Skärholmen

Skärholmen is a district in Söderort in Stockholm. The area covers 189 hectares of land and 4 hectares of water. Skärholmen and Vårberg were transferred from Huddinge kommun in 1963.

A general plan was adopted in 1963, with the idea that Skärholmen would become an area center for the surrounding districts in southwestern Stockholm.

Most of the district was built between 1964 and 1975, and the first residents moved in on September 1, 1965, at Ekholmsvägen 79–91. Skärholmens centrum was inaugurated on September 8, 1968, and is built around a system of pedestrian streets and two squares.

City of Stockholm, Stockholm County.

The area has good public transport connections to and from it and is located by the E4/E20, about 15 km southwest of central Stockholm. It can be reached by SL buses and the metro. Skärholmen has a station on the red line of the Stockholm metro, located between the Sätra and Vårberg stations. The station was inaugurated on March 1, 1967.

The artistic decoration on the platform consists of 23 images depicting sunrise to sunset from a location in New Mexico, USA, created by Ulf Wahlberg in 1990.

Skärholmen Centrum comprises approximately 100,000 m² of shops, restaurants and cafés, service facilities, and offices.

Skärholmen Centrum was inaugurated in 1968 by the current king’s uncle, Prince Bertil. At that time, the centre was completely open, with streets and pedestrian walkways. When it opened, it was Stockholm’s largest suburban shopping centre.

The nearest shopping center is Kungens Kurva, a few minutes' drive away, where Ikea's first and largest in Sweden is located, as well as the chains McDonald's, ICA Kvantum, Heron City, Elgiganten, Siba, City Gross, Rusta, Jula, Media Markt and Toys “R” Us, among others.

There are numerous ancient monuments in Skärholmen. One of these is the Domarringen i Skärholmen, a large burial ground from the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, located at Stävholmsgränd just south of Skärholmens centrum. Northeast of Skärholmens gård lies Skärholmens fornborg, a Viking Age hillfort with a strategic location on a rocky outcrop near the ancient waterway to Helgö and Birka.

The land area where Skärholmens centrum is located originally belonged to Smista gård, and the entire area was part of Huddinge kommun until January 1, 1963, when it was incorporated into the City of Stockholm. Since there was already development in Huddinge bearing the name Smista, the name Skärholmen was chosen for the major centre and district that were being planned. At that time, the area was an agricultural landscape with forested hills and valleys.

The name comes from the farm Skärholmens gård, which still exists by Lake Mälaren. The farm was originally a croft belonging to Vårby gård. During the 18th century, it was rebuilt and acquired its present appearance.

Prince Bertil inaugurates Skärholmen with a speech at Skärholmstorget on September 9, 1968.

Vikingaberget is the highest natural point in the City of Stockholm, at 77.24 meters above sea level.