Ramhäll mining village

The history of iron beneath the surface

Iron ore was found in the Ramhäll area as early as 1742, and the first mines were active until the mid-1760s. It was Kilafors ironworks that staked the Hammarin mines in 1831 and started extraction on a larger scale from 1832. During the second half of the 1800s a narrow-gauge railway was added for ore transport, and the mine got a steam engine that made operations considerably more efficient.

Modernisation and heyday

In 1942 Stora Kopparberg bought the mines and radically modernised the facility. A mine cabin, workshop, office and drill smithy were erected, and in 1957 one of Sweden's most modern facilities for the production of iron-ore concentrate was inaugurated. The mines' final years were marked by large-scale industrial operation, before the closure came at the end of the 1970s.

The mining village today

Today empty buildings and a water-filled shaft bear witness to the industrial era. The entrance building with the shaft is preserved and gives a tangible picture of how an active mining environment once looked. The mining village is accessible to visit, but visitors are there at their own risk — the area is not arranged for tourism. It is one of Roslagen's more authentic industrial monuments, beyond the usual tourist trails.