Bråfors Mining Village – One of Sweden’s Oldest Mining Villages
As early as the 13th century, miners lived in Bråfors. One can only imagine all the people who have lived and worked here over these 700 years. Most are forgotten today, but some are remembered, like the artist Fanny Brate, who often used Bråfors as a subject in her paintings.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, when European wars followed one another and demand for Swedish iron was high, Bråfors saw its peak in smelting and iron production. By the late 1600s, there were four miners in the village, and even more moved there during the 1700s.
In the 18th century, a miner demonstrated his status by expanding the main building of the mining estate, giving it two stories—a rare feature at the time. They also added tiled stoves indoors to provide cozy warmth on cold winter evenings.
By the late 19th century, Bråfors, like many other smelting sites, suffered from the decline of ironworks. Fagersta Bruk leased the operations but ceased production by 1902. Iron manufacturing ended, and many buildings were demolished. All that remains are piles of blue-tinged slag.
However, the residential house and associated outbuildings were not torn down. In the early 19th century, the Brate family purchased the Stora Bråfors mining estate. Erik Brate, born in 1857 at Brategården (as it was then called), became a renowned linguist and expert in runes.
He married artist Fanny Brate, whose painting Name Day is one of her most famous works and is displayed at the National Museum in Stockholm. It depicts an interior of Brategården in Bråfors, showing preparations for a name day celebration in the parlor. The painting has been reproduced many times on postcards, trays, and coffee tins.
The main building of Brategården contains unique original paintings from 1790, along with works by Fanny Brate.
Bråfors is one of the few protected mining villages and was designated a cultural reserve in 2006.
Fact Box
The estate is a well-preserved mining estate with many old outbuildings still intact.
It is privately owned and operated by the sixth generation of the family.
Remnants of iron production facilities can be found on the site.
Archaeological excavations have shown that iron was produced here as early as the 13th century.
The earliest written record of the estate dates back to 1354.
Guided tours of Brategården can be booked with Margareta and Erik Brate.
Toppbild: Fredrik Findahl
