Fagersta Industrial Community & Museum
Fagersta is a typical industrial town in Bergslagen. But sometimes, what’s typical can be what makes a place most interesting. Fagersta is intriguing for many reasons, not only because the 60th parallel runs straight through the town, as a road sign proudly points out. No other town in Sweden is divided by a latitude line! Above all, Fagersta exemplifies what an industrial community looks like.
Fagersta’s roots trace back to the 1400s, with written records mentioning a blast furnace in what was then called Fadhersta. However, the iron industry truly took off in the 1600s when a foundry was established on the western side of the Kolbäck River rapids, named Västanfors.
Over the centuries, ironworking evolved and expanded. By the late 1700s, the same industrialist, von Stockenström, owned Västanfors foundry, Fagersta, and several other sites. He consolidated operations, expanding activities in Fagersta, which became the center of production, while the Västanfors blast furnace was dismantled.
As the industry grew, so did the community around it. By the early 1900s, Fagersta was home to 1,600 people. To accommodate the growing population, the foundry built numerous workers’ houses. Workers could also take advantage of favorable loans to build their own “own homes”—simple, functional villas that became very popular.
Meanwhile, executives and managers preferred to live further from the workers’ neighborhoods. They built larger and more refined homes across the Kolbäck River in an area still known as “Andra sidan” (The Other Side). Thus, like many industrial towns, Fagersta developed with clear divisions shaped by centuries of industrial life.
In 1944, Fagersta had grown significantly and was granted city rights alongside Västanfors, which had become more of a neighborhood near the railway station than the industrial hub it once was.
The future looked bright, and there were dreams of creating an ideal community. Like many places in Sweden, Fagersta embraced modernism in the 1960s, demolishing many old structures to make way for new ideas and architecture.
Today, Fagersta remains a quintessential industrial town. A walk from the worker houses in Skansen, through Fagersta’s center, and across to the villa districts on “The Other Side” offers a glimpse into a 20th-century Bergslagen town—and perhaps the evolution of Swedish society itself.
Though Fagersta shares much in common with other industrial towns in Bergslagen, it is still unique because of the 60th parallel. As one Norwegian author put it, people living on the 60th parallel have a peculiar disposition, drawn to the supernatural. And the women? They are said to be more dangerous than others—and much more beautiful!
Facts
Modern industrial community from the 1950s surrounding Fagersta Works.
Beautiful heritage site by the Strömsholm Canal locks, featuring a café open year-round and various attractions.
Industrial museum showcasing artifacts and a glimpse into the production that made Fagersta Works a leading company in the iron and steel industry.
Guided tours of the Industrial Museum in Fagersta are available.
Toppbild: Nils Öst, målningar i Fagersta brukskontor. Foto: Göran Rådberg.
