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Galtström ironworks - a journey back in time

The Galtström ironworks are a heritage site of national importance, owned and managed by the Swedish company SCA (Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget). These works were the first, largest and longest-surviving ironworks in the county of Medelpad. A blast furnace, roasting furnace, iron foundry, smithy, works office, museum, steam engine and much more.

A visit here has something for everyone:

• Guided tours
• Galtström Café & Restaurant
• Cows, sheep, chickens and rabbits on the pasture
• Sea bathing
• Fishing facilities in the river or the sea
• One of the district's most popular churches for weddings
• Classic Swedish Midsummer celebrations
• Or why not just stroll around this unique place

For more information or bookings:
Telephone: +46 (0) 60 - 381 25 Mail: info@galtstrom.nu

Café & Restaurant

We are open 12 noon to 9 pm, 7 days a week from April 4 to August 31.

• À la carte
• Swedish open sandwiches (smörgåsar)
• Buns and cakes to go with coffee
• Ice cream
• Fully licensed

We can arrange:

• Weddings & baptisms
• Office parties
• Catering
• Classic Swedish Midsummer celebrations

Telephone: +46 (0) 60 - 381 25

Mail: malinjflodin@hotmail.com

Menu

Guided tours

Our experienced guides can show you:

• The blast furnace
• The smithy and iron foundry
• Works office (a popular Swedish TV series, Träpatronerna, was recorded here in 1985)
• Photographic exhibition (old Galtström)
• Forestry museum
• Art exhibition about the Walloons (Sixten Haage)
• Carriage exhibition

A tour takes about 1½ hours. Interesting and fun!

Free guided tours on Saturdays and Sundays from Midsummer Day to the end of August.
Start at 1 pm from the Café. SCA sponsors these free guided tours.

New: Free guided tours also on Wednesday evenings at 6.30 pm during the same season as for the other tours.

Other times by appointment:
Telephone: +46 (0) 60 - 381 25 or +46 (0) 70 - 333 44 46

History

The Galtström ironworks were founded in 1673. They were the first, largest and longest-surviving ironworks out of a total of 12 in the county of Medelpad.
One of the founders was Magnus Blix. He gathered together the local farmers in Dingersjö inn and purchased the water and forestry rights for the sum of 400 Swedish daler (large copper coins) and 22 barrels of salt.
The reason for this was access to the forests, needed by the blast furnaces which consumed vast amounts of wood.
Wood for turning into charcoal was scarce in the vicinity of the mines, most of which were located in the Bergslagen mining area. Here, much further north, there were still plenty of forests and water power.
Through the centuries, the works have had many owners and tenants.
The first company to own the works was Klosters ironworks which purchased Galtström in 1873.
Under Kloster’s management, Galtström flourished for some decades.
They made everything from iron stoves to nails, focusing on bar iron and mill bars.
In 1903 the works were sold to Sund AB. They closed it down the following year for the first time.
The need for timber for the sawmills in the city of Sundsvall was the main reason for the purchase.
From 1910 until the final closedown, the works were rented by the Axel Jonson Group and supplied Europe with iron for the arms race.
In January 1916, a strike brought an end to more than 240 years of mining. The sawmills also came to a stop with a strike in June 1919.
Until 1930, timber was floated downstream and then taken by a steam engine called Loke to the harbour to be towed to Sundsvall.
In the autumn of 1965, the last cows disappeared from the farms run by SCA.
Today, the Galtström ironworks are a heritage site of national importance, owned and managed by SCA. They are also one of Medelpad’s largest tourist attractions, with more than 30,000 visitors a year.

Galtström 2009
Ulf Broman