A part of Gothenburg

“For beauty, health, and healthcare”. With these words, Sven Renström donated money to the city of Gothenburg in 1869, intended for various charitable institutions. One of these became the Renström Bathhouse and Laundry in the working-class district of Haga, which was inaugurated in 1876.

But it actually began much earlier than that

Hagabadet was simply built to avoid cholera, and the history begins as early as 1834 when Anders Ryberg and his wife Anna Persdotter died on a hot July day in what turned out to be Sweden’s first cholera cases.

Within a few weeks, 10 percent of Gothenburg’s population had died, and the deceased were buried in mass graves near Skansen Kronan – just 400 meters from here. Carts carrying bodies were driven up Kaponjärgatan right outside the house. A trumpeter preceded them to warn people to stay away.

For several decades, cholera struck multiple times, leaving Gothenburgers helpless. At the same time, an English doctor discovered the connection between good hygiene, clean water, and cholera. After this discovery, sanitation became increasingly important, and across Europe, efforts slowly began to improve.”

Sven Renström’s donation

During the same period, in the mid-19th century, a young man from Värmland had moved to Gothenburg with aspirations to become a notary. Once here, Sven Renström, as the young man was named, discovered opportunities to sell timber from Värmland and export it throughout Europe.

Over the years, his business flourished, and Sven became a wealthy man. He also ventured into politics in Gothenburg, taking responsibility for welfare issues concerning the poor.

Sven Renström died 1869

Since he had neither wife nor children, he donated his fortune to Gothenburg. This donation became the foundation for four public bathhouses in Gothenburg. The bathhouse was named Renström Bath and Laundry Institution, with one of them located at Södra Allégatan 3. The bathhouse opened its doors on December 9, 1876.

The brave firefighters

In his diary entries, firefighter Sven August Thornblad recounts the difficult working conditions, mentioning that the heat was so intense that his shoe soles melted. By the time the exhausted firefighters managed to extinguish the fire, morning had arrived. Before they could recover, another alarm came from the bathhouse manager Sjögren at Renström Bath Institution: the bathhouse was engulfed in flames

The bathhouse is on fire

The firefighters quickly packed up their equipment and raced at full speed through Hisingen and across the old Hisingsbron bridge. The fire’s progress in Haga was violent.

The citizens of Gothenburg gathered at the scene and fought to save what they could. Among other efforts, textiles were lowered out through the window above the main entrance. The exhausted firefighters did all they could, and after several hours, the fire was extinguished.