Arbetarkaféer i Göteborg

Abstract

The following essay has studied worker cafées in Gothenburg. This has resulted in a mapping of all worker cafées in Gothenburg, past and present, mentioned as such in the source material and as found by the authors own observations. The study consists of three case studies, three cafées, chosen according to a pre-existing definition of worker cafées in a Swedish context. Material in the choosing of suitable case studies has also been the long continuity of the cafées in question. The study strives to determine what constitutes a worker café, how they differ from other types of cafées, how they first came to be, if the definition of them has changed over time and which roles they play for the clientele visiting them. The study also strives to determine whether there is a threat against the worker cafées as a phenomenon. The study has concluded that worker cafées in Sweden and in Gothenburg differ from other types of cafées in a few ways, primarily as a result of their clientele. These differences mainly consist of different opening hours, other kinds of food and drink offered and a concentration of said clientele. They also differ from other worker cafées found historically elsewhere in Europe. The Swedish worker cafées typically have a narrower use, as they traditionally don’t serve alcohol or serve as a forum for political discussion. The meaning of the worker café is primarily a social one. The study has found that these places are socially and physically organized by and for the workers, and that they have primarily served as meeting places before and after work as well as during breaks. As meeting places they have functioned as the primary place of social interaction outside home and the work place. The study also determines that there is in fact a threat to the worker cafées as a great number of them have vanished, or have been converted into other types of cafées in recent years.