A quiet island oasis in the middle of today’s dense,
bustling city, Skeppsholmen, with its rocky, undesirable geography, was never
densely developed. In the middle ages,
the flatter southern edge of the island was probably cultivated or used for
pasturage, but it is not until the 1500’s that we have a written historical
record of the island. During this
period, the island was known as Lustholmen, or “Pleasure Island,”
because it was owned by the monarchy and was used as a royal recreation
ground. We don’t know a lot about what
type of recreation the island provided other than what we can deduce from a few
surviving legal contracts with gardeners and with Wilhelm Boy, the architect of
a non-extant gazebo on the island.
Just north of Skeppsholmen and between it and the mainland
is the former island
of Blasieholmen. Blasieholmen is now connected to the mainland
with filled-in land (dashed red outline on area map). Traditionally, Blasiehomen was a royal shipbuilding
yard, and even the famous Vasa ship was constructed here in the 1620’s.[1] Blasieholmen is directly across the harbor
from Tre Kroner, the royal castle (map 1).
Queen Kristina[2]
grew tired of looking out on the disorderly shipyard and ordered it moved to
the back side the island just to the south of Blasieholmen. In its new location on Nya Skeppsholmen (New
Ship’s Island), the shipyard was invisible to
the castle (map 2). In time, the “New”
was dropped from the island’s name.
In
1634 when the shipyard moved to Skeppsholmen, the island officially became a
naval base which was known as the Admiralty.
With its new status as the Admiralty, the naval base needed more
impressive buildings than simple ship-building work sheds. The first notable building on the island was
the Amiralitetshuset, or Admiralty House, built in 1647 (map 3). It is a brick building with ornamented Dutch
gables facing out on all four sides. The
plaster, crenellation, and corner towers were added during a renovation in the 1750’s. The Amiralitetshuset has remained Skeppsholmen’s iconic landmark since the 17th century.
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| The photo on the left (taken from Gamla Stan) shows that the Dutch gables are purely facade; they are anchored to the roof with iron rods so that they don’t fly off in a strong wind. |
With
the arrival of the Admiralty came a 200 meter long bridge connecting
Skeppsholmen to Blasieholmen. The middle
section was a drawbridge, and guards were housed on the island just beyond the
end of the bridge. At the time, the
length of the bridge was a notable feat of engineering.
Buildings from the 1600’s that were related to ship making
include sheds for drying, hewing, and working the timber; sail-making huts; a
rope-twisting building; a windmill for grinding grain and pitch; a rope-drying
house; oar-carving huts; a horse-powered mill drill; a cannon foundry; a
cannon-loading crane; and an iron forge.
For me, the most interesting of the above ship-making
buildings is the rope-twisting building, or the Ropewalk (map 4). Because the ropes were so long, this building
is incredibly elongated and occupies almost the entire high ridge of the island
(and is nearly half the length of the island).
The Ropewalk was later used as an arsenal; this is probably the period
when the solid iron shutters were added to the windows.[3]
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| From Gamla Stan, you get a true sense of just how long the Ropewalk is. It continues behind the church for quite a ways. |
Skeppsholmen’s role as Sweden’s major naval base was
limited. During the war with the Danes,
the Swedish fleet had been trapped in the Stockholm
harbor for four years while the Danes occupied the few routes through the
archipelago to the Baltic Sea. In order to ensure that the fleet would have immediate
access to open water, it was moved to the newly founded town of Karlskrona in 1680. The buildings related to shipbuilding were
leased or sold to private ship consortiums, but the admiralty buildings
continued to house naval administration.
After the fleet left the island, the drawbridge was replaced with a
fixed bridge although it continued to be guarded.
In the late 1600’s, King Karl XII moved his personal guards
to Stockholm
(I’m not sure why they weren’t stationed near his castle already). The King commissioned Nicodemus Tessin the
Younger to design barracks for these soldiers who had distinguished themselves
in battle and were thus given the prestigious promotion of protecting the
king. The resulting Long Row from 1699
forms another dominant axis through the island (map 5). To the south of the two identical, long, three-story buildings were vegetable gardens which are still in evidence today
as flower gardens. By the time these
barracks were completed, Sweden
was at war again and the guards were needed elsewhere. Throughout the centuries, these buildings
were used as naval offices, storerooms, and courtrooms. Now, the buildings house private residences
and a boutique hotel.
Famines and the plague descended upon Stockholm and Sweden
was deep in war with Russia during the early 1700’s; no additional building
activity commenced on the island until the 1730’s when city architect Carlberg
designed a large grain storage building for the army (map 6). The plasterwork of this building makes it
look like a very early example of an industrial concrete-frame-and-infill structure;
however, it is likely constructed of brick like most of the other buildings on
the island.
In the 1750’s, Carl
Harleman designed the North and South Inventory Offices, which were originally
planned to be one building (map 7).
These simple buildings are ornamented only with plaster quoins and
hipped roofs which were added during a later renovation. Simplicity and restraint are common traits
among many of the military buildings on the island.
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| I really appreciate that although this building was purely utilitarian, it still exudes dignity and worthiness. The pulley lifts goods to the upper floors through doors which extend down to the floor level. |
In 1756, an army
separate from the navy was established in Sweden. While technically separate entities, the army
and navy shared administrative space on the island. The available office space became inadequate
and in 1780 Charles Appelqvist designed the East and West Government Office
Buildings (map 8). Like most of the
military buildings on the island, the Government Office Buildings are fairly
simple with only some simple incisions in the plaster and a watercourse for
ornamentation. However, the clock cupolas
and the buildings’ position on either side of the only road cutting through the
park lend them a more distinguished air than the island’s barracks buildings.
During the
1700’s, shipbuilding activity waned on the island and as worksheds were no longer
needed, they were removed. In their
stead, several officer’s houses with fenced-in yards were built on the south
end of the island near the water (map 9).
These are now private residences.
Only a few of the shipbuilding sheds remain, but some of them are among
my favorite buildings on the island.
These long brick sheds now house creative functions including a music
recording studio and a design firm (map 10).
The 1820’s began an energetic construction period for the
island. Most notably, Fredrik Blom’s church (Skeppsholmenkyrka) at the
highest point of the island replaced a wooden church on Blasieholmen that had
burnt in 1822 (map 11). Following Stockholm's post-reformation tradition of centralized-plan churches, this
neo-classical church is octagonal and symmetrical in plan and a large dome
covers the entire interior. There is
little ornamentation on the austere plaster exterior except for barely
protruding pilasters, large Palladian windows, some light rustication at the
base, and a simple entablature near the top of the octagonal mass. This building gives a very heavy, weighty
impression. Services are no longer held
in the church but the space is now used for concerts and other cultural events.
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| Because it sits on the island’s highest point, the church is dominant on the island’s skyline from across the water. |
Exercishuset, or
The Exercise House, was an important development for military strategy (map 12). The
building’s open interior space was meant for sailors to practice their cannon
maneuvering drills indoors when the weather didn’t allow such activities
outside. Now Sweden’s military would be in peak
form for a sea battle even during the coldest months. This simple building was also designed by Fredrik
Blom and was built in 1853.
Sanitation had
long been a problem on the granite island (and throughout the rest of Stockholm, too), and much
of the building activity of the 1800’s was devoted to improving the disgusting
conditions. Amusingly, it became
compulsory around 1840 for regiments to bathe in the quayside water. Several new buildings were devoted to bathing—saunas,
boiler sheds, pump houses, individual bathing sheds, changing rooms, etc. Even the women of the island were given separate
bathing facilities. At some point, these
baths were opened to the public and they were quite popular until they were closed
in 1923 due to the pollution of the harbor’s water.
Once the public
gained access to the island in the mid 1800’s and the military’s presence
continued to diminish, development proposals abounded. One of the most radical proposals was to
blast the granite cliffs (destroying many of the island’s historic buildings) and
use the rubble to fill in the land between Blasieholmen and Skeppsholmen. On the new land, 30 six-story apartment
buildings would be built. Other
proposals called for monumental buildings including the new parliament
buildings, a city hall, and a national maritime museum. The navy’s superintendent lobbied to avoid
development stating that “Skeppsholmen, this real gem with its beautiful houses
embedded in the greenery, so dear to all locals, would be sacrificed.” In the end, it was the World Wars that aborted
all development proposals.
During the World
Wars, military activity on the island increased again and several new buildings
were built including cannon and torpedo manufacturing and storage
facilities. Tunnels were bored into the
granite to provide safe command centers.
However, such strategic entities were moved out of the city in the 1950's as World War
II proved that they were particularly vulnerable to attack. In 1953, Parliament officially closed
Skeppsholmen as a naval and army base and transferred the building stock to the
national Building Board. The island was
gradually converted to public, cultural uses as the Academy of Fine Arts
moved into several buildings (map 13).
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| It is easy to identify the art school on the island—just look for all the large glazed surfaces and north-facing skylights. |
The Museum
of Modern Art was also
moved to the island, and it now occupies several historic structures in
addition to Moneo’s 1998 building (map 14) (I have posted a review of this building on my
Contemporary Projects page). The Ropewalk was converted into an East Asian
museum, and the tunnels are now used for internationally acclaimed traveling
exhibits.
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| The entrance and inside the tunnels. A few years ago we saw an intriguing exhibit of the thousands of life-sized clay warriors that were buried with a Chinese emperor. The tunnels are ideal for sensitive and valuable collections—they have very few openings, making security straightforward; no natural light penetrates the spaces; and temperature and humidity is relatively constant and easy to maintain throughout the year. |
Skeppsholmen and
its cultural buildings are now part of Sweden’s
National Urban Park,
the first urban national park in the world.
I’ll have to write on this topic once I move into the 20th century.
Before the 1700’s, the island was mostly barren rock with
very little vegetation. The only
exception to this was at the flatter, southern edge of the island. But in 1725, the navy started to spread soil
over the granite outcroppings and to plant trees. During naval expeditions in the archipelago,
crews exhumed full-grown trees, shipped them to Skeppsholmen, and planted them
throughout the island. Additionally,
they created a green park (map 15) lined with trees behind the Long Row. Why the navy had the sudden urge to landscape
and beautify the island I don’t know, but it seems that there was a general surge
in interest in vegetation in Stockholm
at that time because individual trees began to be noted on maps.
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| These images from 1852 and 1870 show that with the exception of the over-scaled Moderna Museet, the island hasn’t changed much since the 19th century. Note how individual trees are drawn on the later map. |
Further attention was lavished on the island’s landscape in
1865 when A. J. Ericsson drew a comprehensive landscape plan for the
island. The proposal included artful
plantings, trees, allées, lawns, and winding paths, all ideals of the 19th century romantic landscape park. Much of
his proposal was realized.
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| the park is a little more compelling when leafy and green in the summer months |
Looking at a map of the island, it is obvious that
Skeppsholmen was never subjected to Örnehufvud’s rigorous planning. The island was always set apart from the
city: during Örnehufvud’s time, the island was a royal pleasure garden and was
thus un-developable and later, when it became a shipyard and naval base, the
island remained inaccessible to the regular citizen. Buildings related to ship construction lie
about helter-skelter, placed as was convenient to the trades and to the
topography. The Admiralty buildings
occupy the center of the island. The
placement of these buildings is somewhat more planned, but the island’s
topography prevents an absolute, orderly arrangement. Except for the church which occupies the
highest point, there is little sense of hierarchy among the military buildings.
Bordered by the Ropewalk (map 4), Jail (map 16), and Exercishuset (map 12) to the east, the
tavern (map 17) to the south, Skeppsholmenkyrka (map 11) to the north, and a
barracks (map 18) to the west, Exercisplan, at the center of the island, is a
somewhat formal focal point (map 19).
The effectiveness of this focal point is reduced by the skewed barracks
building (map 18). The square’s
formality was further diminished when a canteen was built between the square
and the church in the early 1900’s (map 20).
Sadly, Exercisplan is now occupied by a large parking lot and the
space’s formal character is now completely lost.
Although the buildings of Skeppsholmen were constructed
throughout 250 years, most of them have a consistent, though not identical,
appearance with simple classical ornamentation.
Nearly all of the military buildings on the island are unified with
slightly swirled yellow plaster.
However, crenelation was added to several buildings, probably around 1750. The crenelation reinforces the defensive
nature of what was housed on the island, but it was added to the buildings long
after it served an actual purpose of sheltering guards from arrow attacks. The crenelation is doubly odd considering
that the islands’ buildings were never defensive structures but merely housed
the defense’s administration.
Winter might be the best time to catch a glimpse of
Skeppsholmen’s enduring maritime nature.
During the summer, the island’s docks are nearly empty while pleasure,
house, and tourist boats ply the waters. But in the winter, the docks along the north
and east shores are filled with boats, many of them historical wooden sailing
ships.
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| I love the mailboxes on the old tie-up for those that live on the island. There’s also a historic rotating crane on the quayside. |
One disappointing aspect of Skeppsholmen is the prevalence
of parking lots throughout the island.
Unlike most of Stockholm,
just about every building on the island has a sizeable parking lot directly
outside its front door. These parking lots
detract from the park-like setting and from the historic architecture. If I were in charge, I would remove nearly
all the parking on the island, or at least consolidate it into one lot in one
location. The sprawling and ubiquitous
nature of the current parking situation on Skeppsholmen is a tragedy.
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| parking is marked in red |
I don’t know anything about them, but I’m quite
taken by the brickwork and by the scale of these buildings.[4]
[1] After
being dredged up from the seabed where it had lain since its fateful first
voyage, Vasa is now housed in a
magnificent museum; I highly recommend a visit.
[2] This is
the same Queen Kristina who later abdicated the thrown, converted to
Catholicism, and moved permanently to Rome.
[3] In the 1700’s,
this building also housed the lions and tigers that entailed the Bejen of
Algiers’s gift to King Frederick
I. One of the lions was later preserved by a taxidermist
who had never before seen a lion.
[4] This
document is in Swedish but it contains lots of good historical and
architectural information about Skeppsholmen as well as good maps, historical
drawings, and photos.
