Östra Förstadsgatan 34 in Malmö

in Swedish

The building was designed in 1963 by architect Gunnar Bergenudd and completed in 1965. It covers a large part of the Nils block on Östra Förstadsgatan between Fredriksbergsgatan and today's Drottninggatan. Today the property features about 10,000 sqm of office space and around 3,500 sqm of apartments. Read more about the building’s history↓

Tenants and owner

• Shops and other businessesꜜ
• Vacant premises: not updated
• Owner: not updated

Östra Förstaden

On the edges of a growing Malmö, new suburbs sprang up. These areas were often low-rise and home to factories working with flammable or hazardous materials. Östra Förstaden hosted the Malmö Porcelain Factory and the Matchstick Factory—known locally as Stickan. More about Östra Förstaden↓

Demolition Mania

The demolitions began with construction of the Malmö-Lund expressway. The "Autostrada," as it was called, was finished in 1953; a decade later, it was linked to Drottninggatan by clearing an entire block at Östra Förstadsgatan.

All the blocks toward Värnhem were demolished over the ensuing ten years. Every building between Värnhem and the motorway was also torn down—a whole district erased. See maps of the demolitions↓

Fredriksberg, the local amusement park, offered timely relaxation for workers and others who weren’t considered "fine folks." More about Östra Förstaden↓

Östra Förstadsgatan

This slightly ahistorical image shows motorists driving into the city center via Drottninggatan. A right turn at our corner house and you’d be on Östra Förstadsgatan—over a hundred years ago. More history↓

The Building And Its Tenants

Many leisure venues lived in this building. Perhaps most famous was the VM-hallen, forerunner to today’s Big Bowl. It opened in autumn 1965 and was Scandinavia’s largest bowling alley. The Bowling World Championship in Malmö 1967—with twenty nations—was not quite a victory for Sweden.

On the corner by Drottninggatan there’s still a big billiard hall. Upstairs once hosted Hotel Scandinavia and the dance restaurant Vivel.

Domus department store occupied the property for years, alongside B O-radio, Ahlfors Musik, Arkitektkopia and other businesses.

Today, Laserdome, Big Bowl and Netto are major ground-floor tenants.

A postcard from the mid-1960s, when the building was new—corner of Östra Förstadsgatan and Drottninggatan. The façades have since been completely redesigned. The hotel is gone. New tenants have moved in.

Demolition Mania

Throughout the 1960s and 70s, much of Malmö was demolished—including huge swathes of old housing. Entire blocks were razed even when they contained usable buildings, all in the name of efficiency, scale, and profit. Volumes have been written about demolitions in Lugnet and Caroli City, but the destruction here in the east has rarely gotten the attention it deserves—even though it affected more buildings and area.

The new buildings that rose from the ashes were not always beautiful—something Malmö will live with for decades. But Östercentrum is one of the more thoughtfully designed and well-maintained properties in the district.

Demolition began with the motorway build. The Autostrada was finished in 1953; ten years later it was linked to Drottninggatan, clearing a whole block from Östra Förstadsgatan. This erased Västra and Östra Dalgatorna, eastern neighbors. pt-30, every block toward Värnhem was removed over the pt-30 decade, and every structure between Värnhem and the motorway vanished. An entire district was wiped out. The scars remained until the 2000s, when all the "bomb craters" were finally built over.

This 1930s map marks demolitions from the 1950s onwards in deep red. The blue line shows the motorway’s path—see how one block is literally run over.

A more recent map with Östercentrum shown in red

Östra Förstaden

Along what was originally Östra Infartsgatan, low-rise buildings sprang up during the 1700s and 1800s. Out here in the east—far from the city center—many factories were built. The Crown Distillery, Malmö Porcelain Factory, Stickan Matchstick Factory, and others using fire-hazardous or toxic materials took root away from the city.

Until the 1930s, the sea baths at Öresund were just a short walk from Östra Förstadsgatan. You’d walk to Sandsjön for a swim. Today the water is far off, but it used to be just behind the railway, at today’s Industrial Harbor.

Fredriksberg

Fredriksberg was an amusement park located by Östra Förstadsgatan in the 1870s, roughly where Fredriksbergsgatan runs today.

It was folksy, festive, and packed. The so-called fine crowd stayed away, but housemaids, farm hands, hussars, journeymen, artisans and factory workers had a ball out east.

Here, the Frenchman Pascal made his ascent—an adventure that began with the Montgolfier brothers↗ svW and their hot air balloon c1780.

Many eye-catching acts appeared at Fredriksberg: the American Blondin walked backwards with a sack on his head atop a telegraph wire, someone biked atop a rope, the Flying Trapeze wowed crowds, Miss Jessie Baker dazzled with her famous ballet troupe, Pascal attempted balloon ascensions (but failed), traveling actors staged plays, fire king Acz-czi performed somersaults and danced on stilts, fireworks lit up the night, and more.

The garden held a theater, dance floor, and several dining halls like Jamaika, Byttebod, and others. On the so-called Cow Meadow behind the park, families could picnic. If you lacked something, you could buy it through a slot in the Fredriksberg fence.

By the early 1880s, the fun was over—the city expanded and the land was needed for homes and shops. But the name lives on in Fredriksbergsgatan, which runs straight through the old entertainment grounds.

Malmö Regale Distillery 1783. Östra Infartsvägen runs horizontally left, the city’s defense walls are to the left, and the open Östra Rörsjön below. Notice Öresund at the top.

The distillery closed after some decades, leaving little trace. In 1900, the Swedish Distillation Company planned a major factory in the Nils block behind Östra Förstadsgatan, with entrance from Fredriksbergsgatan. The detailed drawings are signed by Teodor Wåhlin, cathedral architect—known in Malmö for the Hippodrome. The plans, however, were never realized.

Östra Förstadsgatan

Before the demolitions, a few single-story houses from the mid-1800s still stood; on the corner of Fredriksbergsgatan was a simple two-story and in the middle of the block a stately building in Jugend style drawn by Frans Fredriksson in 1906. He designed several homes and office buildings in Malmö and Lund, notably the beautiful house at Östra Förstadsgatan and Exercisgatan.

The street was a hive of shops—selling handbags, hats, chemicals, radios, meat, fruit, candy, coats, cigars, shoes, petrol, and more. Tram no. 3, the "Ring Line," clanged through, as did no. 1 and the coal trains from Nyhamnen and Malmö gas works. Transport was still by horse and wagon, just as much in the 1910s as early 1960s—except trucks and buses had multiplied.

What used to be Östra and Västra Dalgatorna became part of Drottninggatan's extension, and the motorway gained direct access to all of Malmö’s center.

References

• About BiBB, a media company and an encyclopedia 4.0
• Text: Christian Kindblad | Photo: Johan Schlasberg

Shops and other companies

• Not currently updated

Published: 2005.06 Updated: 2025.09.10

Kategorier 20 Fastigheter 47

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