Kolarbyn

Until the middle of the 20th century, charcoal was a necessary raw material for iron production. One of the last blast furnaces to use charcoal was Lienshyttan, which closed in 1959. Lienshyttan is also an exciting destination that you will find in Riddarhyttan in Skinnskatteberg municipality.

Access to forests was a great advantage for Sweden during the centuries when the country was a leading iron producer in Europe. Coal is easier to transport than wood, and therefore the charcoal was made locally in the forest in places like Kolarbyn. Bergslagen is full of coal beds - traces of charcoal kilns. The process of making charcoal was hard, dirty and even dangerous and involved covering a pile of wood with earth, peat, sand and grass and then setting it alight. As the wood slowly burned, charcoal was formed. The charcoal maker - the person who tended the charcoal - had to guard the charcoal for many days, both day and night, with only a few short moments of rest in his charcoal hut.

At Kolarbyn there are both charcoal huts and examples of how to make charcoal. Every year in August, a coal mule is lit in the traditional way. It is also possible to book accommodation at Kolarbyn to experience more romantically than in the past what it was like to sleep in a charcoal hut in the middle of the forest. [Visit Kolarbyn Eco-Lodge to find out more (https://naturkartan.se/sv/skinnskatteberg/stf-kolarbyn-eco-lodge-2)