Old Rosenbom in front of the church
The original inside the church
In front of the
Karlskrona Admiralty Church
The Karlskrona Admiralty Church ( sv, Karlskrona amiralitetskyrka) is a church in Karlskrona, Sweden. The church is also known as the Ulrica Pia in honor of Queen Ulrike Eleonora of Denmark, Queen consort of King Charles XI of Sweden ('pia' i ...
, in Sweden, the popular wooden figure of Gubben Rosenbom (''Old Man Rosenbom'') has been standing since the mid 18th century. In 1956 the original was replaced by a copy and put in a safer place inside the church. The life-size figure is actually a poor box, which means, if you lift its hat, you can insert a coin for the poor.
The figure holds a placard in one hand which states in a slightly old-fashioned Swedish:
:I humbly beg of you,
:even though my voice may be weak,
:come and put a penny in
:but first lift my hat.
:Blessed are those that care for the poor.
The last sentence is from the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
.
The figure of Rosenbom is particularly well-known because it is featured in
Selma Lagerlöf
Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...
's book ''
The Wonderful Adventures of Nils
''The Wonderful Adventures of Nils'' ( sv, Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige, literally ''Nils Holgersson's wonderful journey across Sweden'') is a work of fiction by the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to receive th ...
''. There, the title hero meets Rosenbom and speaks with him.
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Folk art
Outdoor sculptures in Sweden
Buildings and structures in Blekinge County
Wooden sculptures in Sweden
18th-century sculptures
