Good Women Who Row Like Devils: The Forgotten Story of Stockholm's Roddarmadam

Long before bridges connected its many islands and steam ferries chugged through its waters, Stockholm—the “Venice of the North”—depended on pure muscle for its transport. From the 15th century until the early 20th century, this muscle belonged to a formidable group of women known as the Roddarmadamer, or Rower Madams. They were the city's water taxi service, and their reputation was as legendary as their strength.

The Backbone of a City on Water

Stockholm is an archipelago, a city spread across 14 islands. For centuries, daily life, commerce, and travel required crossing the water. This geographical reality created a unique economic niche filled almost exclusively by women. The Roddarmadam held a virtual monopoly on the ferry traffic between the city's islands, a profession often inherited by daughters from their mothers or taken up by widows to support their families. This guild-like system provided a rare opportunity for female economic independence in an era when such roles were scarce.

A Monopoly of Muscle and Wit

The rower women were not simply freelancers; they were an organized and regulated force. They had designated stations, fixed tariffs for different routes, and were known to fiercely protect their territory from unlicensed competition. Clad in their distinct attire, often a white blouse and a dark skirt with a characteristic flat, round hat treated with wax cloth to repel rain, they were a constant and recognizable presence on the city's waterways. Their boats, called roddarekor, were sturdy vessels designed to carry passengers and goods through the sometimes-choppy Baltic waters.

"Good Women Who Row Like Devils!"

While their service was essential, the Roddarmadam were famous for their character. They were known to be blunt, tough, and notoriously foul-mouthed. Contemporary accounts and traveler diaries are filled with descriptions of their coarse language and quick tempers, especially during fare disputes. They were physically powerful and not afraid to show it, navigating heavy boat traffic and harsh weather with an expertise that astonished visitors. As one traveler, Francisco de Miranda, noted in his diary in 1787:

Good women who row like devils!

This reputation for being hard-as-nails was likely a necessity. It was a tough job that required not only physical endurance but also the grit to deal with all manner of customers in a bustling port city. They were, in many ways, the embodiment of female resilience and strength.

The Steam-Powered End of an Era

The dominion of the Roddarmadam could not last forever. The Industrial Revolution brought with it the steam engine, and by the mid-19th century, larger, faster, and cheaper steam-powered ferries began to appear in Stockholm's harbors. These new vessels, along with the construction of permanent bridges, slowly rendered the hand-powered rower obsolete. The number of Rower Madams dwindled throughout the late 1800s, and by the 1920s, their five-century reign on the water had come to a quiet end.

Today, the Roddarmadam are remembered as a unique and vital part of Stockholm's history—a testament to a time when the city's pulse was set by the rhythmic pull of oars, wielded by some of history's most fascinating and fearsome women.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Rower woman
• The Local Sweden: The story of the women who rowed Stockholmers around the city for 400 years
• The Archipelago Foundation: The Roddarmadams