More excursions

I keep expecting life to slow down as we settle in on Spolegatan, but it never really does. Lund, like most Swedish cities, is putting up winter lights, replacing water in the fountains with greenery, and adding seasonal decoration. I joined two international organizations for tours in Helsingborg and Malmö this week.

In Malmö we saw a few of the oldest buildings which were near the harbor when they were first built. As the city grew, more town squares/ marketplaces were built to facilitate trade. A few interesting details… about the millstone embedded in stortorget, the big square and the name Malmö, probably just a story since the name Malmö had been used since at least 1170 and the millstone was added much later.

Digging a well in stortorget would have resulted only in sea water, of course, so they piped in fresh water from a lake 3 km away using oak pipes., The well remained in use from the 1520s until the 1850s, when a cholera outbreak was linked to the wooden pipes.

A curious recent addition is this plaque calling out Gustav Vasa for his bad behavior during the peace talks of 1524, when he drew a knife against one of the participants after failing to get his way… an odd detail that we step right over when entering the Espresso House for a post-orthodontist treat!