Bellman’s poetry concerns itself almost exclusively with Stockholm and its environs. In Admiral Carl Tersmeden’s Memoirs, he is referred to as “the town’s well-known poet” (the capital of Sweden was commonly known as “the town”). Although Carl Michael Bellman has been gone for more than 200 years, there are still a number of places in the capital city that mirror things in his life and poetry, or that have retained some traces of the poet’s time.
Here is a presentation of a few of these ‘intact’ places connected with Bellman, with pictures and short explanatory texts.
More than fifty of these places are identified in the book Bellman var där (“Bellman was there”, Stockholm, 1997), written by members of the board of directors of the Bellman Society. This book is in Swedish; it is for sale at the Bellman Society’s Web shop.
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Värdshuset Klubben [The Tavern called “The Club”]
On Mälarhöjden, near the southwest shore of Lake Mälaren by its main channel, about five miles from Stockholm’s inner city, lies the peninsula called “Klubben” (“The Club”). In former times it was a favored docking place for travelers by boat. Bellman often visited this place, since he had family relations living at the nearby Hägersten farm. In Fredman’s Epistle No. 42, there is a description of a group of people playing cards at “The Club” Tavern. An unusual trait for this Bellman poem, however, is that scene described is wintry: “It’s snowing and getting cold,” he writes, and “wolves are howling all over.”
Mälarhöjden, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Fader Höks krog [Father Hök’s Tavern]
Nearby “The Club” on Mälarhöjden there was also a cruder tavern in Bellman’s time, and this one is described in Fredman’s Epistel No. 49. The innkeeper’s name was Father Hök. He bids his guests welcome as they disembark from the lake boat. Lake Mälaren is full of other sailboats – a milieu often and affectionately described by the poet. The phrase “Minsta vinkel osar finkel” (something like “There’s smoke from a still behind every hill”), from the second verse of this poem, has become famous; it apparently refers to the numerous moonshine operations in houses along the shore.
Mälarhöjden, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall Fernando Orellana
Hägerstens gård [The Farm at Hägersten]
Claes Arrhén von Kapfelman was a lawyer who married Bellman’s oldest sister, Catarina Christina, and purchased the farm at Hägersten in 1765. The poet was often a guest at the farm. It lies just outside the center of Axelsberg. There are many poems preserved from Bellman’s visits here. Fredman’s Song No. 65 – a letter in verse to the poet’s friend and patron, Elis Schröderheim – contains a humorous description of a hunting scene here, and the manuscripts date the occasion June 5, 1777 at Hägersten Farm.
Axelsberg, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Årsta gård [The Farm at Årsta]
For a year during his youth, Bellman was compelled to live with his parents at the farm at Årsta. Toward the end of his life, however, he returned to this milieu, when the farm was owned by C. H. von Schnell and his wife Märta Helena (maiden name Reenstierna), who wrote a highly interesting diary about her life on the farm. Bellman became Märta Helena’s ‘chosen poet’ for the farm, and performed his own works at the haying festivities. When Bellman was in debtor’s prison in 1794, she had a bottle of cherry brandy sent to him in an attempt to lift his spirits.
Årsta, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Faggens Krog [Fagge’s Tavern]
On Gavelius Street close to Vitaberg Park (on Södermalm, the island directly adjoining the Old Town of Stockholm), this building still stands, where once the Fagge family had a well-liked tavern in Bellman’s time. In Fredmans Epistel No. 55 there is a description of a jolly group of tavern visitors who are passing the time with a game of bowling and other entertainments.
Gaveliusgatan 5 A, Östra Södermalm, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Fågelsången [The Fågelsången (Birdsong) Farm]
Bellman spent a good deal of time outside the city limits of Stockholm, in an area known today as Hägersten. He was a frequent visitor at the Fågelsång farm, which lies at the west end of a lake called Trekanten. Bellman’s younger sister, Fredrika Eleonora, and her husband, Georg Stiernhoff, lived there. Please note: what appears to be the main building here is only a backdrop! The actual farm house is the building on the right side.
Gröndal, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Ekensberg [Ekensberg Tavern]
In the 18th century, the shores along the shipping channel on Lake Mälaren were dotted by taverns that catered to travelers. One of the most well-known of these was found in this building in Ekensberg (today in the suburb of Gröndal). Bellman has given us a drastic description of activities here in Fredman’s Epistel No. 48: the pounding of the bowling balls drown out the snores of a tavern customer who has fallen asleep with a rock (!) for a pillow.
Ekensberg, Liljeholmen, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Stadsmuseet [Stockholm’s City Museum]
The City Museum at Södermalmstorg (the marketplace just across the bridge from the Old Town) lies in a magnificent palace that in Bellman’s time was the southern City Hall for Stockholm. There was a tavern in the basement of the palace that Bellman often visited. The meetings of Augustiorden [“The August Society”] were held here, and Bellman himself was the spokesperson for the group. The August Society was organized for the purpose of supporting King Gustaf III (Gustavus III) and the royal Swedish family. Gustaf’s name-day (a continuing Swedish tradition, according to which each day of the year is provided with a name or a group of personal names), his birthday and the day he took over parliament in a coup d’état were all celebrated. Bellman was an active royalist, who wrote for one such occasion: “Lefve Gustaf, vår Kung, vår Far! Så länge blod än finns i någon åder quar, Så rinne det till hans försvar!” (something like: “Long live Gustaf, our King, our Father! As long as blood still runs in any of our veins, Let it run in his defense!”)
Slussplan, Södermalm, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Källaren Gyldene Freden [The Cellar Tavern “Golden Peace”]
The legendary “Gyldene Freden” is still in existence as a restaurant and tavern. It is found in the Old Town, on Österlånggatan 51. It was of course visited by Bellman. In one poem attributed to Bellman, he used the tavern as the start of a ‘round Robin’ of drinking establishments with a number of “soldiers of Bacchus”: “Förgyllda Freden – karl, bliv I leden! Härifrån på stund patrullen går” (something like: “Gyldene Freden – soldier, stay in your rank! This is where our patrol starts in a minute”). Our own time’s most reknowned Bellman researcher, Gunnar Hillbom, has noted some doubt as to whether it was Bellman himself who wrote that text.
Österlånggatan 51, Gamla Stan, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Krogen Krypin [The Tavern “Creep In”]
One of the most famous poems in the collection Fredman’s Epistles is No. 23, “Ach du min Moder” (“Ah, tell me, mother…”). It starts with a frightful description of the alcoholic’s plight, when he lies in the gutter late at night, filled with anguish and self-pity, outside the Krypin Tavern near Järntorget in the Old Town. After a while, however, the sun rises, and the doors of the pubs begin to open, causing a change in the tone of the poem… “Hurra Courage! Lustigt Bagage! Friskt i flaskan, hej!” (something like: “Hurra, spirits up! Smile, you bum! There’s liquor in the bottle, ho!”). One of the finest interpretations of Bellman ever made may be heard of this very song: it is Fred Åkerström’s recording (found on the 6 CD-set of the Complete Fredman’s Epistles).
Järntorget, Gamla Stan, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Gamla Riksbanken [The Old National Bank Building]
In his youth, Bellman planned to work for the Swedish government in some capacity. He held a job at the Manufacturing Office and the Customs Office, but never advanced further. At the age of nineteen, he applied for a position at the National Bank – in the 1750s, it was housed here on Järntorget in the Old Town. From the standard test for applicants (the results have been preserved), it appears that he had difficulty doing fractions, since he could not tell the difference between the numerator and the denominator. He knew his multiplication tables, however, and so they let him work at the bank for the next five years.
Järntorget, Gamla Stan, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Krogen Rostock [The Rostock Tavern]
Fredman’s Epistle No. 45 describes a brawl at the Rostock Tavern, which was situated in this building at Västerlånggatan 45 in the Old Town. One of Bellman’s characters, Mollberg, was beaten up when he refused to stop playing a mazurka his adversary didn’t like. Perhaps even worse, he insisted on making comments about “the state of Poland.” Mollberg was sticking his nose into international politics: Poland had been divided in 1773 by Prussia and Russia. The other guy yells: “What the hell do you have to do with Poland’s situation?” and the scene goes downhill from there.
Västerlånggatan 45, Gamla Stan, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Stora Nygatan 20 [The Home at Stora Nygatan 20]
Bellman had recurring problems with his finances, and his family was often forced to move to different homes. He and his family lived at this address in the Old Town from 1787 to 1789. It was here that he wrote the famous lullaby, “Little Charles, sleep tight in peace,” for the couple’s newborn son, Carl.
Stora Nygatan 20, Gamla Stan, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Bellmans grav [Bellman’s Grave]
Bellman was buried in the graveyard at Klara Church (between Sergelstorg and the railway station). His monument near the street exit to Klarabergsgatan, decorated with the large medallion by the renowned sculptor, Tobias Sergel, was raised by the Swedish Academy in 1851. It is known that Bellman’s remains were buried in this churchyard; but the exact spot is actually unknown, since there were numerous reburials in this graveyard during the 19th century.
Klara kyrkogård, Norrmalm, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Urvädersgränd [The Home at Urvädersgränd]
During several highly productive years at the beginning of the 1770’s, Bellman rented an attic apartment on the little street called Urvädersgränd on Södermalm (just up the hill from the Stockholm City Museum). The house is now owned by Par Bricole, a fellowship of which Bellman was once a member. It was in this small apartment that Bellman wrote perhaps three quarters of the collection Fredman’s Epistlar – including such famous songs as No. 33, “Stolta stad” (“Splendid isle”) and No. 25, “Blåsen nu alla” (“Blow your horns loudly”).
Urvädersgränd 3, Södermalm, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Stora Sjötullen [Naval Customs House]
The island Långholmen is a milieu that is sometimes referred to in Bellman’s poetry. Known at a later time for its modern prison buildings, it was also a place feared in Bellman’s time by ‘loose’ young women without employment. They were subject to arrest and work for a year at the “Spinning House,” where they were to spin wool for the State-owned clothing factory. In Fredman’s Epistel No. 36, Ulla Winblad is arrested for this purpose. In Fredman’s Epistel No. 48, the Naval Customs House is mentioned, where all boat traffic from Lake Mälaren on their way into the city had to declare their wares. The Customs House was on the north shore of Långholmen (in the pictured building from 1785).
Långholmen, Stockholm
Text: Bo G. Hall, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Stora Henriksvik [Customs Inspector’s House]
Before the Naval Customs were moved to the building known as Sjötullen, the custom’s officer had his office and living quarters at Stora Henriksvik, a short distance to the east on the island of Långholmen. After extensive renovations, this building, probably from the late 17th Century, has become the home of a fine little Bellman Museum, an initiative begun privately with the help of the Society for Bellman’s Memory (Sällskapet Bellmans Minne).
Långholmen, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Apotekshuset eller Apotekarehuset [The Apothecary House]
The Apothecary house was built in 1741 as a home for the owner of the nearby shipyard and was the first stone building in the area. The interior, with its Chinese-style paintings from the 1760s, when the af Chapman’s lived here, inspired Bellman to Fredman’s Epistle n:o 22, ”Till the nybyggare på Gröna Lund” [“For the settlers at Gröna Lund”]. Fredman’s Epistle n:o 25, ”Blåsen nu alla” [“Blow ye all”] is inspired by a mural in the Apothecary house, depicting the Element of Water, placed next to Boucher’s painting The triumph of Venus. The latter painting was originally bought by count Carl Gustaf Tessin, Councillor and President of the Chancery, and is now on display in the National Museum in Stockholm. The house is now used as offices for the Gröna Lund amusement park.
Lilla Allmänna gränd 3, Djurgården, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Mjölnargården [The Miller’s House]
The Miller’s house is from the beginning of the 18th Century and was originally a part of a manor that also included the Bellman house. This was an inn for a period in the 18th Century. Gröna Lund currently uses it as a café in the amusement park.
Lilla Allmänna gränd 10, Djurgården, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Bellmanhuset på Djurgården [The Bellman House on Djurgården]
The Bellman house, the Miller’s house, and a couple of other houses that now are lost, were part of a building complex belonging to the shipyard. The grove called Gröna Lund was possibly located between the two buildings, that is in what today is the amusement park. The front gable room has paintings in the ceiling and on the walls, probably made by the artist Petter Lorenz Hoffbro. The shipyard had inns for employees and visitors, and either this or the Miller’s house is the stage for Fredman’s Epistle n:o 62, ”Angående sista balen på Gröna Lund” [“Regarding the last ball at Gröna Lund”] and Fredman’s Epistle n:o 12, ”Elegie öfver Slagsmålet på Gröna Lund” [“Elegy on the fight at Gröna Lund Tavern”].
Långa gatan 4, Gröna Lund, Djurgården, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Bellmanbysten [The Bellman Bust]
The inn Bellmansro [“Bellman’s rest”] burnt to the ground in 1952 and has not been restored. The name is due to the bust by Johan Niclas Byström, based on the medallion by Johan Tobias Sergel, unveiled on 26 July, 1829 (still celebrated as Bellman Day in Stockholm) “at a place where Bellman enjoyed sitting under an oak”, though it is uncertain if this claim was based on any evidence. The bust is the first public sculpture of a non-royal person in Sweden.
Bellmansro, Djurgården, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Bellmanstaty [The Bellman Statue]
Hasselbacken [“Hazel hill”] is named for a hazel grove destroyed in 1792, next to an inn that for a while was known as Dunderhyttan [“The Thunder Hut”], and was a meeting point for excursions to Djurgården in Bellman’s time. The statue is a bronze replica of Alfred Nyström’s zinc original, now in Kräftriket. August Strindberg modelled for the statue in 1869.
Hasselbacken, Djurgården, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Nummerlotteriet [The Number Lottery]
In 1776 Bellman was appointed secretary of the Number Lottery that was founded by Gustavus III in 1773. Bellman retained this appointment to his death, and could therefore style himself “Secretary at the Royal Court”. It has been claimed that he during certain periods rented out the appointment in return for half the salary. The Number Lottery was then located at this address. Behind the more recent front are three medieval buildings.
Svartmangatan 9, Gamla stan, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Högvaktsflygeln [The Royal Guards Wing of the Royal Palace]
For ten weeks in the spring of 1794 Bellman was in debtor’s prison in the Royal Guards wing of the Royal Palace in Stockholm, for a debt of 102 riksdaler. As a public employee he did not have to sit in the town debtor’s prison by Hornsgatan. Nevertheless, the premises were cold and damp even if the bed, as jokingly mentioned by Bellman, used to belong to King Frederick. His cell had a window towards the back. Here he wrote his Memoirs and drank cherry brandy brought to him by Märta Helena Reenstierna, the Årsta Lady.
The Royal Palace, Gamla stan, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Hemma hos Palmstedts [The Palmstedt Residence]
Bellman’s childhood friend, town architect Erik Palmstedt and his wife Gustava, lived in the corner apartment on the second floor of this building. In the 1790s the author Carl Gustaf af Leopold, the composer Joseph Martin Kraus, the organ player Johan Wikmanson, the artist brothers Elias and Johan Fredrik Martin, Bellman, and several others, attended mistress Gustava’s breakfasts, and this is where Carl Michael and Lovisa Bellman first performed the cantata ”Fiskarestugan” [“The Fisherman’s Cottage”] by Kraus and Bellman, in honour of Gustava. On the right the Ehrenstrahl building is visible. Both buildings are now part of Storkyrkoskolan [The Cathedral School].
Svartmangatan 22, Gamla stan, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Ehrenstrahlska huset [The Ehrenstrahl Building]
The Ehrenstrahl building was erected in the 17th Century for the court painter David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl. Later it passed to Peter Hinrich Fuhrman who opened a tavern here, and had Bellman, Tobias Sergel, and Erik Palmstedt as patrons. Fuhrman was the stepfather of Engela Friedlein, Bellman’s mother-in-law. This building, like the Palmstedt building, is erected on the walls of the old Dominican monastery and is now part of Storkyrkoskolan [The Cathedral School].
Svartmangatan 22, Gamla stan, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Maria Magdalena kyrka [The Church of S:t Mary Magdalene]
Bellman was born in the block west of the church, and he grew up in a then house a hundred metres up the current Bellmansgatan. He was baptized in the church, and his maternal grandfather the Reverend Michael Hermonius was one of the godparents. From his childhood home he crossed the churchyard to visit his grandparents. Fredman’s Epistle n:o 81, ”Märk hur vår skugga” [“Mark how our shadow”] takes place on the churchyard of S:t Mary Magdalene.
Hornsgatan, Södermalm, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Katarina kyrka [The Church of S:t Catherine]
Fredman’s Epistle n:o 38, ”Undan ur vägen” [“Get out of the way”] and Fredman’s Epistle n:o 54, ”Aldrig en Iris” [“Never an Iris”], both describing the funeral of corporal Boman, take place on the churchyard of S:t Catherine’s.
Högbergsgatan, Södermalm, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Platsen för krogen Terra Nova [Terra Nova Tavern]
The sailors’ tavern Terra Nova was located in the house at the back. This is the site of Fredman’s Epistle n:o 5, ”Til the trogne Bröder på Terra Nova i Gaffelgränden” [“For the faithful Brothers at Terra Nova in Gaffelgränd”] beginning “Dear brothers, let us drink in peace”. Bellman’s comic magazine Hwad Behagas? [What’s Your Pleasure?] N:o 2 also mentions Terra Nova.
Gaffelgränd, Gamla stan, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Platsen för krogen Amsterdam [The Amsterdam Tavern]
This is the site of Fredman’s Epistle n:o 78, ”Fägne-Spel på Fader Didriks Namnsdag år 1780, sammanställt på Amsterdam, et Näringsställe i Stora Hopar gränd” [“A musical greeting on Father Didrik’s name-day anno 1780, when the musicians gathered at The Amsterdam, a chophouse in Stora Hopargränd”] beginning “Scarce Jeppe on his nook had gone in”. Bellman jokingly alludes to the city of the same name in parodical journals such as Dagligt Allehanda [Daily Allsorts] of 24 August, 1773, and Inrikes Tidningar [Domestic News], Stockholm, Thursday 5, September, 1782. Exactly where in the alley The Amsterdam was located is not known.
Stora Hoparegränd, Gamla stan, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Clas på Hörnet [Clas on the Corner Inn]
Clas on the Corner was established in 1731 and named for its first proprietor, Clas Browall. In Bellman’s time his friend Petter Helin managed a golden age for the inn; it is mentioned several times in Bellman’s poems and in his dramatic work. The Par Bricole order, of which Bellman was a member, met here, and Bellman delivered complimentary poems to friends, including Helin himself. The original inn has been torn down, but this building is left and has been used as a restaurant since 1984.
Corner of Birger Jarlsgatan/Surbrunnsgatan, Vasastan, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Krogen Lilla Hornsberg [The Lilla Hornsberg Inn]
Hornsberg Manor was erected for the field marshal Count Gustaf Horn in the 17th Century. In the 1760s the Lilla Hornsberg was parcelled off and became a sea inn called Fördärvet [The Ruin], suitable for excursions from town. In July 1779 Bellman wrote an impromptu here. In 1793 he sent a note in verse to his friends the Kempensköld family at Tjälvesta, purporting the message to be sent from Tripoli by a servant of the Kempensköld’s. The nearest part of the building is the oldest, possibly from the 17th Century.
Hornsbergs Strand 22, Kungsholmen, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Börshuset [The Stock Exchange]
The building was designed and constructed by Bellman’s friend the architect Erik Palmstedt in 1767–1778. The Stock Exchange and its large ‘exchange hall’ was the foremost banqueting rooms for the middle class. This is where Bellman’s fiancée Lovisa Grönlund went for the burgher’s masked ball. Bellman stayed at home and wrote a poem for her return. In the poem he exhorts her to throw away her mask and show her beauty to all, to show who’s fairest of them all.
Stortorget, Gamla stan, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Kräftriket [The Crayfish Kingdom]
The tavern Kräftriket is also known as ‘The First Cottage’ (i.e., the first beyond Kattrumpstullen, now Roslagstull) or Katrineberg, and was well known for its crayfish. In the early 1790s this was a popular place for ‘piqueniques’ outside the town and offered a view towards the royal Haga. The is the site for Fredman’s Epistle n:o 80, ”Liksom en Herdinna” [“As festive a comely shepherdess”]. August Strindberg was the model for Alfred Nyström’s zinc statue, erected in 1869.
Kräftriket, vid Roslagstull, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Turkiska paviljongen [The Turkish Pavilion]
Before the pavilion was built and before the construction of the new palace was begun, the king spent his time in the Haga park at ‘old Haga’. Gustavus III had Louis Masreliez design the turkish ‘kiosk’ (a Turkish word in itself), in which New Year’s Eve 1789 saw the performance of Bellman’s play ”Dramatiska sammankomsten” [“The Dramatic Encounter”], in which the actors at the Royal Dramatic Theatre discuss their repertoire, casting, clothing, but primarily the new theatre regulations. The actors played each other and it all ends in a eulogy to the King.
Old Haga, the Haga park, Solna
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Gustaf III:s paviljong och Ekotemplet [Gustavus III’s Pavilion and the Echo Temple]
The planned palace at Haga never got further than the foundation. A position as royal housekeeper may not have been intended, but Bellman wrote a supplication for his wife Lovisa to be remembered should a position open, and attached the now so famous Haga song, Fredman’s Song n:o 64 ”Fjäril’n vingad syns på Haga” [“O’er the misty park of Haga”]. In the event, there was not a palace and no royal housekeeper; left are just the Royal Pavilion, the Echo Temple, and one of Sweden’s most cherished songs.
The Haga park, Solna
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Karlbergs slott [Karlberg Palace]
Of all the orders that Bellman belonged to, the August Order was the most political one, intended to honour and commemorate Gustavus III’s coup d'état on 19 August, 1772. The order met in the Southern City Hall, at Sabbatsberg, and here at the Royal Palace in Karlberg in the now demolished orangery. In periods, Bellman and his family lived in an apartment at the eastern end of the orangery.
Karlberg Palace, Stockholm
Text: Olof Holm, Photo: Fernando Orellana
Elfviks gård, Lidingö [Elfvik Manor, Lidingö]
Elfvik was bought in 1775 by the court gold drawer Petter Widman and his family. Widman and Bellman were friends and brothers of the Arla Coldinu Order; both were ardent supporters of Gustavus III. Bellman was a frequent guest at Elfvik until Widman’s death in 1791. Bellman produced divertissements and sang about the place in many songs, e.g. the Lidingö song ”Glada bygd så täckt belägen” [“Merry land, so fairly sited”], the first of Bellman’s songs to use the melody that today is mostly associated with “O’er the misty park of Haga” (which no Lidingö patriots can avoid pointing out). Fredman’s Song n:o 21, ”Så lunka vi så småningom” [“Away we trot, soon, ev’ryone”] was first performed here.
Elfvik, Lidingö
