Ofvandahls is the oldest still operating

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

and '' konditori'' in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, founded as ''Café Dahlia'' in

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Battle o ...

by Erik Ofvandahl (1848–1949). It still occupies the original suite of rooms in a (now) listed 19th century building at the intersection of Sysslomansgatan and Sankt Olofsgatan, in the historical

Fjärdingen Fjärdingen is a neighbourhood in the inner city of Uppsala, Sweden, situated on the western banks of the river Fyris. It has been the ecclesiastical centre of Sweden since the 13th century and contains many of the historical sights and landmark ...

inner city district. Ofvandahls held the distinction of Purveyor to the Swedish Royal Court for a long time and the café remained in the Ofvandahl family, being run by his daughters Ragnhild and Anna until 1971.

Specialities

Linnébakelsen, a turquoise medallion with Carl von Linné's profile in marzipan, is one of the confectionery's most famous creations. The patisserie also serves sandwiches and simple lunches and sells coffee, cakes, bread and confectionery to take away.

Literary associations

Erik Ofvandahl was originally from the village of Ovandal near

Borlänge Borlänge is a locality in Dalarna County, Sweden with 44,898 inhabitants as of 2020. It is the seat of the Borlänge Municipality with a total population of 51,604 inhabitants as of 2017. History Originally Borlänge was the name of a tin ...

. He took the name of his village as his surname in 1901, renaming the café ''Ofvandahls''. He was an amateur poet and poetry enthusiast much beloved by students of neighbouring

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

for his whimsical poems. The café still houses occasional poetry reading events. Even though studying at the table is formally prohibited by the management, Ofvandahls remains especially popular with students and alumni of the university. Many local writers such as

Hjalmar Bergman Hjalmar Fredrik Elgérus Bergman (19 September 1883 in Örebro, Sweden – 1 January 1931 in Berlin, Germany) was a Swedish writer and playwright. Biography The son of a banker in Örebro, Bergman briefly studied philosophy at Uppsala Univers ...

Gustaf Fröding Gustaf Fröding (; 22 August 1860 – 8 February 1911) was a Swedish poet and writer, born in Alster outside Karlstad in Värmland. The family moved to Kristinehamn in the year 1867. He later studied at Uppsala University and worked as a journali ...

and

Karin Boye Karin Maria Boye (; 26 October 1900 – 24 April 1941) was a Swedish poet and novelist. In Sweden she is acclaimed as a poet, but internationally she is best known for the dystopian science fiction novel '' Kallocain'' (1940). Career Boye wa ...

have been regulars at the café, as well as the artist-prince Eugen, Duke of Närke. It also features in the lyrics of local songwriters

Owe Thörnqvist Owe Thörnqvist (born 12 March 1929 in Uppsala) is a Swedish singer-songwriter and revue artist. Since the 1960s he has lived in Spain and Florida in the winter for health reasons, and in Sweden in the summers. He has also made regular concert tou ...

''(

Ett litet rött paket Ett litet rött paket is a Christmas song with lyrics and music by Owe Thörnqvist. Owe Thörnqvist recorded the song in 1957, and it became a 1963 hit when Sven-Ingvars recorded it. The song lyrics describe Owe Thörnqvist's hometown Uppsala, ...

)'' and

Ulf Peder Olrog Ulf Peder Olrog (27 February 1919 – 13 February 1972) was a Swedish folklorist, lecturer, composer, songwriter, and radio personality. He was born in Stockholm to Thorvald Olrog and Hervor Jeanna Amalia Andrén. He studied at the Universi ...

''(På Ofvandahls konditori)''.www.ofvandahls.se/historia.html
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References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 59, 51, 34.387, N, 17, 37, 54.563, E, type:landmark_region:SE, display=title Uppsala Coffeehouses and cafés in Sweden 1878 establishments in Sweden