Granbergsdals Hytta

Useful Information

Location:	Korset, 69192 Granbergsdal. In Karlskoga Municipality 10 km north of Karlskoga. (59.402054, 14.580303)
Open:	Mid-JUN to Mid-AUG daily 13-17, guided tours Fri-Sun 14. [2025]
Fee:	Guided Tour: Adults SEK 50. Selfguided: donation. [2025]
Classification:
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Granbergsdals Hytta, Korset, 69192 Granbergsdal, Tel: +46-70-2088651. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1642	ironworks built.
1649	charter of privilege for the hut issued by the Mining College and the mining master.
1878	extensively rebuilt.
1896	extensively rebuilt.
1907	burned down and extensively rebuilt.
1925	ironworks closed.
1936-1942	restored as a cultural monument.
1983	local history association Granbergsdals Byalag founded.
1986	declared a Historic Monument.
2023	renovation, discovery of a previously unknown standing historical house.

Geology

Description

Granbergsdals Hytta (Granbergsdal Ironworks), also Granbergsdals bruk, is not a show mine, it is an ironworks and blast furnace which is part of the Swedish iron industry and thus strongly related to the nearby iron mines. It was founded and owned by miners. The complex is remarkable for its completeness, with a single, 15-m high charcoal-fired blast furnace for smelting iron ore, standing against the hillside. The blast furnace itself is from 1909, it was rebuilt after a fire in 1907. The surrounding buildings are from the 1880s. The timber building at the top charged it with raw materials, at the side are a blowing-engine house with a Bagges blowing machine and the chimney. The raw material were stored in the charcoal barns and iron-ore kilns. The melted iron was processed in casting houses and a foundry. The site produced so-called pig iron.

The first small blast furnace was built by Mårten Eskilsson from the Nora-Linde mining community. He came to Granbäcksdalen together with a few other families. At that time Sweden became a great power and was involved in wars in Europe, and as a result the industry needed iron for weapons. Soon Sweden dominated the world market as an iron-producing nation well into the 19th century. The current structure of the site was built in the 1880s, but the furnace was destroyed by a fire in 1907 and rebuilt in 1909.

The site is operated since 1983 by the non-profit Granbergsdals Byalag, who not only preserve the site, but also offer tours. The self-guided visit is free, donations are welcome and used for the preservation. There are guided tours on weekends with a small fee for the guide. As far as we know the tours are offered only in Swedish, but explanatory texts for self-guided tours are available in Swedish, English, German and French. The association has also created a charcoal kiln which is renewed every year to show how the charcoal for the furnace was produced. They also reconstructed the forge and the blowing machine which was inaugurated in 2013.