Episode 251: kv Amiralen, kv Barkassen, Järntorget

District: Haga

Photo date: 23 May 2022

In the 1970s Gothenburg was a bastion of socialism, from serious social democrats to ravening revolutionaries. But that was actually a fairly late development, rising rapidly when ship-building and other heavy manufacture expanded in the early 1900s. Before that, Gothenburg was a city of merchants, with conservatives and liberals (in the economic sense) being by far the dominant political factions. In the late 1800s, though, workers’ gruops and parties emerged and made their HQ at the Iron Square.

The first HQ was built around 1900 and was quite pretty, but bigger premises were needed in the 1950s. The current newspaper (long since discontinued) house was built in 1957 and designed by Uppling & Fylking. But a decade earlier, Nils Einar Eriksson had designed the People’s House across the street in The Longboat, in clean and simple Modernist style. The new hotel colossus, designed by the Erséus bureau, looks frankly weird in the middle of it.

The Iron Square is named after the important iron scales that were moved to this area from the city centre in 1785. Gothenburg was the biggest export harbour for timber and iron in west Sweden and the scales is where quality control was performed. But the site of the current square was variously called Toll Square, Tree Square, Furniture Square, even Bierhalle Square, reflecting various businesses still more or less in place. In the 1920s it was given its current layout with the little houses designed by Hugo Jahnke and the big fountain by Tore Strindberg.

Episode 252: kv Styckjunkaren

District: Haga

Photo date: 23 May 2022

The big Louis Enders house fronting Järntorget hasn’t changed much since it was built. There have been bars and restaurants in it and other houses in the block since their inception, with bohemians and artists often frequenting them. Järntorget can be quite raucous in the nighttime. But I still haven’t found any explanations to Fredberg’s term ”tarachim entertainments”!

Episode 253: kv Sergeanten

District: Haga

Photo date: 23 May 2022

The Sergeant is dominated by the development along Linnégatan, which started in the late 1800s. Before then, the street area was drained by a creek called Djupedalsbäcken, which was rapidly hidden in a culvert. Soon, this turned out to be not a very good idea…

Episode 254: kv Fanbäraren, kv Hornblåsaren

District: Haga

Photo date: 23 May 2022

The last two blocks in district Haga are also part of the development along Linnégatan. The wooden houses ”at the back” along Landsvägsgatan were neglected, partly deliberately, to the point where they had to be condemned and were torn down in the 1980s to make way for modern housing. In fact, most of Linnégatan had to be torn down then, due to serious subsidence damage, but more on that later…