Barnhusviken (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

for "the Orphanage Bay") is a body of water in central

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Separating the island

Kungsholmen Kungsholmen is an island in Lake Mälaren in Sweden, part of central Stockholm, Sweden. It is situated north of Riddarfjärden and considered part of the historical province Uppland. Its area is with a perimeter of . The highest point is a ...

from the mainland district

Norrmalm Norrmalm is a city district in Stockholm, Sweden. History Norrmalm is a part of the larger borough of Norrmalm (''Norrmalms stadsdelsområde''). The southern part of the district, Lower Norrmalm (''Nedre Norrmalm''), also known as the City, ...

north of it, it connects Karlbergssjön to

Klara Sjö Klara sjö (Swedish language, Swedish for "Lake Klara") is a canal in central Stockholm, Sweden. Separating the island Kungsholmen from the northern city district Norrmalm, the canal connects Barnhusviken to Riddarfjärden. Together with Barnh ...

. Together with Karlbergskanalen, Karlbergssjön, and Klara Sjö, Barnhusviken constitute the nameless body of water which separates Kungsholmen from the city districts Norrmalm and

Vasastaden Vasastan, or Vasastaden, may refer to: * Vasastan, Stockholm, a district in Stockholm, Sweden * Vasastan, Gothenburg, a district in Gothenburg, Sweden * Vasastaden, Linköping Vasastaden is a city district in Linköping, consisting of mostly ap ...

and the northern suburb

Solna Solna ( or , ), also known as Solna Municipality, is a municipality in central Stockholm County, Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna i ...

. The northern shore, entirely occupied by the Klarastrandsleden motorway and eight rows of railway tracks, is not accessible to pedestrians, but, in contrast, the southern shore offers a section of the walk stretching some 2 km from the

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

and all the way along the northern shore of Kungsholmen.''Vattenprogram'', p 20.2

About the name

Just like the bridge Barnhusbron spanning across it and several other local structures, the former bay was named in the 1860s after an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

(''barnhus'', literally "children-house") relocated from

Riddarholmen Riddarholmen (, "The Knights' Islet") 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 back to the 17th century. The main landmark is the church Riddarh ...

to the neighbourhood on its northern shore in the 1630s.''Stockholms gatunamn'', p 149 It is called a bay simply because it used to be a bay before continuous land filling transformed it into the narrow canal it is today. On maps from the early 19th century it is labelled ''Rörstrandssjön'' ("Lake of Rörstrand") after the vicinity to the porcelain factory of

Rörstrand Rörstrand porcelain was one of the most famous Swedish porcelain manufacturers, with production initially at Karlbergskanalen in Birkastan in Stockholm. History The Rörstrand waterfront site was first documented in the 13th century whe ...

.''Guide till Stockholms arkitektur'', map supplements

Notable buildings

Several prominent buildings line-up along the shores of Barnhusviken: * On the northern shore is the Bonnier Tower, the skyscraper of the headquarters of Bonnier media group, designed be architects

Anders Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering, Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres (name), Andres via metathesis (linguistics), metathesis. In Sweden, A ...

and

Ivar Tengbom Ivar Justus Tengbom (April 7, 1878 – August 6, 1968) was a Sweden, Swedish architect and one of the best-known representatives of the Swedish neo-classical architecture of the 1910s and 1920s. Tengbom was born in Vireda in Jönköping Coun ...

and during the period 1949-1958 the tallest building in Stockholm.''Guide till Stockholms arkitektur'', p 84 Next to it is the Bonniers Konsthall, designed by Johan Celsing and inaugurated in 2006.Bonniers Konsthall: AboutBonniers Konsthall: Architecture * On the southern shore is the St Erik Area, a prestigious residential area build during the second half of the 1990s in a style imitating the

Nordic Classicism Nordic Classicism was a Architectural style, style of architecture that briefly blossomed in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland) between 1910 and 1930. The style was also known as Swedish Grace architecture in Sweden. Until ...

prevalent in Sweden during the 1920s. The area is dominated by the huge flight of stairs leading down to the waterfront.''Guide till Stockholms arkitektur'', p 111 While this project has been much criticized by architects as an outdated

Disneyfication In the field of sociology, the term ''Disneyfication'' describes the commercial transformation of things (e.g. entertainment) or environments into something simplified, controlled, and 'safe'—reminiscent of the Walt Disney brand (such as its med ...

and

New urbanism New Urbanism is an urban design movement that promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating Walkability, walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has ...

at its worst, the green space below this monumental staircase has proven very popular among the numerous

feral A feral (; ) animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in som ...

domestic rabbit The domestic rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus'') is the domestication, domesticated form of the European rabbit, a member of the lagomorph order. A male rabbit is known as a ''buck,'' a female as a ''doe,'' and a young rabbit as a ''k ...

s who, since they started to spread from

in the mid-1980s, are giving the area a reputation.Hallgren, Magnus, ''Innerstaden översvämmas av kaniner'', Dagens Nyheter * Between the St Erik Area and the bridge is the headquarters of the insurance company Trygg Hansa, built 1967–76, and on the opposite side of the bridge Tekniska nämndhuset, a huge brick complex built 1962–65 to house some 1.200

white-collar worker A white-collar worker is a person who performs professional service, desk, managerial, or administrative work. White-collar work may be performed in an office or similar setting. White-collar workers include job paths related to government, co ...

s of the Stockholm City Planning Administration and various city committees. A matching addition facing the continuation of the bridge was made for the

Stockholm District Court Stockholm District Court () is a Swedish district court in Stockholm. Stockholm District Court is Sweden's largest public court and is located in Stockholm Court House on Kungsholmen in Stockholm. History The Stockholm District Court was estab ...

in 1984–86.''Guide till Stockholms arkitektur'', p 95

Notes

References

* * * * * {{Coord, 59, 20, 05, N, 18, 02, 53, E, type:landmark, display=title Canals in Sweden Buildings and structures in Stockholm

About the name

Notable buildings

See also

Notes

References