The Andersson family gathered at the dining table for meals, socialising, and daily activities. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud.

The Blockmaker’s House 1917

Svenska

Just over a century ago, a family ran a workshop from their home on the hills of Södermalm. Sharing the same building, a widow rented a single room for herself and her children.

Craftsman Gustav Andersson lives in a timber cottage on the island of Södermalm. He is employed by the navy making pulley wheels for ship rigging. He operates his lathe directly inside his home.

Life can get crowded and noisy when daily family life clashes with workshop production. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud.

Between 1917 and 1923, the Andersson family lived on the cottage’s upper floor. Meanwhile, the back apartment was rented by Emilia Gustavsson, a widow with five children.

This historic home shows how ordinary working-class families lived in early 20th-century Stockholm.

Location

Stigbergsgatan 21, Södermalm

Meals were prepared in this dark, compact upstairs kitchen. On Sundays, the family occasionally treated themselves to lunch at the historic Berns Salonger restaurant instead. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud.

Facts about The Blockmaker’s House

Address: Stigbergsgatan 21, Södermalm
Year built: Early 18th century
Floor area: 50 plus 20 square metres
Became a museum apartment: 1982
Amenities (original): No bathroom or indoor toilet; water was not available indoors; heating with wood-burning stoves; small kitchen with a wood-burning stove; home workshop; shared outdoor toilet.
Amenities (original): 3 outdoor privies (out houses), water from a street pump, heating via wood-burning tiled stoves, a small kitchen with a wood-burning stove and an in-house workshop.

Number of rooms: 4 rooms split across two apartments, including the workshop spaces
Rooms: Kitchen, combined bedroom/living room/workshop, a room upstairs for rent and two smaller ground-floor rooms for lodgers.

Experience the dwelling

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