Engelbrektsgatan 7
in Malmö

A House with a Long History

Engelbrektsgatan 7 has a history lined with silver and gold. In 1888, a large silver treasure was found here in a decayed wooden chest, Guldvarubolaget G Dahlgren & Co produced gold items here for many years, and today various precious metals in modern design are sold on the premises.

Owner and information

Available premises
Contact Tel. +46 (0)40 - 611 34 00
Owner: Fastighets AB Trianon

Many residents of Malmö know the building as The Persian Palace, and it was said that a wealthy Saudi Arabian prince lived here for many years. Stop your imagination – that was not the case. More about the building’s history ↓

The Gold Goods Company

The precious metals silver and gold run like a common thread through the history of Engelbrektsgatan 7.

The Gold Goods Company Ltd, G. Dahlgren & Co (GAB), had its offices and production at this address. The company rebuilt a simpler house from 1890 into the palace we see today. They moved their factory here in 1908 and remained until around 1970, when operations were relocated to Citadellsvägen.

The Gold Goods Company was founded as early as 1845 and grew both through mergers and – above all – thanks to skilled designers and goldsmiths who made it one of Sweden’s largest suppliers of gold and silver goods. Among much else, the company produced knives, forks, jewelry, candlesticks, and coffee pots.

Silver Treasure

Silver of a much older origin was quite literally unearthed in the neighborhood in 1888. That year, while digging the foundation for what would later become known as the Persian Palace, workers found the largest treasure ever discovered in Malmö inside a decayed wooden chest.

The background is as follows: During the very turbulent 17th century in Skåne, the city was besieged, first by the Swedes in 1644 – since Malmö at that time was a Danish city. Malmö’s citizens and their soldiers managed to withstand the siege, saving the city from being plundered. In 1658 Skåne became Swedish through the Treaty of Roskilde, and new wars soon broke out. In 1677 it was time for the Danes to besiege the city. This also failed, yet the residents took measures to protect their belongings.

Anders Christiansen and Anne Aagesdaatter owned a property at the corner of Tegelgårds- and Engelbrektsgatan. They did not want to lose their fortune, so they buried it in various places in the house and garden. They knew from experience that if the city fell to the enemy, the soldiers would be granted several hours of free plundering – a form of wage benefit and a nightmare for the city’s residents.

Both Malmö and Anders and Anna survived the crisis, but the elderly couple died the following year from illness. They never dug up their buried treasure, nor did they tell any relatives where it was hidden. As a result, the heirs dug up the property themselves and eventually found some thousand coins and a few pieces of silver.

This, however, was only a fraction of the wealth hidden in the 17th century. The majority of the treasure did not come to light until 1888. It contained 3,516 silver coins along with jewelry, cups, chains, fittings, and ornamental silver. In total 278 objects.

The entire treasure can be found at Malmö Museum.

Those looking for the treasure must make their way far down into the castle’s underground vaults. There you will see a red glow shining through two small windows.

The Persian Palace

This nickname for the building has stuck in the memory of Malmö residents. It is said to originate from the 1930s, when Boris Möller, a colonel in the Persian army, is believed to have rented a grand apartment in the house.

In Portrait Gallery for Malmöhus County from 1930, it is noted that Boris Möller was a major in the Royal Halland Regiment and secretary of the Automobile Association’s Skåne division. He possessed a number of medals and distinctions, and even a balloon pilot’s license! He had served in the General Staff and worked as an instructor with the Persian gendarmerie for three years.

Engelbret

Engelbrektsgatan is not named after a Swedish freedom hero, but after a Malmö townsman, Engelbret Bertilsen. It was common for streets to be named after prominent residents living there. However, as there were no street signs, names tended to change over time. Bertilsen died in 1654, but by chance the street largely retained his name.

Engelbrektsleden

During the 1960s and 70s, large parts of Malmö were demolished. The concept of the bomb hole was coined, describing the countless empty demolition plots spreading across all Swedish cities. The old district Väster was also under threat. The block Tranan, south of this building, was flattened and opposite, in the block Stjärnan, half of the buildings disappeared. The plan had been to build a bus terminal here.

This was part of a larger idea to turn Engelbrektsgatan into a broad bus route. Massive protests erupted, and the so-called Schartau House in the block north of here was even occupied. Although that house was demolished, politicians eventually backed down and abandoned the plans for Engelbrektsleden. Large parts of Old Väster were thus saved, and gradually politicians began to realize that huge concrete and brick blocks were not the answer to life’s challenges.

Modern Office Building

Since the Gold Goods Company moved out, the building has undergone several transformations and is now a modern office property – but without losing its charm. Today it houses advertising agencies, architects, and a range of other companies and organizations, such as Malmö Citysamverkan and Fastighetsägarna.

In the commercial premises, much like today, there was a tobacconist and a hairdresser in the 1960s. In addition, Malmö’s old yarn shop – as old as the building itself – was located here. Today the premises host, among others, Stockholm Auktionsverk, and the goldsmith tradition is carried on by silversmith David J. Butler.

Architectural History

During the Middle Ages and well into the 17th century, Malmö’s private housing consisted almost exclusively of half-timbered houses. Only churches, the castle, the town hall and a few other buildings were built of brick. In the block Druvan, where Engelbrektsgatan 7 stands today, half-timbered houses remained as late as the mid-1800s. Only then did brick buildings begin to appear. The first was a distinguished rental property erected in 1877 by manufacturer John D. Andersson, at the corner with Jöns Filsgatan.

The following year, 1878, the wing facing Tegelgårdsgatan was renovated and rebuilt. It housed a tobacco factory – one of many in Malmö. The rooms were divided into tobacco storage, drying rooms, twisting rooms, cutting rooms, and a large workshop. There was also space for a small glove factory.

In 1888, a new two-story residential house was built facing Engelbrektsgatan. It was connected to the ten-year-old corner building but was designed with a more modest appearance.

In 1907, city architect August Stoltz redesigned the entire residence facing Engelbrektsgatan. The facade then received its current appearance, and the Gold Goods Company spared no expense when furnishing the building with offices and rooms for representation. Factory premises were located in the two side wings, which now had four floors including basements and attics.

A series of larger and smaller renovations followed, in line with changing company needs. In the 1970s, large parts of Old Väster were at risk of demolition, and the former Gold Goods Company building was also threatened. As a result, maintenance was neglected and the house fell into disrepair. When the Engelbrektsleden project was abandoned in 1976, Harald Nilsson bought the property and had it restored.

The Dahlgren Foundation

When Gustav Dahlgren died in 1875, he was a wealthy man. The company was carried on by others, though his well-reputed brand name was kept. His legacy also lived on in another way: the Dahlgren couple established a foundation intended to provide food and lodging for the poor. The idea was that the capital should first grow, and only when the fund reached a value of 500,000 SEK would a larger building be erected. It took until 1901 before construction began – but the result was a castle-like residence. The Dahlgren Foundation was located on Andréegatan in Rörsjöstaden, next to Rörsjöparken.

There was room for ten small families, each with a two-room apartment, and 24 singles, each with a one-room apartment. The building also housed a shared dining hall and a large chapel.

Who was allowed to live here? The charter stated: “The right to be admitted to the foundation lies with any respectable person, but not from the ‘lower working class’, who has reached the age of 50, has belonged to Malmö society for at least 10 years, has paid taxes properly, and is not wealthy, with preference given to native citizens of Malmö.”

The foundation’s language was strict and formal. Applicants would arrive politely, hat in hand, apologizing for troubling the directors.

The Dahlgren Foundation’s castle-like building eventually fell victim to Malmö’s demolition frenzy. When the local tax authority needed larger premises, new buildings were erected on Rörsjön’s old sports field. As compensation, a new sports ground was needed, and the Dahlgren lot was chosen. Even here there were protests, but in March 1978 the building was demolished.