmen
Riddarholmen is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden. The island forms part of Gamla Stan, the old town, and houses a number of private palaces dating from the 17th century...
by King Gustav Vasa
Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav I of Sweden, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known simply as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death....
(1496–1560) in 1531. Though the appearance of Helgeandshuset is not known, it is believed to have resembled similar institutions elsewhere and thus consist of a hospital ward and a church surrounded by other buildings and a graveyard.
Norrbro
Originally, NorrbroNorrbro
Norrbro is an arch bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm. It extends north from the northern front of the Stockholm Palace passing over Helgeandsholmen in front of the parliament building, Riksdagen, and from there over to Gustaf Adolfs torg...
stretched diagonally across Helgeandsholmen from (what is today) Mynttorget
Mynttorget
Mynttorget is a public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.- Setting :From the square the bridge Stallbron leads over to the Parliament island Helgeandsholmen; to the west the street Myntgatan leads to Riddarhustorget, while the quay Kanslikajen stretches along the...
to Gustav Adolfs torg
Gustav Adolfs torg
Gustav Adolfs torg is the name of several squares in Sweden.*Gustav Adolfs torg, Stockholm*Gustaf Adolfs torg, Göteborg*Gustaf Adolfs torg, Malmö*Gustav Adolfs torg, Helsingborg...
. Though not mentioned until 1288, the first bridge is believed to have been built with the foundation of the city in 1252. Like virtually all bridges during the Middle Ages, Norrbro was built in wood, at the time considered appropriate as bridges then easily could be dismantled during sieges.
Drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
s are mentioned in 1318, and the general urban code from the mid 14th century prescribes six cities around Lake Mälaren
Mälaren
Lake Mälaren is the third-largest lake in Sweden, after Lakes Vänern and Vättern. Its area is 1,140 km² and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from east to west...
- Arboga
Arboga
Arboga is a locality and the seat of Arboga Municipality in Västmanland County, Sweden with 10,369 inhabitants in 2005.-Overview:The city of Arboga is known to have existed as a town since the 13th century but the area has been inhabited since around 900 AD...
, Enköping
Enköping
Enköping is a locality and the seat of Enköping Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 20,204 inhabitants in 2005.- Geography :Enköping is situated near Lake Mälaren, about 78 km west of Stockholm....
, Sigtuna
Sigtuna
Sigtuna is a locality situated in Sigtuna Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 18 inhabitants in 2005. It is the namesake of the municipality even though the seat is in Märsta....
, Strängnäs
Strängnäs
Strängnäs is a locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 12,296 inhabitants in 2005. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, a former Roman Catholic and present Lutheran Diocese, with the Strängnäs Cathedral, built...
, Västerås
Västerås
Västerås is a city in central Sweden, located on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province Västmanland, some 100 km west of Stockholm...
and Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
- to share the costs of maintenance with Stockholm, thus indicating the bridge wasn't merely of interest to the city, but a vital part of the regional road system. These neighbouring cities gradually came to question this obligation however, and during the 16th and 17th centuries Stockholm was, bit by bit, to take charge of the bridge alone.
Until the 1640s, the width of the street varied from 10 to 20 ell
Ell
An ell , is a unit of measurement, approximating the length of a man's arm.Several national forms existed, with different lengths, includingthe Scottish ell ,the Flemish ell ,the French ell...
s (5.9-11.9 metres), but as the northern settlements were incorporated with the city in 1635, so was Helgeandsholmen, and the standard street width was regulated. Over-Governor
Over-Governor of Stockholm
The Over-Governor, or Överståthållaren of Stockholm was the highest official for the City between 1634 and 1967. The Office was instituted by the Instrument of Government of 1634, which divided Sweden into Counties and the Over-Governorship of Stockholm...
Klas Fleming
Klas Fleming
Klas Fleming may refer to:* Klaus Fleming , Finnish-Swedish admiral* Claes Larsson Fleming , Over-Governor of Stockholm * Clas Fleming , organised the first Swedish expedition to North America...
(1592–1644) had Norrbro straightened out, in line with his own site on the street, and the width set to 24 ells (14.3 metres).
Norrbro was rebuilt as one of the city's first stone bridges, the northern section completed in 1797, and the southern in 1806.
City gates and fortifications
An inner gate, Norreport, is mentioned south of Helgeandsholmen in 1409, and an outer gate in the 1460s, but was probably older than that. Both gates were eventually supplied with defensive towers. In the early 15th century, the walls were extended and a western tower added to the fortifications, the entire structure being outdated later that century and finally demolished by 1672.Royal stables
Probably established on the island as early as 1535, Royal Stables were at first accommodated in the former hospital ward, and by 1612 given a for the purpose suitable building. First relocated north of Helgeandsholmen in the 1640s, they were moved back again in 1680 to a building designed by architect Nicodemus Tessin the ElderNicodemus Tessin the Elder
Nicodemus Tessin the Elder was an important Swedish architect.-Biography:Nicodemus Tessin was born in Stralsund in Pomerania and came to Sweden as a young man. There he met and worked with the architect Simon de la Vallée...
(1615-1684). Destroyed by a fire in 1696, the stables were immediately rebuilt in the design of Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger was a Swedish Baroque architect, city planner, and administrator.The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin, Tessin the Younger was the middle-most generation of the brief Tessin dynasty, which have had a lasting influence on...
(1654-1728), a structure surviving different alternations until the beginning of the 20th century.
17th century structures
Needing access to a water mill, a royal workshop for the production of gun carriages, Lådmakaregården ("The Box Making Court") was relocated to Barkholmen in the early 17th century, built on poles and reaching around Stockholmen. It was later demolished and replaced by the Gyldenklou House.Having bought a site north of the Royal Stables in 1637, Klas Fleming had his private palace, Flemingska huset ("The Fleming House"), built after his own German-Dutch renaissance design, and, subsequently, the entire neighbourhood adapted to it. In 1696 however, the Crown bought the house to have it demolished for the extension of the stables.
During the 1640s, several people close to the Crown and Royal Court were alloted sites on Helgeandsholmen, and in 1645, Queen Christina
Christina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
donated the site north of The Fleming House to Anders Gyldenklou (-1665 ?), Secretary of the Chancellery, who had two buildings erected there, called Gyldenklouska huset ("The Gyldenklou House"), and subsequently sold to Lord High Chancellor (Riksdrots) Per Brahe (1602-1680). The palace, a Dutch renaissance structure four storeys tall with a stepped gable and called Braheska huset ("The Brahe house") until its demolition, is often appearing next to the Fleming House in engravings and paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries. It was taken over by the Crown in 1696, and used for the royal administration after the fire at the Royal Palace
Stockholm Palace
The Stockholm Palace is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. . Stockholm Palace is located on Stadsholmen , in Gamla Stan in the capital, Stockholm...
in 1697. By 1770, the building was handed over to the Royal Stables, who used it for various purposes until its demolition in 1815.
Historical canals
Over the years, several canals have passed through today's Helgeandsholmen, most notably between and south of the two palaces described above. Before land elevation made the canals unnecessary, spring floods was a serious problem often forcing the reconstruction of bridges and other structures, but by the 17th century the first canal was scrapped, the second when the Parliament Building was built in the early 20th century.Modern history
A bazaar
Bazaar
A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...
called Norrbro-basaren built on the western side of Norrbro in 1838-39, remained a vital social and commercial meeting place until its removal in 1903 for the creation of the small park in front of the Parliament Building.
By the 1870s, the old Parliament Building on Riddarholmen
Riddarholmen
Riddarholmen is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden. The island forms part of Gamla Stan, the old town, and houses a number of private palaces dating from the 17th century...
had become too small and was regarded as not representative enough, a problem also plaguing the Bank of Sweden, then residing at the Järntorget
Järntorget
Järntorget is a common name for public squares in Swedish cities, the two most well-known being:* Järntorget * Järntorget...
square in Gamla stan
Gamla stan
Gamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, Gamla stan...
. Helgeandsholmen was soon suggested as an appropriate site for both institutions, under the condition that the new structure didn't overshadow the Royal Palace. The winning proposal from an architectural competition in the late 1880s was further developed by the architect Helgo Zettervall
Helgo Zettervall
Helgo Nikolaus Zettervall, older spelling Zetterwall, was a Swedish architect and professor of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts...
(1831-1907) assisted by Aron Johansson (1860-1936). The old buildings were demolished in 1893, and both institutions completed during 1897-1906. The bank of Sweden was moved to Brunkebergstorg in 1976, and the building taken over by the Parliament.
See also
- Sager houseSager HouseThe Sager House or Sager Palace is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sweden at Strömgatan 18 in Sweden's capital Stockholm.- Location and Environment :...
- RosenbadRosenbadRosenbad is a building in central Stockholm, precinct of Norrmalm, designed by Art Nouveau architect Ferdinand Boberg and completed in 1902. It is located on Strömgatan on the North side of the river Norrström...
- History of StockholmHistory of StockholmThe history of Stockholm, capital of Sweden, for many centuries coincided with the development of what is today known as Gamla stan, the Stockholm Old Town...
- Geography of StockholmGeography of StockholmThe City of Stockholm is situated on fourteen islands and on the banks to the archipelago where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea. The city centre is virtually situated on the water.- Islands and islets :- Lakes and watercourses :...
External links
- Stockholm City Museum - Norrbro och Strömparterren, a PDF, and the main source for this article, containing many historical images and maps of Helgeandsholmen.