Axmar is a cultural reserve

Information

Cultural reserves are established to preserve valuable cultural-historical environments as a whole. There are a total of 45 cultural reserves in Sweden, and Axmar Ironworks is the only one in Gästrikland so far.

The cultural reserve of Axmar Ironworks was established on June 7, 2011. The purpose of the reserve is to preserve, display, use, and develop an industrial environment where Bergslagen meets the sea, and where traces of the ironworks' history from the 17th to the early 20th century are present. The reserve is managed by the Gävleborg County Administrative Board and maintained by the association Hyttan according to a defined management plan.

The components of the reserve include the sea, the harbor, the foundry, and the English park. Everything from the ironworking era is present here: the water, the forest, the foundry, and the English park, which bear witness to the wealth provided by iron.

In the sea, there are remains of transportation and shipwrecks, and in the harbor, there are cranes, boathouses, and warehouses. On the foundry site, there are old industrial buildings, water channels, and slag heaps. In the English park, there are old deciduous trees, remnants of the industrial garden, buildings, channels, ponds, and ruins.

The foundation of the reserve lies in the unity of the ironworks and the sea. The high value of Axmar Ironworks is constituted by the unique combination of remains of maritime activities and cargoes together with buildings and other traces of the coastal ironworks.

The cultural reserve borders the Axmar Nature Reserve in the sea.