Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ÄNGELSBERG
Looking more like a collection of gingerbread houses than an industrial relic,
Engelsberg
Bruk
( 0223-444 64;
engelsberg.se
)
, a Unesco World Heritage Site in the tiny village of Än-
gelsberg, was one of the most important early-industrial ironworks in Europe. During the
17th and 18th centuries, its rare timber-clad
blast furnace
and
forge
(still in working or-
der) were state-of-the-art technology, and a whole town sprang up around them. Today
you can wander the perfectly preserved estate, made up of a mansion and park, workers'
homes and industrial buildings.
Guided tours
(adult/child Skr65/free) run daily at 11am,
1.30pm and 3.30pm from June to August, and less frequently in May and September; call
for details or pop into the tourist information hut near the parking area.
Nya Servering
( 0223-300 18; 11.30am-2pm Mon-Fri, noon-5pm Sat & Sun) is not far
from Ängelsberg train station, next to the tourist information hut, and serves fast food,
coffee and simple sandwiches. There's a good view from here across to the island Barrön
on Åmänningen lake, where the world's oldest surviving
oil refinery
is located - it was
opened in 1875 and closed in 1902. You can take a ferry out to visit it in combination with
Engelsberg Bruk (Skr110; departures at 11am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm in summer, check
www.oljeon.se
or fagersta.se/turism for updated schedules).
Ängelsberg is around 60km northwest of Västerås, from where regional trains run
every hour or two (from Skr89, 45 minutes); from Ängelsberg train station it's a 1.5km
walk north to the Engelsberg Bruk site. If you have your own wheels, it's a gorgeous drive
from pretty much any direction.
Nora
0587 / Pop 6500
One of Sweden's most seductive old wooden towns, Nora sits snugly on the shores of a
little lake, clearly confident in its ability to charm the pants off anyone. Slow your pace
and take the time to succumb to its captivating features, such as quaint cobbled streets,
old-world steam trains, mellow boat rides and decadent ice cream.
Sights & Activities
