Reflektionsplats 3 - Uddbyfallet - Vattnets kraft

Cultural history

At the bottom of the Uddby Falls is Uddby Power Station. This is the first electric hydroelectric power station in the Stockholm area, it was completed in 1898 and looks the same ever since. A 2 mile long power line was pulled into Södermalm in Stockholm to be used at a workshop at Rosenlundsgatan. The house looks today as it did in the late 1800s. The water from Lake Albysjön is led in a wooden drum down to the turbine.

The power station is today privately owned, the electricity is supplied to Vattenfall's main grid in Tyresö. Of course, the turbine and generator have been replaced over the years and the station is now remotely controlled. The power station provides an annual production of about 1GWh. This is enough for about 500 electrically heated houses. The stone walls around the station have fine Roman arches.

The power of water has been harnessed here since the Middle Ages, and is still being harnessed! There have been mills, paper mills and sawmills here. The first banknotes in Sweden were printed on paper from the fine paper mill here at Uddbyfallen. At the edge of the sea there are remains of a harbor, and in the water outside the harbor is a large shipwreck loaded with bricks.

**The mill is on fire!

On June 22, the day before Midsummer's Eve 1895, Uddby Mill burned to the ground. The proud five-storey building with mill and granary was in flames! The forest between the mill and the castle also caught fire as burning grain swirled in the air. All the farms in the vicinity sent people to help put out the fire, and Marquis Lagergren at the castle was also helped by the army and the navy, which deployed several hundred men. The forest fire was stopped and the castle was saved. The mill was not rebuilt and today we see the foundation walls as a memory of the event. Along the Brakmarsvägen road on the ridge, you can also see the ruins of the so-called ox barns that were used for the mill owner's animals.

During an archaeological excavation in 2015, a layer of burnt grain was found all over the area.

**Other reflection

"The days of man are like the grass: it sprouts like the flower on the ground, then the wind blows and it is gone, the place where it stood is empty." Psalm 103:15-16

Reflect on the questions quietly for a while and feel free to share your thoughts if you like:

What is sprouting in me?

What makes me bloom?

What do I need to weed out?