13 JULY 2026
The Works Village of Roslagen
High-quality iron ore from Dannemora, hydropower from the rivers and immigrant Walloon ironworkers from Belgium made Roslagen and northern Uppland one of Europe's leading iron regions. The traces remain in well-preserved ironworks environments you can walk around in.
The Industrial Heritage of Roslagen
During the 17th and 18th centuries, this region was an industrial powerhouse. The unusually pure iron ore from the Dannemora mine, rushing streams that drove hammers and bellows, and skilled smiths attracted here from the French-speaking Wallonia in present-day Belgium — together this produced iron so fine that it was sought after throughout Europe. Walloon smithing, a special method for refining malleable iron, gave its name to an entire era: the Walloon iron works.
Wira bruk — where the army's swords were forged
Wira bruk on the Viraån river in Roslags-Kulla was established around 1630 by Admiral Claes Fleming, on the orders of Gustav II Adolf — Sweden was at war on several fronts and needed to stop importing expensive weapons. Under royal privilege, the majority of the Swedish army's swords and other cutting and thrusting weapons were forged here between 1635 and 1775, using rod iron from Dannemora. Today Wira is an open-air museum, and Stora and Lilla smedjan have been protected as historic buildings since 2002.
The Walloon works — Österbybruk and Forsmark
At Österbybruk there is something completely unique: the world's only fully preserved Walloon smithy, together with two blast furnaces in very good condition. The works trace their origins to the time of Gustav Vasa and came in 1643 under the ownership of the influential Louis De Geer — the man who more than anyone else brought Walloon smiths to Sweden. Further north lies Forsmarks bruk, a well-preserved Walloon ironworks with origins dating from the 1570s, where smiths from Wallonia arrived in the 1620s under Gerard de Besche and converted production to Walloon-forged rod iron.
More industrial sites to discover
Throughout Roslagen there are more works and mining villages that bear witness to the era of iron production: Hargs bruk, Edsbro bruk, Ortala bruk, Berkinge bruk and Ramhälls gruvby. Many of them still retain the manor house, workers' cottages and main street in a unified setting — a walk straight into industrial history.
Sources: Swedish Wikipedia (information on works history, owners and dates).