This protected area near Masthuggskyrkan, the church, has rows of one- and two-storey wooden houses with gardens, and is typical of the city's residential areas prior to 1850. Gathenhielm belonged to a renowned merchant, Captain Lars Gathenhielm; it is one of the wooden houses that were commonplace in Gothenburg before the city was ravaged by a series of fires between 1794 and 1813.