Einar Bager

in Swedish

Einar Bager

1887 - 1990
Artist and Malmö historian.

Einar Bager trained as an artist at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and through travels in Germany and stays in Paris. Despite his artistic career, he is still primarily remembered as a Malmö historian.

It started with a few articles about the Bager family in Sydsvenskan around 1930 and a drawn reconstruction of Stortorget (IDstory) in the 17th century. Text and images would continue to go hand in hand, stories about Malmö's building history were accompanied by precisely drawn reconstructions that brought the history to life.

Einar Bager devoted most of his long life to Malmö's history and over time became ”omniscient”. In the City Archives' hiding places he searched for puzzle pieces for his articles, which were often published first in Sydsvenskan and then in the Malmö Fornminnes-förening's yearbooks. Through contributions from, among others, the Malmö Förskönings- och Planteringsförening, several books about and by Einar Bager were also published.

In both associations he eventually became an honorary member. He also sat on the Museum Board for many years and literally dug into Malmö's history during the many demolitions in the city center. In 1956 he was awarded an honorary doctorate at Lund University.

Large parts of Malmö's historic buildings disappeared during his time, but he saved some by creating public opinion or by showing the inalienable values ​​a building had nurtured behind centuries of plastering and rebuilding. Rosenvingeska House, Jörgen Kock's House, etc. Buildings that were demolished anyway had their history documented through him.

Despite his fantastic knowledge and his many published books and articles, Einar Bager did not need to write to make a living. He sat on several boards and managed the Bager family's properties and "assets".

He published his last article in 1989, the year before he died. He had been blind for a few years at the time but had ”his head still intact”. Einar Bager influenced and helped several generations of Malmö researchers, both through his research and the way he presented it. 103 years is a long life and Einar Bager made good use of his years.

Gravplats på Gamla kyrkogården (IDstory)
som är granne med Gustav Adolfs Torg (IDstory).

References

• About BiBB, a media company and an encyclopedia 4.0
• Einar Bager, Malmö byggnadshistoria till 1820 i Malmö Stads historia del 1, 1971
• Einar Bager, Malmöhistoria i sten 3 delar 1958, 1964 och 1966
• Einar Bager, Strövtåg i tid och rum 1977 | Einar Bager Bygge av vrakbräder 1981
• Elbogen Malmö Fornminnesförenings årsbok 1987 och 1990
• I historiens lustgård med Einar Bager Malmö Museer 1996
• malmo.se> kultur > Stadsarkivet | malmo.se> kultur > Malmö Muséer
• ellbogen.nu, Malmö kulturhistoriska förening
• Text: Christian Kindblad | Photo: Jonas Andréasson

Publisheds: 2003.06 Updated: 2025.06.12

Kategorier 20 Historical persons 45 Malmö 44

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