Historic iron ore mine in Södermanland, now a heritage site with a museum, restored headframe, and summer visitor programme.
Skottvångs Gruva is a former iron ore mine in Gnesta Municipality, Södermanland County, part of the Åkers Bergslag ore district and historically the primary ore source for Åkers Styckebruk. Documentary evidence for the mine dates from around 1500, but extraction may have begun as early as the mid-thirteenth century, with possible traces of even earlier working in the form of shallow open pits. The mine supplied iron ore used at Åkers Styckebruk for the casting of cannon and later for domestic ironwares.
A stånggång pump was installed in the late eighteenth century, replaced by a steam engine in 1834, and by electricity in the early twentieth century. Between 1836 and 1907 some 72,000 tonnes of ore were raised; production doubled between 1909 and 1920. A narrow-gauge ore railway was completed in 1918–19.
The mine closed in 1921 at a depth of 245 metres. The site was redeveloped from the late 1950s as a heritage destination by the Serrander family. A gruvlave has been restored and a museum opened in 2012.
Cultural activities including guided tours, blacksmithing, and an annual charcoal-burning event are run by Östra Sörmlands Gruvförening.
Skottvångs Gruva lies in Gnesta Municipality in Södermanland County, within the historically important Åkers Bergslag ore district. The mine supplied iron ore to Åkers Styckebruk, a foundry that manufactured cannon — stycke means cannon in older Swedish — for Swedish and other European armed forces, and later produced civilian ironwares including stoves, ploughs, and domestic implements.
Working at Skottvång is generally traced to the medieval period, with some authorities placing the beginning of systematic mining at around 1200 and datable traces of surface fire-setting at several pits in the area suggesting activity as early as the seventh or eighth century. The smooth rock faces characteristic of the tillmakning method are visible in Porthålsgruvan, the oldest pit, which runs close to 300 metres into the rock and was at one time Sweden's deepest mine. Documentary evidence for the mine is firmly established from around 1500. Individual openings including Lerklacken and Hästhålet were worked at various times from the early seventeenth century onward.
A stånggång pump transmission was installed in the late eighteenth century, replacing earlier horse- or ox-driven haulage and pumping arrangements. In 1834 this was itself replaced by a steam engine, which was in turn superseded by electrical power at the beginning of the twentieth century. Compressed-air rock drilling replaced hand boring by around 1909–10.
Between 1836 and 1907 a total of 72,000 tonnes of iron ore were raised from Skottvång. Between 1909 and 1920 annual output approximately doubled. In 1918–19 a narrow-gauge industrial railway 15 kilometres in length was constructed linking Skottvång and the associated mines at Älgsjöbacken and Bredsjönäs to Åkers Styckebruk. Prior to this all ore had been transported in winter over the frozen surfaces of Marvikarna and Visnaren. Prospecting carried out in 1920 failed to identify new ore reserves, and the mine was closed in 1921, at a depth of 245 metres. Unusually among mines, Skottvång was relatively dry: it took twenty years for the workings to fill with groundwater after pumping ceased. The railway connecting the mine to Åkers Styckebruk was dismantled around 1945.
The site lay unused for roughly thirty years after closure. In the late 1950s Lars Serrander and his family settled at Skottvång and undertook a substantial programme of restoration of the derelict mine buildings. The mine was opened to the public and became a popular visitor destination. The engine house was converted into a café and restaurant. A gruvlave was restored. Lars Serrander's daughter Eva and her husband Christian Brandt continued the operation until 2003, after which the site changed hands again; Maria Bystedt and Jan Holmberg reopened Skottvång to visitors in 2006. The site is now owned by Åkers Kronopark, a subsidiary of Åkers AB.
Cultural activity on the site is carried out by Östra Sörmlands Gruvförening, which operates guided tours, a blacksmithing programme, and an annual kolmila charcoal-burning event. A gruvmuseum was formally opened on 30 June 2012, housed in the former smedja — smithy — and incorporating the restored headframe. A new smithy in historic style was built in 2012. A small hostel provides overnight accommodation. The mine's many pits are today water-filled. The restored headframe stands above Treans schakt, the principal working from the mid-nineteenth century until 1920, which descends approximately 90 metres and was formerly connected underground to Potthålet. A Wahrendorffska bombkanon, manufactured at Åkers Styckebruk using ore from Skottvång, stands on the site.