I just visiting Stockholm a few weeks ago, and while I was there had another chance to meet with the great Swedish Sherlockian: Mattias Bostrom. Mattias is a true scholar of Doyle, a BSI, the author of 'From Holmes to Sherlock', and co-creator of a series of books tracking newspaper articles on Doyle and Sherlock (published by Wessex Press).
It was another great chance to catch up. The first time we caught up - two years ago - Mattias took me on a walking tour to explore another world. Not a world of gaslight in London, but instead the world of Martin Beck of Stockholm, written by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo.
Mattias spent an entire Saturday with me two years ago, and with a sheaf of notes, a Swedish article, and some printed photos Mattias took me on a tour of locations mentioned in the Martin Beck books. We walked all over Stockholm, and as we went I also took notes and took photos of locations. Mattias actually knew Maj Sjowall from his professional world in book publishing, and so he even had some personal insight from his time speaking to her.
Above: The wonderful Mattias Bostrom in 'tour guide' mode navigating the dangerous streets of Martin Beck's Stockholm.
I've been meaning to turn the walking tour into a blog post so that others can walk in the footsteps of Martin Beck and his colleagues.
There is one piece missing: a map. I'm working on it, and will create a map and add it to this post. The map will show the numbered locations. So the walking tour text below has a brief explanation of what happened at each numbered location (with a few other places along the way!), and photographs to help the reader identify them.
The original tour Mattias took me on used a Swedish-language article titled (translated from Swedish) 'Sjöwall-Wahlöö's bloody Stockholm', published in the newspaper 'Dagens Nyheter' on 23rd January 1993. We've followed that path, have translated the descriptions (thanks Google) but also added to these and added new locations. Any site can be visited in any order - the numbering is not chronologically aligned with the storyline of the book series - but it does create a path starting at (1) that can be followed.
Without further ado, get to Stockholm and enjoy the Martin Beck walking tour!
-------
A tour of Sjöwall-Wahlöö's Stockholm
Here in the city, especially in Vasastan, most of the books' gruesome murders and dramatic arrests took place (although Södermalm, Solna, Motala and Skåne also had their fair share of horrors).
We start at Norrtull (1), where terrorists tried to blow up a US Senator (in 'The Terrorists') but were fooled by Martin Beck. The only victims of the attack were 2,091 sandbags, a mountain of insulation material and the cap of Detective Inspector Einar Rönn
Above: The small St Eriksparken (2) is the site of one of the murders in 'The Man on the Balcony'. The third victim in the book, an 11-year-old girl, is found at the edge of the cliff in the north-west of the park. 750 metres further down Norra Stationsgatan, where Norrbackagatan (3) ends, is the site of the mass murder in 'The Laughing Police'. It takes place on a double-decker bus 47, killing nine people, including Martin Beck's young colleague Åke Stenström.
Above: Norra Stationsgatan in 1970, showing a Number 47 double-decker bus.
Above: If you continue across St Eriksplan, you come to Sabbatsberg Hospital (4) - the site of one of the bloodiest murders in the books, where "the dreadful man from Säffle", former police officer Åke Eriksson, in the authors' own words, cuts Inspector Stig Nyman in half.
Above: At left, the Eastman institute, with fountain at front; Right, Dalagatan 34 directly across from the Eastman Institute.
At the Eastman Institute (5), a little further north on Dalagatan, Constable Kristiansson is shot in the knee by Eriksson, who is now sitting in his gallery at the top of Dalagatan 34 (6), determined to shoot every policeman he sees. His colleague Kvant is shot in the neck and dies, on top of Kristiansson, in the fountain outside the Eastman Institute. Gunvald Larsson, who witnesses the incident, manages to escape by kicking in the door of the institute. Later, Eriksson moves to the roof of Dalagatan 34, from where he kills another policeman and wounds seven more - including Martin Beck.
Above: Immediately adjacent to the Eastman Institute is the large Vasaparken (Vasa Park) where the helicopter crashed in "The Abominable Man". (Note that in Bo Widerberg's film adaptation the helicopter crashed in in the nearby Odenplan, a public square).
After this, the tour goes via Odengatan to Sveavägen, to the left at the Hard Rock Cafe - and we are in the middle of the 'Man on the Balcony' drama. Top photos: The balcony itself (7) can be found on the other side of the street, at Number 126. It was from the third balcony down that the Småland man Ingemund Fransson "stood and watched the children". He managed to murder three girls before he was arrested. The first of them, an eight-year-old girl, lived on the other side of the street, at No 83 (8) (Bottom photo, left) - and was found strangled to death a few stone's throw away, in the park called Vanadislunden (9), between St Stephen's Church and the water tower (bottom photo, right).
Of note, Sjöwall and Wahlöö actually lived at Sveavägen 83, and the plot for the story was partly inspired by an experience when one of their children was approached by a strange man who tried to decoy them away.
Above: At Eriksbergsplan, in the red corner house at Runebergsgatan 2 (10), the police succeed in making an arrest: after a serious police provocation, the Roseanna murderer Folke Bengtsson is lured into trying to murder police officer Sonja Hansson in her home here.
Above: As you walk towards Bergsgatan 57, you first pass the Rådhuset (Stockholm Court House) where Martin Beck and his wife were married. Rebecka Lind in The Terrorists was in the District Court there for armed bank robbery.
Above: At Luntmakargatan 57 (11) is the Leopard pharmacy, at no. 57. Upstairs in the courtyard house is probably a new front door. The previous one was one of many that Gunvald Larsson kicked in, in search of the child murderer in "The Man on the Balcony”.
Above: As we walk on, pause to look across at the Kungliga biblioteket (The Royal Library), the Swedish national library. This library houses the original manuscripts (most of them handwritten) of all the Martin Beck stories written by Sjowall and Wahoo.
So we continue.
Above: On Kungsgatan, just before the junction with Norrlandsgatan (12), Martin Beck and Fredrik Melander arrested the mass murderer from the bus in "The Laughing Police" - a property manager from Stocksund. This took place on the 6th floor, probably of the building at left.
Above: At the next junction on Norrlandsgatan, where it intersects with Smålandsgatan (13), the first step in solving the Roseanna murder was taken, when Folke Bengtsson was discovered over a cup of coffee by Officer Lundberg.
Above: We continue towards Old Town, to Köpmangatan (14). Martin Beck moved here to a two-room apartment at the top of No. 8 in 1969, after his divorce. And on the roof a little further up towards Stortorget, the terrorist Reinhard Heydt lay with a sniper rifle, intending to avenge his failed attack by shooting Martin Beck. However, this project did not materialise either.
Above: The Old Town is also home to Martin Beck's favourite restaurant, Den Gyldene Freden (15) at Österlånggatan 51. Den Gyldene Freden translates to ‘The Golden Peace'. The restaurant has been continuously operating at this address in Gamlastan (Old Town) since 1722.
As we depart Gamlastan, we walk across the bridge to Riddarholmskyrkan (the Riddarholmen Church).
Riddarholmskyrkan is the oldest building in Stockholm, and where Sweden’s Kings were buried (left). There, the visiting US Senator points to the Birger Jarl statue (right). Through the church gate, Rebecka Lind came out and shot the Prime Minister (in ‘The Terrorists’).
Some addresses on Kungsholmen should also be visited. Karlsviksgatan 4 (16) is the site of a puzzling suicide. Fearing the revenge of the Mafia, Sigurd Karlsson, a small-time bus driver, takes his own life in "The fire engine that disappeared". But first he writes Martin Beck's name on a note.
Above: On Bergsgatan 57 (17), a stone's throw from the "National Police Board's showy building", you can try to find the window that is the key to the murder mystery in "The Closed Room". The window in question sits on the top of a staircase, to the right of the gate - and it was through it that Karl Edvin Svärd was shot dead by a bullet from the hill in the park (Kronobergsparken) on the other side of Bergsgatan.
From St Eriksgatan it is then a short step to Norrtull - and we are back where it all began.
No comments:
Post a Comment