5/5 Azizur Rahman S. 4 years ago on Google • 214 reviews
Södermalm,
often
shortened
to
“Söder”
(Swedish
for
“south”),
is
a
district
and
island
in
central
Stockholm.
History
Wooden
buildings
on
Södermalm
in
1924,
drawn
by
Ferdinand
Boberg.
The
name
Södermalm
(“suthaermalm”)
is
first
mentioned
in
1288
in
a
letter
from
Bishop
Anund
of
Strängnäs.
Until
the
early
17th
century
Södermalm
was
mainly
a
rural,
agricultural
area.[1]
Its
first
urban
areas
were
planned
and
built
in
the
mid
17th
century,
comprising
a
mixture
of
working
class
housing,
such
as
the
little
red
cottages
of
which
a
few
can
still
be
seen
in
northeastern
Södermalm,
and
the
summer
houses
and
pavilions
of
wealthier
families,
such
as
Emanuel
Swedenborg's
pavilion,
which
is
now
in
the
outdoor
museum
Skansen.
During
this
time,
it
was
also
the
location
of
perhaps
the
first
theatre
in
Scandinavia,
Björngårdsteatern.
Södermalm
is
often
poetically
named
“Söders
höjder”,
which
reflects
its
topography
of
sheer
cliffs
and
rocky
hills.
Indeed,
the
hills
of
Södermalm
provide
remarkable
views
of
Stockholm's
skyline.
In
the
18th
century,
the
working-class
cottages
that
clung
to
Mariaberget,
the
steep
cliffs
facing
Riddarfjärden,
were
replaced
by
the
large
buildings
that
are
still
present
today.
It
was
not
until
the
beginning
of
the
20th
century
that
urbanisation
grasped
the
entire
width
of
Södermalm,
and
even
today
parts
of
Södermalm
have
a
rural
feeling
to
them,
as
for
instance
the
landscape
of
tiny
allotments
that
climb
the
slopes
of
Eriksdal.
Södermalm
was
once
known
as
the
"slum"
area
of
Stockholm.
However
today,
Södermalm
is
known
as
the
home
of
bohemian,
alternative
culture
and
a
broad
range
of
cultural
amenities.
Meanwhile,
the
growing
demand
of
housing,
as
well
as
an
increasing
gentrification
of
Stockholm's
central
parts,
makes
apartments
in
Södermalm
more
and
more
difficult
or
expensive
to
come
by.
Thus
what
was
once
a
working-class
district
is
now
somewhat
a
district
of
the
privileged.
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