Who was Amalia Eriksson?
About the woman who named our hotel.
Amalia, the daughter of farrier Jonas Lundström and his wife Catherine, was born in Jönköping on November 18, 1824. When Amalia became 10 years old, she lost both her parents and five siblings as a result of a cholera epidemic. Being the only survivor and a young girl all alone she shortly thereafter started working as a maid for two sisters named Röding. Her journey to becoming an extraordinary successful businesswoman began. A road that would prove to be both long and difficult.
In 1855, Amalia now 31 years of age, moves into Brahegatan 2 (today Hotel Amalias Hus main building) in Gränna. The Röding sisters have previously had the property as a summer residence, but have decided to move to Gränna permanently and Amalia as their maid accompanies them to their new home.
Shortly after the move to Gränna, Amalia meets her future husband, tailor Anders Eriksson and they fall in love. Anders often writes love letters to Amalia when he is away on travels for his work and after two years they marry. Amalia soon becomes pregnant and the couple is expecting twins.
It is said that this time period is one of the few where Amalia was truly happy. Her happiness, however, would once again prove to be short. At birth, one baby is stillborn but they do get a daughter whom they name Ida. Only four days after the birth Anders becomes ill and shortly thereafter pass away. Amalia, alone with her newborn daughter, is now without support and can no longer continue her work as a maid. Having a great interest in baking both bread and confectionaries it seems that, despite all tragedy, an idea of how she is going to provide for her newborn daughter is slowly beginning to form in her mind.
Amalia applies to the Magistrate in Grenna to start her own business, something, for a woman, very unusual for this time. However, due to her social circumstances on January 10th, 1859 she receives her permit from the Magistrate to start up a bakery shop.
Amalia moves into what is today the hotel's main building and in rent she pays 12 Swedish krona per year to the Röding sisters. She starts her production of bread and confectionery and the first candy cane or "Polkagris" sees the light of day in 1859 in what today is the hotel's restaurant kitchen.
Amalia Eriksson never remarries and remains a successful entrepreneur throughout her life. She dies on January 25th, 1923. She is then 99 years old and one of Gränna's most wealthy and influential women. Amalia's candy canes are today seen all over the world. During Christmas times in our Christmas trees, in Disney's Mickey Mouse and chipmunk films. It is today an industry that has put Gränna on the world map. Each year, more than 10 million traditional red and white candy canes are baked by hand by the village's 15 candy bakeries. The bakers never rest, they work in three-part shifts, 24hrs a day, all year round. Other forms of candy canes such as puffs and lollipops are created mechanically and almost most of it goes on international exports all over the world where the US is the largest importer.
Imagine if Amalia knew that her confectionaries would become world famous. That it would benefit Gränna's tourism industry with 1 million visitors each year who come to see and taste her traditional food craft and what has become one of Sweden's foremost souvenirs.
Amalia's daughter Ida continued to bake candy canes until 1945. She is buried next to her mother at Gränna Cemetery.
