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Once the site of Sweden's largest prison and now a green haven for the people of Stockholm, the little island of Langholmen sits in the waterway between Sodermalm and Kungsholmen and offers a striking example of a place reborn. From the eighteenth century the island was given over to incarceration, and its central jail loomed over the channel until it was finally closed in the 1970s; rather than demolish the buildings, the city turned them to new uses, so that today part of the old prison houses a hotel whose rooms are converted cells and another part a museum that tells the story of those once held here. Around these reminders of a harsher age, the island has been laid out as a park, with shady woodland trails, open lawns for picnicking and lounging, and small sandy beaches whose swimming spots draw crowds on hot summer days. The water's edge affords pleasant views of the city and the passing boats, and the whole island has an air of quiet greenery despite lying only a short stroll across a bridge from the lively streets of Sodermalm. This blend of a sombre past and a relaxed present gives Langholmen a charm quite its own among the islands of the capital. The transformation of the main jail into a hotel is among the island's best-known quirks, letting guests pass a night within walls that once confined prisoners, the cramped former cells now made over into plain but comfortable rooms, while a hostel, a restaurant and the little prison museum fill other parts of the old complex and preserve the memory of its grim former use. The remainder of the island is devoted almost wholly to leisure, its trails threading through woodland and across grassy banks down to the shore, where a handful of small beaches and bathing places make it one of central Stockholm's favourite spots for swimming and sunbathing during the brief northern summer. In good weather the lawns fill with joggers, cyclists, picnicking families and sunseekers, and the sheltered water of the channel draws paddlers and small craft. Although it lies just a short walk or bridge crossing from the busy streets of Sodermalm, the island feels remarkably secluded, a tranquil corner of greenery within the city. It is precisely this contrast, between a past of confinement and a present of swimming, picnicking and play, that gives Langholmen its singular appeal among the many islands that make up the Swedish capital.