Beckholmen
| Beckholmen | ||
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| Waters | Baltic Sea | |
| Geographical location | 59 ° 19 ′ 16 ″ N , 18 ° 6 ′ 3 ″ E | |
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| length | 316 m | |
| width | 244 m | |
| surface | 6 ha | |
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Beckholmen (the bad luck island) is an island in central Stockholm 30 meters south of Djurgården , separated by the Beckholmssundet and connected to the 50-meter long Beckhomsbron (bridge).
Early history
In 1631 Albert Schmidt was given permission to produce pitch on the island. At that time the island in the Stockholm harbor entrance was still without land connection and was called Biskopsholmen (Bishop's Island ). The location for a pitch or wood tar production was well suited for safety reasons, because working with this material was very flammable. Soon the island got the name Bäck- or Tjärholmen . The production of pitch went well into the 19th century.
On March 27, 1647, Queen Christina gave Beckholmen, along with the pitch industry, to Stockholm. Pitch and tar were important ingredients in the sealing and impregnation of wooden ship hulls. The Djurgårdsvarvet shipyard was just opposite. In 1723 all buildings burned down, flying sparks from a large conflagration on Södermalm (about two kilometers as the crow flies) was to blame. In the following year everything was rebuilt.
Recent history
The demand for ship docks in the middle of the 19th century led to the creation of two dry docks. In 1904 one dock was 102 meters long, the other 99 meters. The designer was the railroad and canal builder Nils Ericson , brother of the inventor John Ericsson .
The Swedish Navy was on Beckholmen from 1918 to 1969. Another dry dock "Gustav V" was blasted into the rock in 1920, with a length of 200 meters and named after the Swedish King Gustav V. In 1961, the Vasa was freed from the coarsest mud after it was lifted. Up to 1984 icebreakers from Finnboda Varv were serviced, then Beckholmensdockförening took over the operation.
The area is a unique, maritime industrial landscape and part of the Ekoparken National City Park . On Beckholmen there are buildings and docks of great cultural and industrial historical value. Today (2007) there are far-reaching plans to renovate and upgrade both Djurgårdsvarvet and Beckholmen and to create a marine cultural center.
Picture gallery
Beckholmen looking north in 1897, on the right in the picture the large exhibition hall of the Stockholmsutställningen 1897
Dry dock Gustav V.
literature
- Kungliga Djurgården, en kulturhistorisk vandring, W&W 2005
