Rosenbom

Old man Rosenbom in front of the church entrance

Original statue inside

About the colonel of the Russian army, see Rosenbom, Ivan Ivanovich

The old man Rosenbom (Swede. Gubben Rosenbom) - a growth wooden sculpture of the middle of the XVIII century. in the Swedish city of Karlskrona . It became widely known thanks to the mention in the story of Selma Lagerlöf “ A wonderful journey of Niels with wild geese ”. Served as a box for collecting alms at the Admiralty Church of the city. The slot for coins is under the hat, which must be raised. In 1956, the original was transferred for safekeeping to one of the premises of the church, and a copy was installed in its place.

In his hand, the sculpture holds a tablet in old-fashioned Swedish:

Passerby, stop, stop!

Come to my weak voice!

Raise my hat,

Put a coin in the crack!

(from a translation by L. Yu. Braude)

Ödmjukast jag Er ber

Fast rösten är nog matt

Kom lägg en penning ner

Men lyften uppå min hatt

Säll är den som låter sig

Wårda om de fattige (Kon.Dav. 41: 2)

(original)

In the cartoon “ Enchanted Boy ” based on the book, the church is replaced by a tavern, and the sculpture is set “for beauty” (without a sign)