I live in Alby, Botkyrka, Sweden.
If you have been here, you probably live here or used to live here. It’s a suburb south west of Stockholm near the end of the red line. Together with Norsborg, Hallunda and Fittja, Alby is part of the Million City project from the sixties. Concrete high rises. If you know it, you probably know it as a ghetto, an immigration hub.
If you lived here 800 years ago, you might have known the place as the birthplace of Saint Botvid, the first Swedish saint. I have lived in Botkyrka for 7 years and recently I picked up Maja Hagerman’s 2025 book about Botvid from the local library.
A convenient story
In 250 illustrated pages, Maja Hagerman tells us about the world Botvid lived in, the time after his death when he was patronised as saint, and the re-discovery of Botvid. It is as much a time about the telling of stories about ourselves as it is about the person Botvid. The author argues that Botvid is the first Swede. This is because the Legend of Botvid talks about Swedes as a single unity. Up until then, it would be lands of the Swedes (plural).
Botvid lived in the early 12th century in what is today Botkyrka. People in the lands around lake Mälaren were mostly pagan and not united under a single ruler. They would come together to defend their lands from outside threats but as allies, not as one people. Botvid travelled to England where he converted to Christianity. Upon his return as told in the Legend of Botvid, he lived as a Christian.
One story is about Botvid going fishing with some friends. The owner of the lake demands a cut of the catch. Botvid disagrees and changes to another spot where they have great luck and land a bountiful catch. Moreover, it is as if all fish has followed him, leaving no fish for the angry landowner.
Botvid had a slave that he wanted to release. His slave had other plans and killed Botvid with his own axe while asleep.
Hence Botvid is depicted with a fish and an axe.
After Botvid’s death, he eventually was patronised as a saint. He remains was moved from the Church of Salem to the newly built Church of Botkyrka (the ‘Church of Botvid’). A convenient story upon which to build a church and to unite people. For Sweden to have its own Archbishop independent from the Archbishop in Lund, a Dane. Who then again competed with the Archbishop in Hamburg for influence over Scandinavia.
Forgotten and rediscovered
Just as convenient it was to remember Botvid after his death, it was convenient to forget him after the Reformation (16th century). Not deliberately destroyed, just put aside and forgotten. Wooden altar cabinets left on an attic for centuries. Repurposed for mixing tar.
The Botkyrka Monument, a stone coffin with the remains of Botvid’s brother Björn, eventually made its way to the Historical Museum of Stockholm. Carved with both runes and latin letters, it marks the transition to a new time.
One reason we do have any written account of Botvid today is that religious books were recycled, not destroyed. Individual pages of parchment was cut loose and used to bind accounting books across later centuries. These have been painstakingly scanned individually as fragments, puzzle pieces from which we can create a picture of the past.
The Church of Borkyrka has been renovated inside and outside these last years. Archeological excavations have taken place but has not located the remains of Botvid.
The 12th century church now stands as a monument for generations to come. A monument of transition and change. Next to the freeway, it greets you just before you pass the busy billboards of the Alby exit and the concrete high towers of the Million City. What stories about Botkyrka will we tell our children as we drive by?
Do you feel safe?
The same day I picked up the book from the library, local politicians knocked our door and talked with my wife, leaving a pamphlet.
Conservatives took power in Botkyrka after a meltdown of the social democrats who had been in power for 40 years. Now they want to stay in power after the upcoming election.
“We want Botkyrka to be a place where you feel safe.”
The thing is, I already feel safe. The only time I don’t feel safe is when someone with a political agenda asks me: DO YOU FEEL SAFE?
We have an easy commute to the city centre (it could be faster but can’t it always?). We have convenient shopping nearby with a wide selection.
We have lots of free or cheap public facilities close. Skating rim in the winter. Outdoor swimming facilities in the summer. Indoor for other seasons. Safe footpaths and bike lanes with streetlights and winter maintenance. Fenced areas to let the dog run free. A public library with a wide selection. Good schools for the kids (at least for now). Fairly cheap electricity. Local heating. We drink the water from the tap. I don’t worry about getting mugged or shot or hit by a drone when I go anywhere.
Life in the ghetto is good. But I guess you need a story to tell to make people follow you?
Anyway, reading Maja’s book gave me new inspiration to explore my local area and to look for traces of Botvid when travelling. And new stories to tell my kids.
