Ålkistan (Swedish: "The Eel Hatch") is the name of a canal, and the surrounding area, north of Stockholm, Sweden. The canal connects Lilla Värtan to Lake Brunnsviken, and delimits Bergshamra, the northern part of Solna, from the northern part of Djurgården.
![](http://upload.luquay.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Aalkistan_1900.jpg/220px-Aalkistan_1900.jpg)
The name Ålkistan first appears on a map of Djurgården dated 1649, pointing out Åhlekijstetorpet ("The Eel Hatch Cottage"), Åhlekijstebackan ("The Eel Hatch Hillside") and Åhlekijste wijken ("The Eel Hatch Bay"). In a rivulet leading to the bay eels were caught using cages (in Swedish called kista, "coffin"), which gave the area its present name. The cottage is mentioned as a tavern in 1789.[1]
By the mid-19th century, mud threatened to cork the rivulet, which would effectively have turned Lake Brunnsviken, being used as refuse dump as it was, into a sewer. King Charles XV therefore ordered the present canal to be constructed in 1863, which lowered the water level of Brunnsviken by two metres. A 6.5-metre-wide (21 ft) wooden bridge with a mobile flap leading over the canal was added at the same time. The bridge was substituted in 1937 by a 23-metre-wide (75 ft) bridge with an 18-metre-wide (59 ft) roadway and a horizontal clearance of 8 metres, rebuilt in 1972.[1][2]
There was a railway stop at Ålkistan from 1885 until 1923, at the Roslag Railway.[3] The railway is still operational, but the trains do not stop at Ålkistan anymore.
As of 2007[update], no ships wider than 4.0 metres or deeper than 1.6 metres are allowed in the canal. Next to Ålkistan is a residential area, Sfären ("The Sphere"), with a local centre.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b "Norrmalm". Stockholms gatunamn (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Kommittén för Stockholmsforskning. 1992. p. 142. ISBN 91-7031-042-4.
- ^ Dufwa, Arne (1985). "Broar och viadukter: Ålkistebron". Stockholms tekniska historia: Trafik, broar, tunnelbanor, gator. Uppsala: Stockholms gatukontor and Kommittén för Stockholmsforskning. p. 203. ISBN 91-38-08725-1.
- ^ Stig Lundin. "Ålkistan Hp". Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ^ "Kv Sfären" (in Swedish). Solna Municipality. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
See also
edit59°22′32″N 18°02′49″E / 59.37556°N 18.04694°E