The Devil on Linnégatan

A devil's face peers out from the façade of a building on Linnégatan, one of Gothenburg's historic main streets. Grimacing from the wall, an ornamental mask allegedly installed by a local developer in the late 1800s serves as a subtle moral protest against Oscar II and his rumored escapades opposite. 

Local legend holds that King Oscar II used an apartment on the street when in the city. The second-floor flat had no permanent tenant and was kept available for discreet meetings with mistresses, who were said to appear on the balcony from time to time. From there, the king would have seen the face staring back ominously after a night of indiscretion.

What gazes across Linnégatan today is a copy of the satanic face, with a second identical mask further along the façade. The building that originally bore it was demolished in the 1980s, but the feature was reinstated.