Södertörn

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Södertörn

Södertörn is a roughly triangular peninsula in eastern Södermanland, Sweden, which is bordered by:

Lake Mälaren and the Saltsjön Sea to the north,
Himmerfjärden and Hallsfjärden to the west and
The Baltic Sea to the east and the south.

The peninsula’s connection to the mainland is broken by the Södertälje canal.

The southern areas of Greater Stockholm are on Södertörn. The sections of the Södertörn which are not part of Greater Stockholm are the southern parts of the peninsula, which lie within Nynäshamn municipality, and the western parts, which are in Södertälje municipality.

The northern areas of Södertörn are made up primarily of rift-valley countryside with high ground which is either pine forest or bare. The long valleys of the south become level ground, while those in the north contain salt water. The mountainous ground is almost entirely gneiss.

The peninsula’s name (Tør in 1283, a Tørinne in 1383 and eventually ‘‘Södertörn’’ since 1645) derives from the Norse dialect word tor, meaning "broken rocky beaches", which cut deep into the coast of Södertörn.

The highest point on Södertörn is Tornberg (in Haninge municipality) at 110.9 metres above sea level. Tornberg is in Hanveden, a large area of forest on Södertörn which includes Paradiset nature reserve in Huddinge municipality.

The southernmost parts of Södertörn were connected to Stockholm in 1901, when the Nynäs railway line was constructed. The railway ran between Nynäshamn in the south and Älvsjö (formerly called Elfsjö) in the north. At Älvsjö, passengers had to change trains in order to reach Stockholm Central Station. At that time, the train also stopped at Länna, where there was a connection with the steamers which served Lake Drevviken.