Stop 9 of 10

Stadsparken, the café and Svanegatan

A difficult conversation in peaceful surroundings

After Amina's training session at the arena, Adam walks with her across the blue bridge. They pass Stadsparkscaféet and continue toward Svanegatan while discussing Stella and Chris. At Svanegatan they part, and Amina cycles home.

Amina is central to the book's moral tension. She is Stella's closest friend, but friendship does not make her perspective simple or completely transparent.

Notice the contrast between the peaceful park and the pressure of the conversation conducted here. The novel often places anxiety in ordinary, attractive surroundings rather than conventionally sinister spaces. This is also a good place for a short break.

Good to know

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Extra background — not part of the original printed guide.

  • The raised Högevall running through the park is part of Lund's medieval defensive earthwork. One reason this section survived after the customs boundary disappeared in 1811 is delightfully practical: the mayor was allowed to graze animals on it.
  • The 1907 Lund Exhibition transformed this ground. A 165-metre industrial hall and a lookout tower more than 40 metres high stood approximately where the café is today.
  • Handball was introduced to Lund on the park's great lawn in the 1920s. Stadsparkscaféet dates from 1922, after a school headmaster spent years pressing the city to replace the restaurant removed after the exhibition.

On to the next stop

For the final leg, continue northwest through the park toward Svanegatan, then follow the walking route to the public playground beside Pilegatan and Polhemskolan.

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