Broncks for the memories!
Three borough residents with a healthy respect for history traveled to Sweden to celebrate the life of the man who gave his name to the borough.
Brian Andersson helped organize a recognition of all things Bronck in the tiny hamlet of Sävsjö, where a monument and visitors center dedicated to Bronx namesake Jonas Bronck were unveiled last month, in a show of kinship between residents of the two locales.
The celebration was held to honor the 375th anniversary of the Swedish merchant’s arrival in what was then a part of New Netherland — and is now the Bronx — where he was the first European settler.
Andersson, a former commissioner with the New York Department of Records, was instrumental in setting up the “Jonas Bronck Center” in Sävsjö, which produces exhibitions about Bronck and other Swedish immigrants in America.
“This is probably the first time that Bronck has been celebrated in such a way, and it really was an incredible experience,” Andersson said of the weekend-long affair.
Andersson traveled with Bronx Chamber of Commerce president Lenny Caro and Steve Nallen, a Bronx resident who opened Jonas Bronck’s Beer Company in homage to the borough’s namesake.
The 57-year-old history buff developed an interest in Bronck more than 30 years ago, while researching his own lineage, when he discovered his Swedish roots.
“It really was the culmination of three decades of work,” Andersson said of the gathering, which drew hundreds to the small Swedish town. “People came out in droves, and they were blown away by the whole thing.”
Bronck’s origin was long a source of contention.
Many historians believed that Bronck was of Dutch ancestry, but recent research established the seafarer’s origin to be Sweden.
Many now believe that Bronck was born in 1600, in Sävsjö, and emigrated to Amsterdam as a young man.
He married a Dutch woman in 1638, and a year later emigrated to America. Bronck purchased 500 acres of land between the Harlem and Aquehung rivers and the area that would eventually bear his name.
“They’re very proud of their native son now,” Andersson said of the denizens of Sävsjö. “They’ve all heard of the Bronx, and there’s kids walking around in Yankees hats, but now they know who he is.”