steamboat blidösund

The Blidok War, a fight for better boat traffic

In the early 1910s, the Blidö area was shaken by a conflict in which the inhabitants of the archipelago fought for better boat connections to the islands in Blidösundet.

Almvik 1910s

Distributed in the dining rooms, today 60 guests can eat at the same time, and it is organized with fixed seating times to be able to receive more guests during the same cruise.

Blidösund is launched in 1911

In the early 1900s, the people of Blidö were dissatisfied with the Waxholmsbolaget monopoly on boat traffic. There were comfortable boats in the summer, but the rest of the year the service was poor. When Waxholm III, a slower boat, started operating in the summer, the dissatisfaction reached its peak. To improve the situation, the people of Blidö raised money, an invitation to subscribe for shares in their own shipping company was issued in 1908 and in 1911 the steamer Blidösund was launched. Now there would be a more reliable boat service for the people of Blidö through the steamer Blidösund.

The war of the blues begins

When Blidösund began to serve the area, opposition to Waxholmsbolaget intensified. Blidö residents acted as "gatekeepers" by sitting on the bollards of the piers when the Waxholm company's ships were due to call.

One of these gatekeepers was Ingeborg Bergman. She was born in 1885 and guarded Glyxnäs pier on several occasions in this way. Two other Glyxnäs residents, Bror August Hellberg and Reinhold Jansson, also participated. Bror August writes in his diary: "Waxholm IIi did not get stuck when Reinhold and I sat on separate bollards. No passengers on or off Waxholm III, good luck". The Waxholm company then tried to call at rocks instead of private jetties, but the resourceful inhabitants of Blidö soaped the rocks so that it became dangerous to try to get ashore. The so-called Blidö War had thus begun, with name-calling and mutual slander. Blidösund was greeted with flags and cheers at the piers, while the Waxholmsbolaget's passengers had to listen to whistles and boos.

Wictor Eriksson Captain 1911 - 1929

Barefoot crew 1910s

Intense competition

Competition between shipping companies became fierce and ticket prices were squeezed. Already two years after the steamboat Blidösud was put into service, in 1913 an agreement was reached on a common tariff, but support for the Blidösund company continued. Guesthouse owners and shopkeepers refused to rent if guests did not travel with Blidösund.

The struggle of the people of Blidö

The Blidö War is a story of local resilience and cohesion. When you step aboard the s/s Blidösund, you take a journey back to a time when the inhabitants themselves shaped their future and fought for better boat connections in the archipelago.