Jädersbruk, Vattenhjulet

Concrete foundations in front of you have been the foundation of the whole forge and the support for the shaft that held the big Water Wheel in the river. At the other end, it drove the Mumbling Hammer that worked the iron in the forge.

Listen carefully and you might hear the thump, thump, thump of the hammer... The water wheel and Mumlingshammer belong to the latter part of the heyday of blacksmiths in the 18th-19th centuries. Back then, the forge on Jädersholme was more like an industry where, for the time, work was done rationally with motors, shafts, gears and flat belts that made the work somewhat easier for blacksmiths and farmhands. However, the work was very hard, dirty and unhealthy.

Accidents were common and the average age of people was low compared to today. Looking out over the Arbogaån river, we see the remains of the water channel that led the water to the water wheel that drove the hammer, probably a so-called underwater wheel where the water hit the lowermost blades of the wheel and drove it forward.

The original forges that were located here in the 17th-17th centuries were very simple timber-framed forges with turf roofs and associated iron and coal sheds. Nearly 15 pcs. of these simple forges must have existed here on Jädersholme. I'll say it again, close your eyes and listen and you'll hear the thud of the hammer that made Jädersbruk a leading manufacturer of both weapons and civilian tools.