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urban area in Östhammar Municipality, Sweden
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Europe > Nordic countries > Sweden > Svealand > Uppsala County > Östhammar

Central Östhammar
Aerial photograph of Östhammar

Östhammar is a municipality in eastern Uppsala County in Sweden. While the Östhammar town itself has a population of 4,500, the municipality has more than 20,000 permanent residents, and several more during summer.

Understand

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See also: Nordic history

Östhammar was granted city rights in 1368 by king Albrecht of Mecklenburg, however, by that date the area was already a trading hub. By the end of the 15th century the waterway into Östhammar had become too shallow. Therefore the burghers decided to move to the nearby location Öregrund, taking Östhammars city rights with them. In 1520 Öregrund was destroyed on the orders of king Christian II of Denmark. As a consequence, Östhammar was repopulated, this time somewhat closer to the coast, and regained its city privileges. Östhammar is famous for the iron industry founded by the Walloons in the 17th century. By the end of the 19th century Öregrund became a popular sea-side resort.

Today Östhammar is a seasonal summer city, with plenty of people and activities during the summer months and a much quieter and calmer atmosphere during the winter. There are a lot of summer cottages scattered around the coast and on the nearby islands. The largest and most well-known of these islands is Gräsö, Sweden's 10th largest island.

Tourist office

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Locations

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  • Östhammar, the seat of Östhammar municipality
  • Öregrund, a port town. One of the smallest places in Sweden to commonly be referred to as a 'town'
  • Dannemora, a mill town
  • Gimo
  • Gräsö, an island
  • Harg

Get in

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Car ferries connect Öregrund to the island of Gräsö

By public transport

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The regional traffic is operated by UL. From Uppsala Centralstation take bus number 811 towards Östhammar/Öregrund. The journey takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes, with departures once every half daytime during weekdays, and once an hour during the weekend.

From Gävle, take UL bus 510 towards Tierp. Get off at "Skärplinge bussterminal" and transfer to bus 835. This route is not operated during weekends.

It is not possible to reach Östhammar by train.

By car

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Östhammar is located by route 76 which carry traffic towards Gävle in the north and Norrtälje in the south. To reach Östhammar, make a turn in the "Östhammar roundabout".

Route 288 from Uppsala merges with route 76 by "Börstils kyrka", about 1 km (0.62 mi) south of the Östhammar roundabout.

By bike

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Route 76 is narrow and heavily trafficated, especially during the summer, making it hard to travel by bike. "Kustlinjen", or "Skärgårdscykelleden" is a biking route following the Roslagen coast. It is clearly marked with red signs, and follow small biking paths all the way from Stockholm to Öregrund and Östhammar.

By boat

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While there are no ferries carrying passengers to Östhammar, both Östhammar and Öregrund have guest harbors if you travel by your own vessel.

  • "Östhammars Gästhamn" +46 173-862 90. Depth: 1–15 m (3.3–49.2 ft). Room for 15 vessels
  • "Öregrunds gästhamn" +46 173-865 55. Depth: 08–45 m (26–148 ft). Room for 80 vessels

Get around

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By public transport

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Regional bus 811, operated by UL, traffic the route between Östhammar and Öregrund. The journey takes about 20 minutes and costs 23 kr if bought with a travel fund, 30 kr if pre-purchased and 37 kr if bought on board.

To Gräsö

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The ferry Gräsöfärjan carry passengers, bicycles and cars between Öregrund and Gräsö. There is no fee for the trip, with departures at least twice an hour during most of the day.

The locality of Dannemora, like many others in Roslagen, is a historic mining community
Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant is located within the municipality, and can be seen from the shores of Öregrund
  • 1 Forsmark nuclear power station. One of three active nuclear plants in Sweden, open for group visits. 
  • 2 Österbybruk Manor (Österbybruks herrgård). Österbybruk Manor (Q10727840) on Wikidata (updated Jan 2021)
  • Vallonbruken: The Walloon metal industry
  • Minigolf (By Klackskärs camping), ☏ +46 173-213 64. Only open during summer. 40 kr per adult, 25 kr per child under the age of 12. (updated Feb 2018)
  • Öregrunds Golfklubb (On Söderön island, 6 km (3.7 mi) from Östhammar on the route towards Öregrund), ☏ +46 173-324 50. A golf course with a store and a restaurant. (updated Feb 2018)
  • Krutudden. A sand beach. A volleyball field and kiosk are available during the summer. (updated Feb 2018)

Annual events

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  • Roslagsloppet. A boat race which occurs on the first Saturday in August every year. It is one of the largest off-shore races by number of participants. The boats start by "Trälhavet" by Vaxholm in Stockholm archipelago and continues towards the goal line in Öregrund, some 135 nm north. The event is organized by Öregrunds Racerklubb during the final day of Öregrund boat festival week (Öregrunds båtfestivalvecka), and is usually the most crowded day of the year in Öregrund. (updated Feb 2018)

The town of Öregrund (located within Östhammar municipality) has some of the essential services in the area, such as the only Systembolaget alcohol shop. In terms of shopping and services, the two towns can be considered one closely liked area.

Harbour of Öregrund

Drink

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Sleep

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Historic residential housing in the locality of Gimo

Stay safe

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Connect

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Go next

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This city travel guide to Östhammar is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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