Södra varvet and the history of W. Lindbergs Varvs- och Verkstads AB

Södra varvet, also known as Stockholms stora skeppsvarv, was a shipyard located at Tegelvikshamnen. The site had a tegelbruk in the 1500s, followed by a tjärhov where the city's tar burners resided. In 1687, after a fire, the dangerous tar operations were moved to Beckholmen, and a shipyard was established at the location. The shipyard area was a partially filled part of a bay in Saltsjön. At the bottom of the bay were the stapelbäddar, while two bodlängor with material skjul, plankbodar, mallbod, and tackelbod were located towards Erstaberget (Erstagatan). A klockstapel with a vällingklocka and a smedja were also on the site.

As time passed, new bodar and skjul filled the open space between the bodlängorna. A house from 1748 still stands below the current Varvsbranten, which served as the home of the shipbuilder, giving the building the name Skeppsbyggmästarbostället. William Lindberg led the shipyard operations from 1844 to 1877. During this period, the production was specialized in shipbuilding, steam engines, and steam boilers. By the late 1890s, the company was one of the six largest workshop companies in the area.

The operation was reorganized into a corporation, W. Lindbergs Varvs- och Verkstads AB, in 1877 with Lindberg as the main owner. The shipyard had to stop its activities when Stadsgårdshamnen needed to be expanded. The final stapellöpning occurred on January 16, 1907, with the ship Lidingöfärjan 1, and the company's activities ceased entirely in 1930. The last boat from W. Lindbergs that is still in service is S/S Mariefred, which was launched in 1903.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons