If you stroll from the Royal Palace along Mintgatan, which turns into Riddarhusbron, you will find yourself on the island of Riddarholmen. It received its name, which translates into Russian as "Knight's Island," only in the 17th century. Before that time, it was inhabited mainly by monks of a Franciscan monastery, dressed in long gray robes. That is why it was then called the Island of the Gray Monks - Gråmunkeholmen.
When the Reformation took place in Sweden at the beginning of the 16th century, the country's citizens converted from Catholicism to Protestantism. Some time later, the King of Sweden, Gustav Vasa, abolished all the monasteries on the Island of the Gray Monks and gave these lands to members of the nobility for the construction of castles. All the monasteries were liquidated, and the island came to be called the Knights' Island.
Today Riddarholmen is the smallest administrative unit in Stockholm. According to official documents, only one person lives here. As a rule, you will not see large crowds on the island; tourists do not come here often. However, peace and tranquility do not always reign on Riddarholmen. On Walpurgis Night, the island of royal tombs fills with crowds of Swedish young people wishing to communicate with the spirits of their ancestors.
