Intressepunkt Övre Bruket

Ruin of a mill at the copper and iron works area of Fredros bruk

Today the area is characterized by farming and forestry. Historically the access to forests and waterways made it possible to extract minerals from smaller and larger mining pits, mostly copper and later iron but also soap stone. Works and smithies occupied many during 1680-1869. In Gunnarskog and Gräsmark there were 10506 inhabitants according to the census of 1890. Mineral extraction became unprofitable and forestry took over.

Under Downloads there is an informative article on the history of Fredros bruk (The works of Fredros) from Arvika Nyheter 1973. However it is in Swedish, but perhaps the photos can add some value.