time, when no bridge led to the islet, but one had to travel by rowing boat with a motley woman from Dalarna at the oars."
Arthur Sj�gren, mostly remembered for his illustrations of the novels of August Strindberg, also studied the history of Str�msborg in great detail. In a report in 1926, he concluded that the present circular-shaped island dates back to the end of the 19th century and described the island before this as a thickly wooded and irregularly shaped island with a set of various small buildings; a charmingly picturesque view that saw its fate finally sealed with the demolition of the main building in 1895. The idyll described by these two men vanished with the construction of the current palace in 1895-97, designed by builder Johan Andersson and the architect Claes Grundstr�m and then redesigned by architect Ragnar �stberg 1929-30.
Even before this, the isolated idyll was tied closer to the rest of the city with the construction of Vasabron in 1872-78, and what remained thereafter definitely disappeared with the construction of Centralbron 1961-67.
The islet remained the HQ of Swedish Sports Confederation for many years, while the ground floor was being used as a restaurant. In 1953 a renowned dance hall was built on the island, while the upper floors were used for offices until 1994. Since 1996 the entire building has been restored to its pre-1953 appearance, but used exclusively for offices. The island is currently devoted entirely to the offices of International IDEA, a non-profit inter-governmental organization
