Retzius and von Eulers väg on Solna Campus renamed
Two roads on the Solna campus were renamed in September. Retzius väg is now Blombäcks väg after Margareta Blombäck and Birger Blombäck. Von Eulers väg is now Liljestrands väg, in honour of Göran Liljestrand. The change of name is part of the general review of the names of roads, halls and monuments that began at KI a few years ago.
Margareta Blombäck (1925–2024) and Birger Blombäck (1926–2008) both enjoyed successful research careers at KI. Back in the 1950s, they purified fibrinogen and Faktor VIII, the coagulation factor that is lacking in haemophilia A.
Thanks to their efforts, patients with haemophilia and von Willebrand’s disease in Sweden, and ultimately around the world, were able to receive more effective emergency and preventative treatment for their condition.
Margareta Blombäck was professor of coagulation research at KI from 1986 to 1992. Birger Blombäck took his PhD at the Department of Medical Chemistry at KI in 1958 with a thesis on fibrinogen and was later appointed professor at Karolinska Institutet; he also had a research position at the New York Blood Centre.
Protection of researchers before World War II
Göran Liljestrand (1886–1968) was professor of pharmacology at Karolinska Institutet between 1927 and 1951, secretary at the Medical Nobel Assembly at KI from 1918 to 1960 and secretary of the Swedish Society for Medical Research from 1919 to 1967.
Liljestrand’s research focused on the chemoreceptors in the upper part of the carotid artery, the role of the aortic arch in the regulation of respiration and circulation, and the reflexive vasoconstriction that occurs in the lungs when the oxygen level drops – a phenomenon known as the Euler–Liljestrand mechanism.
Göran Liljestrand also chaired the Committee for Intellectual Refugees shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and was one of the architects behind the plan to offer asylum to leading German-Jewish medical specialists.
The initiative behind the name change
The two roads have been renamed following the investigation into the naming of roads, halls and historical monuments at KI that was launched at the initiative of former president Ole-Petter Ottersen in 2020.
The panel concluded that the names of Retzius and von Euler are today associated with racism and Nazism and should therefore be replaced.
The lecture hall previously known as Retzius is now Christina Larsdotter. The renaming of the roads was decided by Solna city council on 24 August 2024, meaning that as of 1 March next year, the street addresses Retzius väg and von Eulers väg will no longer be valid.