• Sweden
    1991 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

    • First Congregation Takes Form

      Brother Russell also sent Lundborg the address of a certain S. Winter in Denmark, who had begun to spread seeds of truth there, as well as in southernmost Sweden. Immediately Lundborg invited him to Stockholm and arranged for a Bible meeting​—the very first one in Sweden. A few interested persons squeezed tightly into the cramped kitchen of a family who had obtained some literature from Lundborg. The room was just buzzing with excitement as these spiritually hungry people devoured the words of truth.

      By the end of 1899, this energetic small group began to meet regularly on Sundays. A small woodworking shop was rented on Apelbergsgatan for two kronor (33 cents) per evening. On Thursday, April 12, 1900, eight persons gathered in a rented room on Grev Magnigatan to celebrate the first Memorial in Sweden. They prayed for God’s spirit to speed up the growth.

      A few months later, they rented a bigger place, an apartment at Trångsund 8. Their first “homemade” convention was held there on June 20-27, 1901. Some Bible Students from Denmark attended also. Wanting to test for interest outside Stockholm, the Swedes arranged for a meeting in the university town of Uppsala, north of Stockholm. They were overwhelmed when 150 interested ones attended.