Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [191]
The pleasant ironworks area includes the mansion Österbybruk Herrgård, which has summer art exhibitions (noon-4pm Sat & Sun May-Sep, daily noon-4pm Jun-Aug), workers’ homes and the world’s best-preserved 17th-century Walloon forge. The forge here mainly produced bar iron that was exported to Sheffield: it bore a stamp of two linked Os. In winter, the stacks of iron were taken to the port by sled. Tours of the grounds take place daily in summer (mid-June to mid-August; adult/child Skr40/free).
The impressive 15th-century castle Örbyhus Slott (214 06; www.orbyhus-slott.com; admission by tour only, adult/12-16yr Skr50/15; 1pm daily Mar, 1pm & 3pm daily Jul, 1pm Sat & Sun mid-May–mid-Sep), 10km further west, is where mad King Erik XIV was imprisoned by his brother Johann. Erik was then murdered with a bowl of pea soup laced with arsenic.
A diminutive hostel with 20 beds, Dannemora Vandrarhem (215 70; Storrymningsvägen 4; dm Skr175; May-Oct; ) is near the Dannemora mine and based in old mineworkers’ houses. Reception is only open from 5.30pm to 7pm, so be sure to plan ahead.
Part of the ironworks estate, Wärdshuset Gammel Tammen (212 00; info@gammeltammen.se; annex Skr895, discounted to Skr645, s/d Skr995/1350, discounted to Skr745/1095) is a lovely old inn in one wing of Österbybruk Herrgård. Its 26 rooms are cosy and peaceful – some have views over the duck pond – and there’s a good restaurant (snacks Skr70, mains Skr150). An annex holds 10 simpler, single rooms.
Just uphill from the Gammel Tammen, in a former stable, Karins Stallcafé (401 48; coffee Skr15, snacks from Skr30; 11am-5pm May-Jul, 11am-4pm Aug) is a summer cafe and twee crafts shop that serves lunches and snacks, set off by chunks of homemade bread, on outdoor picnic tables.
Bus 823 runs from Uppsala to Österbybruk (Skr75, one hour, at least 10 daily).
Lövstabruk
0294
Tiny Lövstabruk (Leufsta Bruk), 24km due north of Österbybruk, is a great example of a mansion with associated factories. In 1627 the Dutchman Louis de Geer came to Lövstabruk, and the mansion was built for his grandson, Charles de Geer, around 1700. The house and its factories were destroyed by a Russian attack in 1719, but everything was rebuilt and iron production continued until 1926.
The tourist office (310 70; tours Skr50; 11am-5pm mid-Jun–mid-Aug, 11am-2pm Sat & Sun mid-Aug–mid-Jun) has moved into the Stora Magasinet building, next to the Wärdshus. Buy tickets here for various one-hour guided tours: the mansion (1pm and 4pm), the mansion and park (2.30pm) and the factory (11.30am). There’s also a themed tour, the subject of which changes every year. Tours run daily from mid-June to August, and on Saturdays and Sundays from mid-May to mid-June.
B&B Läkarvillan (310 04; www.bedandbreakfast.lovstabruk.se; s/d Skr650/900) is a well-preserved house on the ironworks grounds that has whitewashed rooms decorated with pretty antiques. There’s also a fine restaurant (mains Skr165 to Skr185) serving everything from coffee and cakes to a full à la carte menu.
To reach Lövstabruk, take bus 811 from Uppsala to Östhammar (1¼ hours, every 30 minutes Monday to Friday, hourly at weekends), then change to bus 832 (45 minutes, four to eight daily). The total cost of the journey is Skr80.
Forsmark
0173
The surroundings of the Forsmarksbruk ironworks are ideal for photographers; its bone-white church, manor house, workshops and English gardens, set around a central pond, are starkly beautiful. The statue of Neptune in the middle of the pond dates from 1792. The seasonal tourist office (500 15; 9am-4pm Jul–mid-Aug) is staffed until 4pm, but open until 9pm for brochures. These days the main employer in the area is the nearby nuclear power station, which is infamous for leaking radio-active waste into the Baltic Sea in June 2005.
The bruksmuseum (adult/child Skr20/free; 11am-4pm Sat & Sun May, 11am-4pm daily mid-Jun–mid-Aug), full of old