Describe the characteristics of the Helgeandsholmen in Vädersolstavlan's Medieval Stockholm.
Just behind the Greyfriars turret is the islet of Helgeandsholmen, where the northern city gate and defensive wall were located. Today occupied by the Swedish Parliament, this islet was named after the charitable institution, Helige andens holme ("Islet of the Holy Spirit"), located there from around 1300 and discernible in the painting as a building with stepped gables facing an open space perhaps indicating the location of the demolished Johannite monastery. King Gustav Vasa had all the charitable institutions in the city merged into a single one housed in the former Greyfriars monastery on Riddarholmen, so the monasteries in the painting were all the possession of the crown when the painting was produced.The painting shows a bridge stretching north (left) from the northern city gate to an open space. This is the site of perhaps the oldest river crossing in Stockholm, today replaced by the Norrbro, Riksbron, and Stallbron bridges.  The latter of these (not present in the painting) is a 19th-century bridge still located on the site of the medieval structure. It connects Riksgatan passing through the Parliament Building on Helgeandsholmen to the square Mynttorget on Stadsholmen, from where Västerlånggatan extends it further south.To the left of the open space north of the medieval city are the steep southern slopes of the Brunkebergsåsen esker, a geological feature whose remains still stretch north through the city. Missing in the painting is the small island of Strömsborg, which was little more than an insignificant cliff at the time.
painting Stockholm esker Parliament Building Riddarholmen Swedish Parliament Stadsholmen Stallbron Norrbro Riksbron Riksgatan Brunkebergsåsen Greyfriar Mynttorget Johannite Helgeandsholmen Gustav Vasa left Strömsborg Västerlånggatan