Stallarholmen is a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

situated in

Strängnäs Municipality Strängnäs Municipality (''Strängnäs kommun'') is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Södermanland County in eastern Sweden, located by Lake Mälaren. Its seat is located in the city status in Sweden, city of Strängnäs. The present ...

Södermanland County Södermanland County ( sv, Södermanlands län) is a county or '' län'' on the southeast coast of Sweden. In the local Sörmlandic dialects it is virtually universally shortened and pronounced as Sörmlands län, or simply Sörmland, which is t ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

with 1,623 inhabitants in 2010. Stallarholmen, located on

Lake Mälaren A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

is situated partly on the mainland and partly on the island of

Selaön Selaön is the largest island in Mälaren, Sweden, and covers 94.72 km². It is located at Stallarholmen, east of Strängnäs, and it has about 1,800 permanent residents. It is connected by a bridge to the mainland. It is the largest island ...

, Sweden's largest freshwater island. The island and the mainland are connected via a bridge built in the mid 20th century. The etymology of the name Stallarholmen may be related to stables ("stall") and small islands ("holme"). An article in Strengnäs Tidning from 1927 says the word "holme" refers to the isthmus that juts out from the mainland. Another suggested etymology relates to King

Charles XI of Sweden Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...

stabling his horses and exchanging carriages in Stallarholmen during his regular trips to

Kungsör Kungsör is a locality and the seat of Kungsör Municipality in Västmanland County Västmanland County ( sv, Västmanlands län) is a county or ''län'' in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Södermanland, Örebro, Gävleborg, Dala ...

. Although out of the way in summer, during winter travel over ice made this a convenient stop. However, Charles XI was king in the late 17th century, while there is reference to the name Stallarholmen in the letters of

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

from the 1540s and 1550s, making this etymology somewhat dubious. The land around Stallarholmen, both on the mainland and on Selaön, consists largely of clay. Brickworks were a primary industry in the area until the late 1970s. Selaön was home to several brickworks, including Nasby, Fiskarudden, Valla and Husby. On the mainland were several more, including Sundby and Räfsnäs. All but Husby Brickyard, the largest and last to close, are now demolished. The former Husby premises now house several small businesses and a marina. Stallarholmen surrounding area contains 25

runestones A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...

, most of them on Selaön. This is the highest concentration in Södermanland. A major recurring event in Stallarholmen is the Viking Festival. This festival, which features Viking style entertainers, craftsmen, drama and games attracts thousands of visitors each year. Since 2003 it has taken place on Selaön during the first weekend of July. In 2006 a newly carved runestone was raised at the location with the inscription "Stallarholmens Vikings raised this stone as a link between the past and the future".

References

Populated places in Södermanland County Populated places in Strängnäs Municipality {{Södermanland-geo-stub