ett uppsala äventyr: Northern Upplands Bus Tour

On Sunday we went on a bus tour to Northern Upplands. We visited a few different locations, and had beautiful weather!

Österbybruk, Sweden

Österbybruk is the home of one of the oldest iron mines in Sweden (discovered in the 14th century), and it's still being mined. The picture of the giant hole in the ground is part of the ore that has been mined for centuries. The hole is so deep that Uppsala cathedral would fit inside of it. The scorch marks are sort of visible - this is from the old method of fire and water used to break apart the rock. Mining was an extremely dangerous job, but high paying and had a lot of benefits.

Below are pictures from the miner's settlement in Österbybruk. Every miner was provided a home with his family (and extended family). Benefits were excellent for miners. They were provided education and place to stay, and housing for their families. This is actually where a lot of the Swedish ideas of welfare come from. Supporting the miners gave the mine better workers, and ensured more workers if the children were educated. The picture directly below is a room for a "retired person," usually a widow since the men frequently died during their work, or died young because of the strenuousness of mining.

Below is a guest room. The house only had three rooms, and one of them was a kitchen/bedroom (pictured above) that was very small but meant to sleep 8-10 people, yet this room was never used and kept solely for receiving guests.

Clock towers are very ubiquitous throughout the mining towns. This is because blacksmiths would work four hour shifts and then have a break. With the beginning of "shifts," time was suddenly relevant. Because no one had clocks, clock towers were implemented to make sure everything was on schedule.

Below are pictures from a smithy where iron was worked into steel. The blacksmiths would work every day, six days a week, in four hour shifts with half hour breaks. At the end of the day, they would sleep in the smithy, and only go home on Sundays to be with their families and sleep in their own beds. The holes in the ceiling are deliberate - they're for ventilation. Unfortunately, there was an accident where ice froze over the roof, and sixteen blacksmiths died sleeping in the smithy. After that, new (very, very nice by 17th century standards) quarters were made for the blacksmiths.

Conditions were so loud in the smithy that many of the blacksmiths went deaf.

Flea market in Österbybruk

Lunch Break

Lövstabruk, Sweden

Our next stop was the ironworks at Lövstra and the manor built for the overseer of the ironworks. The manor is still owned by the family, so we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but what was interesting was the fashionable french influence very obvious from the inside. Louis de Geer, of the 17th century, built the manor. His family names continued to be Louis and Charles, until eventually they became more Swedish, with names like Carl.

Below is an aviary for the manor - really beautiful!

The ironworks at Lövstrabruk included a settlement, refineries, and the manor. Blacksmiths were well taken care of and given homes and education. There was also, of course, a church, pictured below.

The row of pews facing the "wrong direction" were for the blacksmiths, who were almost always quite deaf. They faced the priest in order to lipread.

This church holds an incredibly unique and ornate church organ. We didn't get the chance to hear it play, but I would go back just for that. It is so impressively beautiful in person.

Öregrund, Sweden

A seaside town in Uppsala county, Öregrund is a beautiful small town that is a vacation spot for a lot of Swedes and foreigners alike. The town was clearly settling down for the off-season when we arrived, but the local businesses were still open. We went for Fika, of course!

My absolute favorite Swedish pastry (and perhaps pastry of all time) is the prinsesstårta, or "princess cake." I actually tried this pastry first at the SWEA Scholarship luncheon, but since then I have been completely in love with it. I know I should be trying lots of other things but the princesstårta is so good. Luckily, I have an amazing mother that loves to bake for people, so if I can find a Swedish recipe book perhaps I can bring this one home!