Sandhamns history

1725

Here, the Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency decides that a customs house will be built on Sandön.

During the mid-1800s, Sandhamn got its first shop housed in the new inn. In 1850, the first summer guests appear and the need for a larger inn becomes greater. Still in the 1840s, the old 1700s inn retained its older form. In a document from the spring of 1842 entitled "Redgörelse öfwer expenses for the repair of this Tavern building in the year" we can get a fairly detailed description of how big the house was that year.

The pilot Samuel Sundberg was responsible for the repairs and it was also he who authored the account of the gracious approval of the other villagers. From Stockholm, necessary building materials such as timber, nails and paint are purchased. A "Capitain Pettersson" took care of the free shipping out to Sandhamn and

"Miss Sjöblom" and "The Mason" all performed a few days' work for the necessary repairs. The entire tavern building seems to have been repainted with red paint. The old peat roof was torn away and instead 250 roof stone tiles were added.

With the arrival of summer guests, the first summer settlement arose. The first time they rented with the pilot families and then the Inn became the place where you "got boarded up in the food" as it was called.

1896

The artistsVerner von Heidenstam, Gustaf Fröding, ME Acke, Albert Engström and Birger Mörner spent a few August weeks together with their wives in Sandhamn. They partied most of the time and Albert Engström invented his rewritten "floating smorgasbord" during his stay. The party lived separately in small red cottages, but meals were taken at a common table in the restaurant. So the inn.

1894

A new porch is being erected. The roof was paved with sheet metal and in the early years the upper porch was open, as fashion decreed. But soon the Swedish wet summer made itself felt and the upper porch was glazed as well. In the early 1900s, the Inn took on a more elegant character under the influence of Knut Aspegren. On the veranda, guests were served linen tablecloths, beautiful porcelain with emblems, and wine was drank in slender crystal glasses.

During the 1920s

The inn fell into disrepair and lost most of its former good reputation. No major repairs were made, which led to complaints from the relevant authorities and then mainly the county treasurer in Vaxholm.

1931

After the necessary repairs, the Inn was able to reopen . However, it was difficult for the then basement master to run the Inn all year round. There was also trouble keeping heat upstairs because it wasn't winterized. Two tiled stoves and a fireplace were the only source of heat. The upper floor was considered the 1st class dining room while the tavern rooms on the ground floor were the 2nd class.
Towards the end of the 1930s, KSSS took over the operation of Sandhamns Värdshus, which was then in a deplorable condition.

11 december 1940

In the evening, a large part of Sandhamns Värdshus burned down. The cause was some ashtrays that ended up in a corrugated cardboard box. With the help of old drawings, the Inn could be rebuilt. The entire building was winter insulated and coupled windows were inserted. The foundation was re-cast and new oak floors were laid in the lower floor and upstairs beautiful kijrwood floors. On May 30, 1941, the Inn was rededicated.
KSSS held the lease until 1955.

1959

Carl Erich Zaar arrives. He managed to obtain both wine and liquor rights, but with the proviso that the liquor would only be allowed to be served in the upstairs restaurant. But that didn't bother Calle Zaar, who called the brandy and whiskey "white sherry" in the simpler department downstairs. The food consisted mostly of hearty home cooking, falukorv, meatballs, fried herring and in the restaurant on the veranda salty bit, boiled pike and Calle's own pan steak. There was rarely anything green with the food, at most a few lonely canned asparagus on the edge of the plate. The guests had great respect for Calle. There was never a need for security guards if things got too noisy. Then he resolutely picked up a jug of amoniac and splashed heavily on the tavern floor. In less than a minute, all the guests had plunged out of the room. Calle Zaar ran the Inn until his death in 1976.

1979

The Wikström brothers arrive as new tenants. They succeeded with persistence and determination in reversing the trend and were able to buy the Inn in 1982.

1989

Lars Wikström takes over the business entirely on his own and has since left a genuine mark on the business.
Today, Sandhamns Värdshus has developed into a concept, not only in the archipelago but also in Stockholm.

Feel free to go in and look at the page

www.tellastory.io

for more solid history of

Sandhamns Värdshus!

Welcome to Ann-Marie and Lars with staff!