Herräng
Encyclopedia
Herräng is the northernmost locality
in Norrtälje Municipality
, Stockholm County
, Sweden
with 443 inhabitants in 2005. It is located along the coast at the bay Singöfjärden, 40 kilometres north of the municipal seat Norrtälje
.
The town has a history of industry and mining
, but is today known mainly for being the site of one of the largest lindy hop
dance camps in the world, the Herräng Dance Camp
.
from the Hanseatic League
used to land at the place. The mines were situated by the coast, without any source of water power to pump water from the mine, which kept the mining activitites at a low level. In 1753, a stream further away south of the bay Bredsundsviken was used. The power was transported to the mine Lappgruvan with a mechanical device known as stånggång. Mining was halted for a while and started again in 1822, now with a steam engine
to power the pumps.
The company Herrängs Gruf AB was founded in 1889 by Per Nathanael Fröding, who advertised in several newspapers to get financial backing. He even advertised in The Times
, and in the advertise he called Herräng "the new Dannemora
" which speaks both of Frödings high plans and of the international status of the Dannemora mines and ore. At the previous turn of the century, Herräng also had a new ironworks
with two blast furnace
s. There are many buildings left in Herräng from this time, like houses where the workers lived and of course the industry buildings.
The ore findings were not as rich as Fröding had hoped, and a couple of the mines had to be shut down after just one year of exploitation. Mining in Herräng gradually diminished until 1961, when all mining in the area shut down. The ironworks still ran, using ore from other mines, until 1969 when it closed. The foundry
is today used by another company, Roslagsgjuteriet. The headframe
at one of the mines, Eknäsgruvan, was meant to be repaired and kept as a memory of the mining industry in the area, but it burned in 1982.
Urban areas in Sweden
Urban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort. The official term in English, used by Statistics Sweden, is, however, locality. There are 1,940 localities in Sweden . They could be compared with census-designated places in the United States.A tätort in Sweden has a minimum of...
in Norrtälje Municipality
Norrtälje Municipality
Norrtälje Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Norrtälje....
, Stockholm County
Stockholm County
Stockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
with 443 inhabitants in 2005. It is located along the coast at the bay Singöfjärden, 40 kilometres north of the municipal seat Norrtälje
Norrtälje
Norrtälje is a locality and the seat of Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 17,275 inhabitants in 2010.- History :Norrtälje traces its history to 1219, when the location was first mentioned as Tälje. After some time, the name officially became Norrtälje, to separate it from the...
.
The town has a history of industry and mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
, but is today known mainly for being the site of one of the largest lindy hop
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American social dance, from the swing dance family. It evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based...
dance camps in the world, the Herräng Dance Camp
Herräng Dance Camp
Herräng Dance Camp is the largest annual dance camp that focuses on African American jazz dances such as Lindy Hop, boogie woogie, tap, authentic jazz, and balboa...
.
Industrial history
Herräng and the area with ore findings that the town is situated close to, Herrängsfältet is the biggest mining area within Stockholm County. Iron ore has been mined in Herräng since late 16th century. The place was then known as Kuggvass, and one interpretation of the name is that cogsCog (ship)
A cog is a type of ship that first appeared in the 10th century, and was widely used from around the 12th century on. Cogs were generally built of oak, which was an abundant timber in the Baltic region of Prussia. This vessel was fitted with a single mast and a square-rigged single sail...
from the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
used to land at the place. The mines were situated by the coast, without any source of water power to pump water from the mine, which kept the mining activitites at a low level. In 1753, a stream further away south of the bay Bredsundsviken was used. The power was transported to the mine Lappgruvan with a mechanical device known as stånggång. Mining was halted for a while and started again in 1822, now with a steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
to power the pumps.
The company Herrängs Gruf AB was founded in 1889 by Per Nathanael Fröding, who advertised in several newspapers to get financial backing. He even advertised in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, and in the advertise he called Herräng "the new Dannemora
Dannemora, Sweden
Dannemora is an old mining town and a locality situated in Östhammar Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 238 inhabitants in 2005.-Dannemora mine:...
" which speaks both of Frödings high plans and of the international status of the Dannemora mines and ore. At the previous turn of the century, Herräng also had a new ironworks
Ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
with two blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
s. There are many buildings left in Herräng from this time, like houses where the workers lived and of course the industry buildings.
The ore findings were not as rich as Fröding had hoped, and a couple of the mines had to be shut down after just one year of exploitation. Mining in Herräng gradually diminished until 1961, when all mining in the area shut down. The ironworks still ran, using ore from other mines, until 1969 when it closed. The foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
is today used by another company, Roslagsgjuteriet. The headframe
Headframe
A headframe is the structural frame above an underground mine shaft. Modern headframes are built out of steel, concrete or a combination of both...
at one of the mines, Eknäsgruvan, was meant to be repaired and kept as a memory of the mining industry in the area, but it burned in 1982.