FACTS
Bergslagen
Bergslagen (Swedish for "Mountain's Law") is a region that stretches over the West and North areas of the Västmanland province, Southern Dalarna and Eastern Värmland. What these areas have in common is that they all, at some point in time, have been mining or iron manufacturing districts. The actual word Bergslagen has existed at least since the end of the 13th century. It partly came about in reference to the royal privileges and statutes that regulated the mining and iron industry, and partly to the mountain miners with privileges that worked together in teams (“lag” in Swedish). In Sweden there were 17 iron, one silver and one copper mining district. The north part of örebro county lies in the heart of what was the iron mining region.
When we enjoy Nordic nature and landscape it is easy to believe that this environment was untouched, “natural” and wild until modern times, and that contemporary man is the first generation to utilise and modify it in a radical and perhaps devastating way. With this in mind it can be interesting to ponder how hundreds, sometimes thousands of years of mining, water regulation, forestry and industrial use of natural resources have changed our natural environment.
The intensive iron manufacturing, most concentrated from the 16th century until the middle of the 19th century, is history today. New forests have grown up and new industries bring work to the people. Nature, with its innumerable memories, where different times and activities are layered and fragmented, is present as a relief in our experience of nature. Natural and cultural landscapes blend into one. There are as many different experiences of this as there are people. It all depends on background, knowledge, experiences, interests – and meetings with new environments and people.