Exploring Bergslagen - Mossgruvan • Äntligen vilse

Me and Martin has been out and about today, doing some urban exploration. The notion of urban exploration might be new to someone but shortly it means, to explore a man-made object, often ruins or abandoned areas.

This is a newly found interest of mine due to my photo project and I have posted posts before – Stripa

Mossgruvan is a former mining village in the municipality of Ljusnarsberg in Västmanland (County of Örebro). I live in the county, so have about an hour by car to get to the two old mines in Mossgruvan, Sköttgruvan and Mossgruvan- mines. The two mines where found in the 1870´s and run to 1972, first started by SKF and culminating inbetween the years 56 to 58 (post-war times), by then owned by Hofors Bruk. Due to the prices of iron/ and the stone on the world market, the ability for Mossgruvan to compete vanished and the mine closed down by 72.

The area is nostalgic in so many was. The buildings in the village are a remaining of the great times in the 50´s. Mossgruvan mine is an architect drawn mine that was created by the architect Gustaf Lettström in 1948 (By that time Mossgruvan was owned by Svenska Kullagerfabriken). Sköttgruvan looks like a typical building from the 50´s and inside a lot is still there like toilettes/ electric lines/ paint and a lot of garbage that you wonder how it ended up in there like old car furniture etc.

Location

Where the village Mossgruvan end the road split into three different direction. To the right you have Sköttgruvan and straight ahead you have Mossgruvan mine. Today when we where there (October) the weather was wet and we turned right and found Sköttgruvan. We later met another urban explorer by the name Joakim Bjarnestam who had come all the way from Stockholm to explore Bergslagen. He told us that the road straight ahead where the other mine was located was filled with water, so instead we walked together with him to Mossgruvan from Sköttgruvan.

Being filled with water Mossgruvan wasn´t possible to enter this time but we will probably go back to explore more and climb the tower of Sköttgruvan, today I was to much of a coward.