Ola Värmlänning
Encyclopedia
Ola Värmlänning is a drunken prankster whose legendary exploits were once very popular among the Swedish-American communities of Minnesota
. A Swedish language
book about him is in the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society
.
. According to some accounts, he was the black sheep son of the Swedish nobility
. He is alleged to have been packed off to America and provided a periodic stipend to remain away from his embarrassed relations (see Remittance Man). Other storytellers state that he came to America to forget a failed love affair. Still others describe his father as a minister of the Church of Sweden
.
After working in the pine forests near Duluth, Minnesota
, he is alleged to have arrived in Saint Paul
via a private train. The huge crowd who had arrived to greet him was shocked to see Ola step off the train in the garb of an unwashed lumberjack.
Ola is said to have thrived in the Twin Cities of the 1880s and 1890s, living by his wits in a manner similar to Reynard the Fox or Till Eulenspiegel
. In one popular legend, he tricks an officer of the Saint Paul Police Department into helping him steal a butcher's pig and sticking the unsuspecting lawman with the blame. Other stories tell of many other encounters with the police and with immigrants fresh off the boat, all of whom he frequently reduces to bumbling fools.
He is alleged to have died in a gutter and to have been buried in an unmarked grave.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. A Swedish language
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
book about him is in the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society is a private, non-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehood. The Society is named in the Minnesota...
.
Folk hero
According to legend, Ola Värmlänning was born in the Swedish province of VärmlandVärmland
' is a historical province or landskap in the west of middle Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland and Närke. It is also bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are Vermelandia and Wermelandia. Although the province's land originally was Götaland, the...
. According to some accounts, he was the black sheep son of the Swedish nobility
Swedish nobility
The Swedish nobility were historically a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, part of the so-called frälse . Today, the nobility is still very much a part of Swedish society but they do not maintain many of their former privileges...
. He is alleged to have been packed off to America and provided a periodic stipend to remain away from his embarrassed relations (see Remittance Man). Other storytellers state that he came to America to forget a failed love affair. Still others describe his father as a minister of the Church of Sweden
Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden is the largest Christian church in Sweden. The church professes the Lutheran faith and is a member of the Porvoo Communion. With 6,589,769 baptized members, it is the largest Lutheran church in the world, although combined, there are more Lutherans in the member churches of...
.
After working in the pine forests near Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
, he is alleged to have arrived in Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
via a private train. The huge crowd who had arrived to greet him was shocked to see Ola step off the train in the garb of an unwashed lumberjack.
Ola is said to have thrived in the Twin Cities of the 1880s and 1890s, living by his wits in a manner similar to Reynard the Fox or Till Eulenspiegel
Till Eulenspiegel
Till Eulenspiegel was an impudent trickster figure originating in Middle Low German folklore. His tales were disseminated in popular printed editions narrating a string of lightly connected episodes that outlined his picaresque career, primarily in Germany, the Low Countries and France...
. In one popular legend, he tricks an officer of the Saint Paul Police Department into helping him steal a butcher's pig and sticking the unsuspecting lawman with the blame. Other stories tell of many other encounters with the police and with immigrants fresh off the boat, all of whom he frequently reduces to bumbling fools.
He is alleged to have died in a gutter and to have been buried in an unmarked grave.
Source
- Roy Swanson, "A Swedish Immigrant Folk Figure: Ola Värmlänning", Minnesota History, Volume 29, pages 105-113.