Anders Collberg and the colera

The company had previously been in Gothenburg to give a series of representations starting on 27 July. On July 26, cholera broke out in Gothenburg and on August 1, they chose to cancel the announced spectacle and end their stay in Gothenburg.

The company left shortly afterwards for Jönköping, where they arrived on the evening of 4 August. Upon arrival in Jönköping, one of the company, the "god-beautiful" Anders Collberg, had fallen ill with cholera. The 32-year-old Collberg was a very popular actor, he was tall and well-built and had a beautiful expressive face, and it is not hard to imagine that you looked forward to seeing Collberg perform at the city theater.

Collberg died of the disease here in Jönköping on August 8, 1834. Collberg lay for a short time in the parade where you could see the beautiful corpse, in connection with which the admirers arrived and cut a lock from his beautiful hair. It was through Anders Collberg that the cholera infection spread to and in Jönköping. The epidemic killed almost 670 Jönköping residents, in a city that then consisted of about 4,500 inhabitants. Among those who died are Viktor Rydberg's mother, Hedvig Kristina Rydberg, and the polar bear's mother Amalia Erikson's father and little sister.

At Slottskyrkogården in Jönköping, there is a cast iron cross in memory of Anders Collberg.