Sixtorp, Naturreservat

The Sixtorp nature reserve consists of a beautiful cultural landscape with pastures and hay meadows on the north-eastern shore of Lake Multen. The lake and the surrounding cultural landscape are of great importance both from a landscape and outdoor recreation point of view. There is a bathing area by the lake and a hiking trail runs through the area.

Mining

People have been producing iron in the area at the mouth of Gammelhytte brook for a long time. The ironworks, which stood here until 1819, may well have medieval origins. Close by is a minefield where iron ore was mined. In the area there are lots of bluish slag stones and remains of dam structures and house foundations. There was also a water-powered saw along the rapids.

Old pastures

East of the reserve is the village of Sixtorp, which has existed since the 1680s. Around Sixtorp there was a lot of meadowland in older times, which was typical of the mining industry, where the need for draught animals was great. In the reserve, parts of the village's former fields, meadows and pastures remain. A mosaic of pastures and hay meadows spreads out on the slopes down towards Multen. There are remains of fences and cairns that remind us of the management of the past. Today, a rich flora of herbs grows in the hay meadows and natural pastures, including pig's-foot, snake's-foot, haymaking cranesbill, haymaking viburnum, maidenhair fern, cat's-foot, night violet and green-white night violet. Next to Gammelhyttebäcken there are traces of irrigation of wet meadows, a common way of increasing production on natural hay meadows in the old days. Southwest of Igeltjärnen are also the remains of the croft Igeltjärnskulle.

Exciting plant and animal life

The area is varied with enclosed leafy pastures, more open pastures and hay meadows. The forests in the vicinity of Gammelhyttebäcken consist of tall deciduous forest where aspen and ash are important elements. The calcareous soil means that many unusual plants thrive here, including buttercups, water lily, stinkweed, under-violet and magic grape. In the shrub layer, you can find olivine and tibast. Rare mosses and lichens also grow here, such as whip baron moss, rough baron moss, rag lichen and grainy felt lichen.

Gammelhyttebäcken

Gammelhyttebäcken flows in a hollow, which then flows into Multen via the marshy Igeltjärnen, a dead ice pit from the melting of the ice. Gammelhyttebäcken has a permanent population of trout. Along the banks, beavers have felled large numbers of aspens, which now lie in patches on the ground and provide a habitat for wood-degrading fungi and insects. Bird life is varied and many woodpeckers thrive in the reserve. Over a hundred bird species have been seen in the area. The small hazel dormouse, Närke's landscape animal, also lives here. Both wolves and lynx have visited the reserve and have their dens in the Kilsbergen escarpments and wilderness areas.

Open-air farm and swimming

Sixtorp is a stop along the Bergslagsleden trail and has long been a central point for outdoor life in southern Kilsbergen. Just outside the nature reserve there is an outdoor farm owned by Region Örebro County, with access to a shelter, fire pit, outdoor tap water and dry toilet. Groups can stay overnight at the open-air farm and also hire canoes, etc. Sixtorp's old school has long been the clubhouse for the Nature Conservation Association in Västernärke. The association has taken an active part in the restoration and maintenance of Sixtorp and has an extensive program of activities for nature lovers in the area.

Sign-interpreted information