06 Nov Bellmansro
Bellmansro in 1866 ~ Source: Ny illustrerad tidning, Wikimedia Commons
A restaurant in Stockholm that has been mentioned in OSS Stockholm wartime reports is the Bellmansro. According to Wikipedia Sweden, it was built in 1828 as a tavern. The very next year a bust was erected nearby of Carl Michael Bellman, an important Swedish poet who died in 1795. After that, the establishment began to be known as “Bellmansro.” Toward the end of the 1800’s food service was added.
The restaurant was located just north of Oakhill on Djurgården. Oakhill is a magnificent palace now owned by the Italian Embassy. If you click on the 1866 photograph you can barely see the statue in the background.
During World War II, the Bellmansro was a popular restaurant and a well-known Nazi haunt.
In the book “Raoul Wallenberg: The Mystery Lives On” by Harvey Rosenfeld, the author writes that there was a meeting between Wallenberg and members of the American Legation in Stockholm at Bellmansro, “one of Stockholm’s most exquisite restaurants.”
And I even found mention that in 1946 Greta Garbo dined there.
The original restaurant burned on May 13, 1952. That area is still known as “Bellmansro” in honor of the Bellman bust still standing, and there is in fact also a Metro bus stop near the site.
There has been a more recent restaurant Wärdshuset Bellmansro (Wärdshuset = Inn) on Djurgården named after the original one. I can’t find confirmation that it is still in business.
Related post: Stockholm Restaurants 1944
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