thumb|400px|Helgeandsholmen and the Swedish [[Riksdag Building viewed from west]]
Helgeandsholmen () is a small island in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located north of Stadsholmen, and east of Strömsborg, with which, together with Riddarholmen, it forms Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm. Helgeandsholmen contains the Riksdag Building and the Museum of Medieval Stockholm, and is connected to neighbouring islands through three bridges: Riksbron, Stallbron, and Norrbro. Despite the small size, it is very important as it contains the parliament building, the supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden.
The terrace in the eastern end, called Strömparterren ("The Stream Parterr"), is a public park with a restaurant dating from 1832, while the flight of stairs leading down to the water is from 1807–1810. The quay west of the Riksdag Building once surrounded Sweden's central bank Sveriges Riksbank and was thus named Bankkajen ("The Bank Quay"), while the streets on southern and northern sides are called Norra/Södra Helgeandstrappan ("The Northern/Southern Helgeand Stairs"), all of them named in 1925.
Origin of the name
First mentioned in a letter written in Latin July 28, 1320, the name , a corruption of ("Islet of the Holy Spirit"), appears as ("on the island called Helgeandsholm"). At the time, (Old Swedish: , , , ) was a name used for charitable institutions spiritual in nature, in Stockholm first mentioned in a testament from April 24, 1301 ().
History
A set of islets
thumb|400px|The northern gates of Stockholm in 1675, showing Helgeandsholmen as a series of scattered islets between Stadsholmen and Norrmalm
Though one regular shaped island today, Helgeandsholmen was until quite recently a set of islets. Before the start of extensive archaeological excavations in 1978, it was traditionally believed that the present island once encompassed three islets:
- A larger main island to the south, called Helgeandsholmen from the 14th century. The excavations, however, convincingly showed that during the early Middle Ages this island in fact consisted of two smaller islets, of which we know absolutely nothing.
- And, north of this major island, two smaller ones, once the property of the abbey at Klara:
- One called Barkarholmen ("Bark Islet"), suggesting there was a tanning business here as bark was an important raw material for tanning. This islet was also known as Klosterholmen ("Abbey Islet").
- And, east of Barkarholmen, a rocky islet called Lilla Stockholm ("Little Log Islet") in the 16th century, renamed Bryggeriholmen ("Brewery Islet") during the 17th century (in reference to a brewery in operation 1641–45), and after that called Slaktarholmen ("Butcher's Islet") after a slaughterhouse operating there. Lilla Stockholm disappeared when Norrbro was finally completed in 1806.