Riddarholmen (, "The Knights' Islet") is a small

islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

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. The island forms 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. Gamla Stan includes the surrounding islets ...

, the old town, and houses a number of private palaces dating back to the 17th century. The main landmark is the church

Riddarholmskyrkan Riddarholmen Church () is the Church (building), church of the former medieval Greyfriars Monastery, Stockholm, Greyfriars Monastery in Stockholm, Sweden. The church serves as the final resting place of most Monarchs of Sweden, Swedish monarchs. ...

, used as Sweden's royal burial church from the 17th century to 1950, and where a number of earlier

Swedish monarch The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. by law a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parl ...

s also lie buried. The western end of the island gives a magnificent panoramic and photogenic view of the bay Riddarfjärden, often used by TV journalists with

Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall (, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and ...

in the background. A statue of

Birger Jarl Birger Jarl or Birger Magnusson (21 October 1266) was a Swedish statesman and regent, ''Swedish jarls, jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjälbo, who played a pivotal role in consolidating Sweden after the civil wars between the House of Eri ...

, traditionally considered the founder of Stockholm, stands on a pillar in front of the Bonde Palace, north of Riddarholm Church. Other notable buildings include the Old Parliament Building in the south-eastern corner, the Old National Archive on the eastern shore, and the

Norstedt Building The Norstedt Building () is the main office of Norstedts Förlag, P.A. Norstedt & Söner AB on Riddarholmen in Stockholm, Sweden. Designed by Magnus Isæus the building was built in 1882–1891, and features a spire-like roof, which is a well-kno ...

, the old printing house of the publisher Norstedts, the tower roof of which is a well-known silhouette on the city's skyline.

Palaces

While the Riddarholm Church dates back to the Middle Ages, and is one of Stockholm's oldest buildings, most of the present structures on Riddarholmen were built during the 17th century when the island was an aristocratic setting that gave the islet its present name. Three of the palaces are gathered around the central public square, Birger Jarls Torg centred on the 19th-century statue of

: The Wrangel Palace on the west side, the most impressive, incorporates a medieval defensive tower and a portal designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder; the

Stenbock The Stenbock family is an old Swedish noble family, of which one younger branch established itself in Finland and another younger branch in Estonia, both of them in the mid 18th century, of which the first was entered into the rolls of the Finni ...

and Hessenstein Palaces on the east side are less elaborate. North of the square, the two 19th-century wings of the Palace of Schering Rosenhane reach the rustic main building, which dates from the 17th century. Wrangel Palace, and the palaces of Hessenstein, and Schering Rosenhane are today used by Svea Hovrätt, the appellate court for

Svealand Svealand (), or Swealand, is the historical core region of Sweden. It is located in south-central Sweden and is one of the three historical lands of Sweden, bounded to the north by Norrland and to the south by Götaland. Deep forests, Tive ...

, while the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and the Supreme Administrative Court reside in the palaces of Bonde and Stenbock respectively. Some of the older Swedish Government Agencies, like the

Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency The Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency () is a Sweden, Swedish Government agencies in Sweden, government agency under the Ministry of Finance (Sweden), Ministry of Finance. Established in 1539 by King Gustav I of Sweden, Gustav V ...

and the

Chancellor of Justice The Chancellor of Justice is a government official found in some northern European countries, broadly responsible for supervising the lawfulness of government actions. History In 1713, the Swedish King Charles XII, preoccupied with fighting t ...

, are also located on the island. According to a Swedish guide book, these anonymous institutions, together with the motorway Centralbron that isolates the island from the rest of the city, make the island as a whole a lifeless and dull environment, despite ambitious restorations during the 1990s.

Origin of the name

The island is first mentioned as ''Kidaskär'', literally "Kid Skerry", indicating the islet was used to graze goats, in the Eric's Chronicle (''Erikskrönikan'') from around 1325, which recounts how King

Magnus Ladulås Magnus Ladulås (, ) or Magnus Birgersson ( 1240 – 18 December 1290) was King of Sweden from 1275 until his death in 1290. He was a son of Birger Jarl, and became a king after a rebellion against his brother Valdemar, King of Sweden ...

(1240–1290) had a Greyfriars monastery built on the island about 1270, asking in his will that he be buried in it in 1285. During the Middle Ages, the original name disappeared from historical records, replaced by ''Gråbrödraholm'' ("Grey Brothers islet"), ''Munckholmen'' ("Monk Islet"), and ''Gråmunkeholm'' ("Grey Monks Islet"), the latter most commonly used until the 17th century. The monastery, however, closed following the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

and was subsequently converted into a church. Probably as consequence, the name changed in the 1630s, the island being referred to as ''Riddarholmen, för detta Gråmunkeholm kallad'' ("Knight's Islet, formerly called Grey Monk's Islet") in 1638. The old name did persist however, so while Charles XI (1655–1697) preferred the new name, his youngest daughter Ulrika Eleonora (1688–1741) remained faithful to the old.

Yacht/hotel

* C. K. G. Billings's yacht ''Vanadis'' is now anchored at Riddarholmen, and is used as a hotel known as Mälardrottningen with the ship rechristened as '' Lady Hutton''.Vanadis to Lady Hutton, Kajsa Karlsson (1987).

References

External links

{{coord, 59, 19, 30, N, 18, 03, 47, E, region:SE_type:isle, display=title City districts of Stockholm Municipality Islands of Stockholm de:Stockholm#Helgeandsholmen und Riddarholmen

Palaces

Origin of the name

Yacht/hotel

See also

References

External links