Surahammar

Story

Surahammar Municipality is a municipality in Västmanland County in central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Surahammar.The municipality is located some 100 km west of Stockholm in the southern part of the mineral-rich Bergslagen region.The municipality was formed in 1963 through the amalgamation of Ramnäs and Sura.Localities Ramnäs Surahammar (seat) VirsboHistorySteelmaking in this municipality was started on a larger scale in the 16th and 17th centuries when forges were built there. It was a new phenomenon to run forge mills separate from mining and pig iron production sites in Bergslagen. The mills were located in Virsbo, Ramnäs and Surahammar and pig iron was transported from mills further north, initially by horse-sledges in the winter. There was ample local supply of hydropower to run the forge hammers and timber to make charcoal. Later, when Strömsholm Canal was finished, it was used to ship finished products to Västerås and Stockholm for export. This restructuring process appears to have been driven by the need to secure access to hydropower and timber for the forges since both the mines and blast furnaces used up considerable amounts of resources in the production of pig iron.