Kungsholmen (King's Island) is an island in the Lake Mälaren part of central Stockholm. First founded by Franciscan Friars from Grey Friars Abbey in the 15th century, they lived there farming and fishing until they were expelled during the Swedish Reformation, after which the crown took over. At the end of the 16th century Johan III added a brickyard and later Queen Kristina donated large plots of lands to Generals from the Thirty Years War. It became a center of commerce later, as artisans and manufacturers were allowed to produce goods without having to belong to a guild. The island was now a separate entity renamed Kungsholmen, and industry thrived while the population swelled to 26,000 by 1890. In the early 20th century the industry moved from Kungsholmen and housing and public institutions rose in their place. Today it is largely residential area, and it was our base of operations for most of our Stockholm visit, courtesy of our hosts Lotta and Bo. Our stay afforded us the opportunity to sample the charms of Kungsholmen.
Parkteatern:Kungsholmen's "Theater in the Park"
Our
first
night we took a short bike ride to the south central part of
the island to Rålambshovsparken
to an outdoor performance of Elvira Madigan, a famous
love story about the circus artist Elvira Madigan and the
lieutenant and the nobleman Sixten Sparre. The couple was
found dead on the Danish island of Tåsinge in July 1889. Next
to them was the lieutenant's service gun. In this performance, the
tale is updated with a decidedly modern twist, questioning
whether the suicide was an act of free will, dying for love?
The drama is interspersed with acrobatics and music. The photo to the right
shows the posters heralding the performance, while the photo
to the left captures the performance from our vantage point.Stockholm City Hall:
The Stockholm City Hall (Stockholms stadshus) is
the building of the Municipal Council for the City of
Stockholm in Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of
Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and
facing the islands of Riddarholmen and Södermalm. It houses
offices and conference rooms as well as ceremonial halls, and
the luxury restaurant Stadshuskällaren. It is the venue of the
Nobel Prize banquet and is one of Stockholm's major tourist
attractions. Below is
a virtual tour of the buildings.
There is also a version of this tour
designed specifically for VR headsets such as
Google Cardboard, and it works with both iPhone
and Android devices. It may be access by scanning
on the QR code to the left. If you are viewing
this on a mobile phone, you may access the VR tour
by following this
link.
For iOS devices: scan QR code with your device's
camera app, tap on the prompt to open Safari. Select
"Allow Device Motion" and the next prompt, "Allow Access
to Motion Orientation." Turn the device to landscape mode
and a split screen will appear. When the screen turns
white, swipe up for fullscreen mode, and place in headset.
Here
is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it
sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done
to return to this page]
In the St. Erik area of
Kungholmen near where our hosts lived was an interesting
architectural development known as the Grubbensringen. The
area was originally owned by Hans Vilhelm Grubb in the
middle of the 18th century and later by the Commercial
Council Michael Grubb and from there the area
derives the first part of its name. The second part of the
name derives from the pair of semi-circular set of houses
shown in the photo to the left, which enclose a small
park. All told, the complex stretches from the waterfront
to Fleminggatan, the main street of Kungsholmen. Once an
area for housing the indigent and the mentally ill, it is
now an upscale residential areas. The history of
Grubbensringen and its buildings is recounted in the
virtual tour below.Virtual Tour of Grubbensringen
There is also a version of
this tour designed specifically for VR
headsets such as Google Cardboard, and it
works with both iPhone and Android devices. It
may be access by scanning on the QR code to
the left. If you are viewing this on a mobile
phone, you may access the VR tour by following
this
link.
For iOS devices: scan QR code with your
device's camera app, tap on the prompt to open Safari.
Select "Allow Device Motion" and the next prompt,
"Allow Access to Motion Orientation." Turn the device
to landscape mode and a split screen will appear. When
the screen turns white, swipe up for fullscreen mode,
and place in headset. Here
is a video of how to do this--it is simpler
than it sounds! [The video opens in a new
window--close when done to return to this page]
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