There are ways of disappearing that go unnoticed for weeks – until suddenly there is a gap where something familiar used to stand. That is exactly what happened in Bengtsfors this early summer: the small fountain figure, which for generations has represented the town’s namesake, has vanished from its traditional spot – it is known as ‘Bengt’.
Who was Bengt, actually?
No one knows for certain. The place name Bengtsfors derives from ‘Bengtsbron’, a bridge documented in 1773 spanning the watercourse between Lake Lelång and Bengtsbrohöljen, as well as from ‘Bengtström(men)’, an older name for this watercourse documented as early as 1717 – named after a man called Bengt.
Exactly who this Bengt was remains a mystery in Swedish onomastics to this day: “Who this Bengt was is still a mystery,” writes the blog Kulturbilder. Bengt has thus lent his name to an enFound again – in a smithy in Dingelvik
We at Dalslands Studio, together with some of our guests, finally met Bengt again – at Simon Westling’s. Simon is a second-generation metal artist and blacksmith; in 2024, he and his wife Karolina Hägg took over his father’s smithy in Dingelvik near Dals Långed, after both had studied metalwork at Stenebyskolan and in Stockholm, and Simon had worked for a time as a silversmith for the Royal Court Administration. Their workshop produces sculptures and public art as well as wedding rings – Simon is one of the metal artists featured in Nutida Svenskt Silver.
For us, this encounter with the smithy is no coincidence: Simon is the very same craftsman who, together with Jonas, built the beautiful fire escape staircase for the Dalslands Studio – the staircase up which the cranes ascend, which have been a feature of our courtyard since this summer. The fact that Bengt has now reappeared in this very workshop feels like a continuation of the same story: craftsmanship that makes things fly, or rather, flow.
Restoration rather than a return – for now
Bengt himself is currently being carefully restored, and the mechanism behind him is also being refurbished: the pipes through which water was once pumped so that he could spout as a fountain figure are being restored and, in some cases, replaced. So when he returns, he will not only be back in his place, but – hopefully – will also be spouting water once more.
Perhaps that is the real moral of this little story from Bengtsfors: it is not necessary to know exactly who someone was for their work to be set in motion once more and remembered.