Ironworks in Sweden
Lummelunda Ironworks
The hydropower has been used for industrial purposes in Lummelunda since Middle Ages. Original sawmills were replaced by the ironworks in the late 1600s. In the 17-18th centuries Lummelunda was a thriving industrial area. Today the area is beautiful, many-sided recreational area with nature trails, mill park, café, mill wheel and shops.Österbybruk
The Österbybruk was established by the King Gustav Vasa in the 16th century. Int 1643 it was acquired by Louis de Geer and in his time Österbybruk became the center of weapon manufacturing in Sweden. Later it was owned by Grill and Tamm families. The manor house of Österbybruk was built in 1763-1780 by the design of Elias Kessler and Erik Palmstedt. There is also a Calvinist church with a mirror hall bui ...Engelsberg Ironworks
Engelsberg Ironworks in Västmanland was constructed in 1681 and developed into one of the world's most modern ironworks in the period 1700-1800. The property comprises the mansion and park, works offices, workers' homes, and industrial buildings. Engelsberg is the only ironworks in Sweden that still preserves the buildings and most of the technical equipment. Engelsberg Ironworks was inscribed on the World Heritage L ...Storbrohyttan Foundry
The Storbro foundry on lake Lersjön was one of the many foundrys that manufactured pig iron. It was established in 1590 and originally called the Carlsbro foundry but since the 17th century it has been called Storbro foundry. It is one of Värmland county´s construction landmarks, it´s owned by the historical society- Filipstads Bergslags Hembygdsförening- and adminstrated by föreningen V&au ...Pershyttan
Pershyttan is a small mining town which has been restored and kept mainly as a working museum of Bergslagen"s mining and iron handling which started in the early 14th century. One of Sweden"s best preserved charcoal-fuelled blast furnaces from 1856 can be found in Pershyttan. In the area is there is also one of the biggest working water wheels.Galtström Ironworks
Galtström ironworks was founded in 1673 and it was the largest in Medelpad region. Today it is one of Medelpad largest tourist destination with over 30,000 visitors a year. Among arranged guided tours in summertime, there are steam engines, blast furnace and old manor. Galtström church (built 1680-1697) is also located nearby. It is Norrland"s first ironworks church.Forsbacka Ironworks
The first trip hammer in Forsbacka was mentioned in 1591. In 1640 Dutchman Henry Marhein built an ironworks. The 18th century was the golden age of Forsbacka. The first blast furnace was built in 1744. Several workshop buildings were built in next decades, as well as a luxurious Forsbacka Manor in 1777. It contained a stable, English-style park and Orangery. Today Forsbacka is an old ironworks environment that has been r ...Kengis Forge
In 1644, two Swedish noblemen, later called Renstierna ('Reindeer star'), set up a forge in the Swedish village Pajala (Finnish for 'forge village') north of the Arctic Circle. As Sweden at that time was very eager to mint all the copper found in the country, they also got a concession for minting. Renstiernas minted both plate money and minor local coins in values of 5, 10, 15 and 20 öre. Kengis ...Trångfors Forge
It was quite common in the 17th century for citizens in the Mälaren valley to invest in the iron industry. The first bar-iron forge at Trångfors was established in 1628 by Adolf Willemson, a merchant from Västerås. It started off small, with just three workers. In the latter half of the 18th century, the Strömsholm canal cut straight across the Trångfors estate and the old manor house ha ...Motjärnshyttan
Motjärnshyttan is one of the largest and best preserved forges in Värmland. It was founded by Finnish emigrants in 1643, but it was moved to the current place in 1700. The manufacturing continued until 1916. The current forge dates from 1853.Strömsberg Ironworks
Strömsberg Ironworks was established in 1643-1645 by Flamish Welam Vervier and it was in use 275 years. The industrial village is very well-preserved. The wooden manor house was built in 1757-1758 by Charles De Geer. The bell tower dates from 1736 and blast furnace from 1723. The other buildings originate mainly from the 19th century.Bennebol Ironworks
The history of Bennebols Ironworks started in 1683, when Gustaf Otto Stenbock built there a blast furnace.A small ironworks village grew up to one of Uppland's many Walloon ironworks villages. Iron production ceased in 1884, but the village environment lives on, with a bailiff's residence that includes the ironworks office in one of the wings, a schoolhouse, a row of stables, remains of a charcoal house, a blast furnace, ...Söderfors Ironworks
Söderfors Ironworks was established in 1676 by Claes Anckarström (Depken). Claes Grill acquired it in 1748 and strongly developed both the foundry and village. The manor and church were built in 1792 by the Gustavian design of Erik Palmstedt. There is also fine English park built in 1748-1800 with a Doric style temple (1795).Vattholma Ironworks
The Vattholma ironworks is one of the oldest in Sweden. Smelters are believed to have been active here back as far as the 15th century. Wattholma operated under the Crown until the end of the 16th century. Walloon forging was introduced during the 1600s and was used until the 1870s, when it was replaced by the Lancashire method. Wattholma also featured a blast furnace that was moved in 1758. Bar iron production ceased in ...Bäckefors Ironworks
Bäckefors Ironworks Museum is a traditional ironworks where you can learn about time honoured industrial methods. The iron manufacturing started in 1767 and in the early 19th century Bäckefors was one of the largest ironworks in Sweden. It was closed down in 1877. You will find a charcoal house, a mill, a sawmill, and a blacksmith´s shop displaying old equipment here. There is also a folk museum on the ...Dylta Bruk
The first sulfur factory in Dylta was mentioned in 1558. It was first owned by the Crown. In 1649 Queen Christina gave mill to Henrik Barckhusen. The Privy Council baron Samuel Åkerhielm became in 1739 the owner of Dylta Mill, which belonged to the family Åkerhielm in 265 years. The main building, which is built in wood, dates back to the 1740s. In the 1850s, the well-known architect J.F. Åbom designed ...Norn Ironworks
Norn was an industrial community founded in 1628 by Lars Larsson. It constructed a smelting-house for the excavation of iron ore. The industry had continued for almost three hundred years when it finally shut down in 1916, though the power station that supplied electricity to the village is still in use. There are several mines in the surrounding forest, although none of them is currently operating. The village consists o ...Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Historic Site of the week
Broch of Gurness
The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.
The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.
The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.
Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.
At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.
In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.