Ever wondered who gifted Sundsta g\u00e5rd to a nunnery centuries ago? Here at Sundsta g\u00e5rd, history whispers from the 1200s. Magnus Ladul\u00e5s gave Sundsta g\u00e5rd to Sankta Klara kloster. This was Stockholm’s only nunnery.
Sundsta g\u00e5rd sits close to Hammarbyslussen in \u00c5rsta. The address is Sundstabacken 4-8. It stands in Br\u00e4nnkyrka socken within Stockholm municipality.
Originally, Sundsta g\u00e5rd was a simple torp. It belonged to Enskede g\u00e5rd. In 1756, it was separated from Enskede. Sundsta g\u00e5rd then transformed into a summer estate. It became a place of leisure.
Today, you can see buildings from the 1800s and early 1900s here. These buildings have significant cultural value. The Stadsmuseet in Stockholm has given them a bl\u00e5klassning. This means they are as valuable as listed buildings. AB Stadsholmen owns the property now. It functions as an apartment building. Eleven rental apartments are within Sundsta g\u00e5rd.
Sundsta g\u00e5rd is located near \u00c5rstaviken’s southern shore. It is on the western side of the land between Johanneshov and Skanstull. The name “Sundsta” likely comes from a former strait. This strait once connected \u00c5rstaviken and Hammarby sj\u00f6. Land elevation eventually eliminated it.
Nearby was Grundsborg. It was mentioned as a tavern in 1784. Skanskvarn windmill has stood on the hill since the 1850s. Sundsta and Grundsborg were originally torps under Enskede g\u00e5rd.
The location near \u00c5rstaviken was advantageous. It was close to G\u00f6ta Landsv\u00e4g and Dalar\u00f6v\u00e4gen. These were Stockholm’s important southern routes.
In 1756, Sundsta g\u00e5rd was separated from Enskede. It became a summer residence with pleasure pavilions. It even had a bowling alley. The land covered five “tunnland” by \u00c5rstaviken. In the 1800s, summer pleasures mixed with small industries here.
Around 1800, industrial activities began. A soap factory was one of them. After a fire in the 1820s, new buildings arose at Sundsta. Three of these buildings still stand today.
N. Holmberg, a spice merchant from Stockholm, initiated the rebuilding. He lived here until his death in the 1850s. After Holmberg, his estate owned the farm. In 1858, they leased it to M.O. Ling from Stockholm. He sublet it to Anton Ekholm. Ekholm and a partner ran a starch factory there.
In 1881, Stockholm city acquired Sundsta and Grundsborg. This was to protect the water supply. It secured the area for the new Skanstullsverket water plant. Emil Friberg became the new tenant. He was a gardener. He operated a profitable tobacco cultivation.
Around 1900, some water plant staff lived at Sundsta g\u00e5rd. They included mechanics, ironworkers and stokers. The water plant’s pumps were steam-powered. The yellow outbuilding along Sundstabacken was also built then.
Skanstullsverket operated until 1918. Eriksdalsverket closed in 1923. All water supply for Stockholm then came from Norsborgsverket. It opened in 1904. Water plant personnel moved from Sundsta. Regular tenants moved in.
The white stone building you see is Sundsta g\u00e5rd. It sits diagonally below the mill. In the late 1700s, the growing middle class bought smallholdings outside the city tolls. Sundsta was a property separated from Enskede g\u00e5rd. Various industries operated here. There was a textile dyeing plant, a bark mill, a tannery and a soap factory.
In the 1860s and 1880s, \u00c5rstaverken was built. It was the city’s water plant. The city preferred no industries near the waterworks. Therefore, the city bought Sundsta g\u00e5rd and converted it into housing. Today Stadsholmen owns and manages these culturally valuable buildings.
In 1977, a city plan designated Sundsta g\u00e5rd as a reserve. It protected the area’s culturally valuable buildings. The plan suggested using the old garden for allotments. In the early 1980s, Johanneshovsbron was built. Its concrete structure now looms over Sundsta g\u00e5rd.
Sundsta g\u00e5rd’s main building was built between 1838 and 1856. It is the only stone building here. The ground floor facades have rough plaster. They resemble a high, slightly protruding base. Originally, there was a laundry and a large magazine with a vaulted ceiling. The upper floor had apartments. A large glass veranda adorned the north gable in the late 1800s. A shelter was arranged in the basement in the 1940s.
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