Lilla Essingen
Encyclopedia
Lilla Essingen is a small island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in central Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, next to the larger neighbouring island Stora Essingen
Stora Essingen
Stora Essingen is an island and a district in the Kungsholmen borough in Stockholm, Sweden. The Essingeleden motorway, part of European route E4, passes along a section of the eastern shore...
.
Both Essingen islands (Essingeöarna) are mainly residential areas, the smaller densely packed with blocks of flats while the larger is scattered with villas. The Essingeleden
Essingeleden
Essingeleden is a motorway that goes from Solna to Stockholm, Sweden, crossing the westmost parts of central Stockholm, by going over Kungsholmen, Lilla Essingen, and Stora Essingen....
motorway, part of the Europe-spanning E4, passing over both islands is named after them.
Bus route 1 (Stora Essingen
Stora Essingen
Stora Essingen is an island and a district in the Kungsholmen borough in Stockholm, Sweden. The Essingeleden motorway, part of European route E4, passes along a section of the eastern shore...
- Frihamnen) stops at two places on Lilla Essingen, providing transport to central parts of town and connections to the underground network. Bus route 49 stops at five places, connecting the Essinge islands with Kristineberg and adjacent suburbs.
Bridges of Lilla Essingen:
- From KungsholmenKungsholmenKungsholmen is an island in Lake Mälaren in Sweden, part of Stockholm City. It is situated north of Riddarfjärden and considered part of the historical province Uppland....
:- MariebergsbronMariebergsbronMariebergsbron is a bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden. Formerly known as Lilla Essingebron, it connects the islands Kungsholmen to Lilla Essingen. The current name is due to the vicinity to the city district Marieberg....
- FredhällsbronFredhällsbronFredhällsbron is a bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden. It connects the island Lilla Essingen to Fredhäll, a district on the island Kungsholmen, and, forming a section of the Essingeleden motorway, connects the Lilla Essingen interchange to the tunnel Fredhällstunneln.The bridge is made of...
(part of the EssingeledenEssingeledenEssingeleden is a motorway that goes from Solna to Stockholm, Sweden, crossing the westmost parts of central Stockholm, by going over Kungsholmen, Lilla Essingen, and Stora Essingen....
motorway.)
- Mariebergsbron
- From Stora EssingenStora EssingenStora Essingen is an island and a district in the Kungsholmen borough in Stockholm, Sweden. The Essingeleden motorway, part of European route E4, passes along a section of the eastern shore...
- EssingebronEssingebronEssingebron are two parallel bridges in central Stockholm, Sweden, inaugurated August 21, 1966, and September 3, 1967. Forming a section of the Essingeleden motorway they connect the two islands Stora Essingen and Lilla Essingen and are the most heavily trafficked bridges in Sweden...
(two bridges, one part of Essingeleden.)
- Essingebron
History
Lilla Essingen lies at the edge of what is generally considered central Stockholm, wedged in between Kungsholmen and the outer suburbs. Most of the island was initially an industrial area; at the time, most industrial transport was waterbound and thus the coastal plots were usually rimmed with industries. In 1908, the manufacturing facilities of Lux, a company manufacturing lamps for lighthouses, were moved to Lilla Essingen. The initial complex was composed of a workshop and an office building, the latter still present at the edge of the newly-built flats. In 1912, the manufacturing was extended to include vacuum cleaners thanks to a contract with Axel Wenner-GrenAxel Wenner-Gren
Axel Lennart Wenner-Gren was a Swedish entrepreneur and one of the wealthiest men in the world during the 1930s....
. In 1919, the company was merged with AB Elektro-Mekaniska, creating today's Electrolux.
The facilities built on Lilla Essingen kept growing, and when the main workshop was destroyed by fire in 1936, the renovation included a lot of expansion. Quite a lot of ground was filled up on the edge of the water to allow for more construction.
A lot of Electroluxs main production facilities in Sweden was composed of the factory on Lilla Essingen. Almost the entire complex dating from the late 1930s was built in the by then modern architecture composed of a lot of red brick. A few of those facades are still present, incorporated in the modern architecture of today.
In the 90s, Electrolux stirred quite a bit of a debate when it filed a request to rebuild a lot of its industrial areas. Considering the immense changes in mechanics and industry since the 1940s, the workshops were obviously outdated. The Stockholm City Museum, however, had a special interest in the facilities on Lilla Essingen and required certain insight into the renovation of the area. At this point, Electrolux decided to completely remove its operations on the island and the facilities were bought by the estate development company JM, with the intent to construct apartment blocks.