 Together with Karlbergskanalen, Karlbergssjön, and Klara Sjö, Barnhusviken constitute the nameless body of water which separates Kungsholmen from the city districts Norrmalm and Vasastaden and the northern suburb Solna.The northern shore, entirely occupied by the Klarastrandsleden motorway and eight rows of railway tracks, is not accessible to pedestrians, but, in contrast, the southern shore offers a section of the walk stretching some 2 km from the City Hall and all the way along the northern shore of Kungsholmen.Just like the bridge Barnhusbron spanning across it and several other local structures, the former bay was named in the 1860s after an orphanage ("barnhus", literally "children-house") relocated from Riddarholmen to the neighbourhood on its northern shore in the 1630s.