Strömsborg () is a small

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...

in central Stockholm, Sweden, located north of Stadsholmen, and west of

Helgeandsholmen 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 ...

, between the bridges

Centralbron Centralbron (, "The Central Bridge") is a major bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden, connecting the northern district Norrmalm to the southern Södermalm. It is 1,200 metres long and consists of two viaducts passing over Söderström ("Southern ...

, a motorway passing through central Stockholm, and

Vasabron Vasabron (Swedish: "The Vasa Bridge") is a bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm, Sweden connecting Norrmalm to Gamla stan, the old city. The bridge is, unintelligibly, named after King Gustav Vasa (1496–1560), perhaps because of the vic ...

. Strömsborg is part of

Gamla stan Gamla stan (, "The Old Town"), until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna ("The Town between the Bridges"), is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. Officially, but not colloquially, Gamla stan ...

, the old town of Stockholm and is connected to the rest of the world by the bridge Strömsborgsbron leading over to Vasabron.

History

Known for centuries as a set of insignificant cliffs surrounded by a number of treacherous sunken rocks, Strömsborg is represented on Petrus Tillæus' 1733 map as uninhabited and named ''Stenskär'' ("Stone

Skerry A skerry is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack. A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, hardy grasses. They ar ...

"). This name has survived as the original name of the present island. However, it is far from certain that this ever was a proper name in common use. For example, in 1747 Tillæus mentions it as ''det stenskär eller klippa som är beläget uti Norra Ström och Melaren'' ("the stone skerry or cliff that is located in Northern Stream and Mälaren") and says it occupied an area of 2.944 square ells (''kv.alnar'') in size. In a letter in 1647 Queen Christina donated the island to her half-brother and referred to it as ''den lille holmen eller skäret'' ("the small islet or skerry"). Most likely, the cliffs had an official name at the time, and since they appeared in no city planning records, the queen's donation of the insignificant cliffs to her half-brother arguably was a carefully-studied insult. Nevertheless, they remained unexplored during her era, and it is possible the skerry shared the fate of many other structures at the time and had a popular name "not suitable for print". Of the approximately 35 maps of Stockholm produced during the 17th century, only one includes Strömsborg but provides very little information.Lönnqvist The merchant Berge Olofson Ström bought the island in 1740, and, according to a description from 1896 (G. Nordensvan), ten years later he had a stone house ("suitable in size") surrounded by

lime tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...

s built on the island. Whenever the small island received its present name, it must have been in reference both to Strömmen ("The Stream"), the stream surrounding it, and to the merchant "Ström" and his building with the appearance of a castle (''Ströms-borg'', "Stream's Castle"). Further, Nordensvan tells the island has been the site for several restaurants, skittle alleys, and public baths, and "was a small idyllic spot, particularly at that time, when no bridge led to the islet, but one had to travel by

rowing boat Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

with a motley woman from

Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norwa ...

at the oars."''Stockholms gatunamn''City of Stockholm Arthur Sjögren, mostly remembered for his illustrations of the novels of

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

, also studied the history of Strömsborg in great detail. In a report in 1926, he concluded that the present circular-shaped island dates back to the end of the 19th century and described the island before then as a thickly wooded and irregularly shaped island with a set of various small buildings; a charmingly picturesque view that saw its fate finally sealed with the demolition of the main building in 1895. The idyll described by both two men vanished with the construction of the current palace in 1895-1997, designed by the builder Johan Andersson and the architect Claes Grundström and then redesigned by architect

Ragnar Östberg Ragnar Östberg (14 July 1866 – 5 February 1945) was a Swedish architect who is best known for designing Stockholm City Hall. Biography Östberg was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His parents were Carl Östberg and Erika Kindahl. Between 1884 a ...

in 1929-1930. Even before then, the isolated idyll was tied closer to the rest of the city with the construction of

in 1872-1878 and what remained thereafter definitely disappeared with the construction of

in 1961-1967.Duwfa The islet remained the headquarters of Swedish Sports Confederation for many years, and the ground floor was used as a restaurant. In 1953, a renowned

dance hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and cities in ...

was built on the island, and the upper floors were used for offices until 1994. Since 1996, the entire building has been restored to its pre-1953 appearance, but it is used exclusively for offices. The island is currently devoted entirely to the offices of

IDEA In common usage and in philosophy, ideas are the results of thought. Also in philosophy, ideas can also be mental representational images of some object. Many philosophers have considered ideas to be a fundamental ontological category of bei ...

, an international intergovernmental organization that supports democracy building worldwide.

History

See also

Notes

References

External links