Our History

Gysinge Ironworks was founded as early as the 1660s. It was the only Walloon-style ironworks in Gästrikland and is today one of Sweden’s best-preserved.
Walloon smelting was introduced in the late 17th century, and the ironworks gradually developed into one of the largest in the country. One of the mill owners was Eva Höök, who ran the mill for over 40 years in the early 1700s. The stately manor house with its well-kept park, long rows of workers’ and smiths’ homes, cold bathhouse, orangery, inn, mill store, warehouse, and smithy are just a few of the many preserved buildings at the mill.

Gysinge is world-renowned in circles of technological history. By the end of the 19th century, the old ironworks were finding it increasingly difficult to stay afloat financially. In Gysinge, mill owner Benedicks attempted to address the crisis by investing in new technology. In 1900, engineer F. A. Kjellin succeeded for the first time in smelting iron using electricity. The electric steel furnace made steel production less dependent on coal and both simpler and cheaper. The Kjellin furnace is now a museum.
Gysinge had extensive forest holdings, and to make use of the timber, a sulfite mill was built in 1890. The mill had a short history, as it was destroyed in a fire in 1901. An electric steelworks was built on the site instead, which remained in operation until 1927.

After the mill closed, Gysinge Herrgård served as Gysinge Herrgård , but in 1968 it was threatened with demolition. Following a petition drive in the town, the then-municipality of Österfärnebo contacted builder Anders Diös in Uppsala, who purchased the then-dilapidated house and overgrown garden for 1 krona. He, in turn, transferred Gysinge Herrgård for 100 kronor to PRO, the National Organization of Retirees, which was seeking a conference center. After extensive renovations and remodeling, Gysinge Herrgård was inaugurated Gysinge Herrgård June 16, 1971, as “the world’s first conference center for retirees and owned by retirees.” As of January 2022, Gysinge Herrgård is now owned Gysinge Herrgård Jula Hotell AB.

The rapids of the Dalälven River – the foundation for the establishment of the ironworks and its water supply.
Hyttbacken – also known as Malmbacken. The site at the Gysinge rapids housed two hammer mills for both German and Walloon-style forging, a blast furnace, a roasting furnace, a nail factory, a foundry, and four coal sheds. Only the ruins of the blast furnace remain, a log-framed smelter rebuilt in 1822.
Koversta Gammelby – five kilometers west of the ironworks, a well-preserved village with 17th- and 18th-century houses.

Bruksgatan – featuring blacksmiths’ dwellings from the 1760s and log houses that were whitewashed 100 years later. The outer section of Bruksgatan faces the ironworks, while the inner section faces the garden and barns. A separate mill street north of the manor house was built in the 1770s for the inspector and craftsmen.
Gysinge Värdshus – established in 1784 as a coaching inn, a conference facility since 1975.
Gamla Stenhuset – the largest two-story apartment building from 1794 with outbuildings from 1821.
Krokiga Smedjan – a small smithy for implements and tools with a model chamber from 1764, expanded during the 19th century.
The Mill – mill ruins from 1765 in the Gysinge rapids
Seved Mill – site of a mill in a beautiful rapids landscape southeast of the ironworks, established in 1774 by Seved Tigerhielm.
The Orangery – greenhouse building from 1790, now a restaurant for Gysinge Herrgård. The clock in the tower of the old manor house, 1753.
The Manor Wing – the east wing, the only surviving building from Gysinge’s first manor house, built in 1775; formerly the ironworks office, now hotel rooms.
The Granary – a beautiful 18th-century building south of the manor house.
The Stable – dating from the late 18th century, renovated in the 19th century, now hotel rooms.

The Manor House – built in 1832–40 along with farm buildings. Brewery with a malt house and a grist bell from 1828. Beautiful cold bathhouse from 1836–37.
Nya Stenhuset – residential building for twelve working-class families from 1857, once a pharmacy known for the famous “Gysingedropparna” cough drops.
Mattön – an interesting satellite community with single-family homes from the late 19th century.
Mattön’s Mission House – from 1895, featuring a remarkable altarpiece, a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, painted by Abraham Mattsson.
Bruksgatan – workers’ housing from the 1860s in the westernmost part of Bruksgatan.
Järnbodar – from 1827 and 1874, a storage facility for finished iron awaiting shipment; now an exhibition and event venue.
Värdshusstallet – built in 1866 for travelers’ horses.
Bridge abutments – beautiful stonework in the Dalälven River dating from the first bridges in 1844.
Byggena – workers’ barracks from the 1890s, now the Center for Building Conservation.
Granön – a park laid out in 1876 with noble deciduous trees; previously there was a bowling alley and a coal shed (which was also used for dances and missionary meetings).
Kölnan – originally a site for drying grain and tobacco. Preserved workers’ housing from the 1820s.
Brukshandeln – formerly a laboratory for the sulfite factory and the electric steelworks, as well as a post office. From the 1880s until the 1970s, Brukshandeln was located in the inn’s café building.
Smedsbostaden – reconstructed workers’ housing from the 1890s, a playhouse in a turn-of-the-century setting.

The Railway Bridges – 1898–1901, once Sweden’s longest, an impressive feat of stone masonry.
Nya Järnboden – now an exhibition and event venue.
The Gysinge Bridges – a scenic tourist route over the rapids, built in 1934.
The Power Plant – built in 1901 for the Gysinge electric steelworks. The power plant canal and the world’s only induction furnace have been preserved. The mill received electricity as early as 1890, when a power station was built for a sulfite factory at the same site.
Gysinge Nature Reserve – nationally unique natural environments that are part of Färnebofjärden National Park.