Hammarbacken and Ludvika Ironworks

One of the first ironworks established in Sweden was Ludvika Ironworks. Gustav Vasa, who was king at the time, needed to bolster his finances. He wrote to his steward at the Sala silver mine, instructing him to send out men to search for silver veins and streams suitable for furnaces in the parishes of Berke and Gränge. While they did not find any silver, they discovered a stream with a fall height of 17.7 meters—perfect for establishing an ironworks.
 

Thus, a blast furnace and a forge with water-powered rod iron hammers were built, owned by the Crown. Soon, a water-powered sawmill and a mill were also established. The ironworks produced rod iron, a malleable iron shaped into rods and primarily sold abroad. The Crown owned the ironworks until 1726 when Baron and Governor Jonas Cedercreutz, who had leased it, managed to purchase it shortly before his death. His son inherited Ludvika Ironworks and developed it into one of Sweden’s largest ironworks.
 

In the early 1900s, after several ownership changes, Ludvika Ironworks was reorganized into AB Ludvika Bruksegare with Carl Roth as the company’s director. Modernization was now a priority in line with the times. Rod iron production, which had been discontinued, was restarted. A new coal storage building was constructed, along with a railway spur for transporting the iron by train.
Carl Roth was full of ideas and enthusiasm. He even created a development plan for land largely owned by the ironworks, with 112 residential blocks. Over time, this plan became a reality, and the present-day town of Ludvika was built.
 

Hammarbacken
The oldest part of Ludvika is Hammarbacken, located north of the Ludvika stream. To this day, Bruksgatan runs through the area, where the slagstone houses of the smiths once stood. However, the street is now truncated by the railway and highway. One house still remains, containing four apartments, each with one room and a kitchen. In the 19th century, over 30 people, including children, could squeeze into the house’s apartments.
 

Hammarbacken also preserves a white four-story grain storage building that both men and women helped construct. The women carried heavy mortar to the men, who joined the slagstones together. Completed in 1805, the building was designed to prevent a recurrence of the severe famine of the 1780s, when snow lingered into June, depleting all hay and grain stores, leaving nothing to sow. Not a single blade of grass could be seen, and all cows, chickens, and pigs were slaughtered. Eventually, there was no more food, and many people starved to death. Emaciated individuals wandered in search of anything to ease their hunger.
The new grain storage was intended to ensure that such suffering would never happen again, allowing surplus grain from good years to be stored for the bad.
 

Facts
Hammarbacken is part of the historic Ludvika Ironworks, Sweden’s first Crown ironworks, established by Gustav Vasa around 1550 for rod iron forging. The historical area of Hammarbacken lies north of the Ludvika stream. The grain storage building now serves as a cultural venue for events, concerts, and exhibitions. It also houses Våffelbruket and a museum.