Södermalm borough, often shortened to "Söder" (translates "South"), is a city district area in central Stockholm, Sweden. It covers the large island formerly called "Åsön". With a population of
ca. 100 000, it is one of the most densely populated districts of Scandinavia.
"Söder" was up to the early 1990's a working class distict and to some areas
even slum. Nowadays, Södermalm is considered hip and trendy,
home to
hipster and bohemian culture with a broad range of cultural amenities. The growing demand of housing, as
well as an increasing gentrification of Stockholm's central parts, makes apartments in Södermalm more and more difficult or expensive to come by. What was once a working-class district is now
home to cool and privileged
people in the know.
Though Södermalm usually is considered an island,
water to both its north and south does not
flow freely but passes through locks. Södermalm is connected to its surrounding areas by a number of bridges. It connects to Gamla
Stan to the north by Slussen, a grid of road and
rail and a lock that separates the lake Mälaren from the Baltic Sea, to Långholmen and Kungsholmen to the northwest by one of the city's larger bridges, Västerbron, to the islet Reimersholme to the west, to Liljeholmen to the southwest by the bridge Liljeholmsbron, to Årsta by Årstabron and Skanstullsbron in the south, and, finally, to Södra Hammarbyhamnen to the east by Danvikstull Bridge.
