Hällefors and Grythyttan

Hällefors, archaic spelling Hellefors, is a town in north-western Västmanland. Hällefors municipality, Hällefors kommun, is part of Örebro County, which contains tourist-friendly places such as Grythyttan and Loka.

Settlements

• Hällefors itself, an industrial town.
• Grythyttan, the second-largest town in the municipality, is famous for its restaurant academy, and Grythyttans stålmöbler, an outdoor furniture factory.
• Bredsjö, famous for cheese.
• Hjulsjö
• Hammarn
• Loka brunn, with a spa.

Understand

As most of Bergslagen, Hällefors was dependent on metal industry. Since the great decline during the 1970s, Grythyttan has emerged as a culinary cluster with a restaurant academy.

Get in

A dozen public-transport buses arrive daily from Örebro through Nora. Route 244 is very scenic.

There is also a train line from Kristinehamn.

• 1 Grythyttan railway station (Grythyttans järnvägsstation). (updated Jul 2023)
• 2 Hällefors railway station (Hällefors järnvägsstation). (updated Jul 2023)

Get around

The most practical way to get around the countryside is by car.

The Grythyttan village, including Måltidens hus, is accessible on foot.

See

• The 1950s Apartments (1950-talslägenheter). An exhibition of everyday life in the 1950s; years of tremendous progress for Swedish industry. 
• 1 Finnstigen. An open-air museum of Finnish immigrants who have arrived since the 16th century. While the first Finns came for slash-and-burn farming, most of the immigration from Finland to Sweden came during the latter half of the 20th century, making up much of Sweden's blue-collar workforce.  
• 2 Grythyttan. The historical town centre. The slate quarry.  
• Måltidens hus. A gastronomic academy housed in what was Sweden's pavilion at the 1994 World's Fair.  

Do

In Grythyttan, Take a walk around the lake, head to the swimming area marked on the tourist information office's map and then pick a path through pine and birch forest alongside the lake. Swimming in the lake is also on the cards.

• 1 Loka Brunn. Loka Brunn (well) is a spa resort in the district Loka in Hällefors municipality. It was opened in 1720 and is one of the oldest spa resorts in Sweden. The facility has 130 hotel rooms divided between 50 buildings. Loka Brunn offers spa treatments, restaurants, conference and banqueting rooms. There is a church on the grounds, used in the summer, and the Swedish Spa Museum is located here. The museum was established in 1995 and resides in four buildings from the 18th century, authentically restored. For centuries people travelled Loka to drink its water which was believed to have healing properties. During the 19th century business was booming and people came from all over the country to drink the water and get mud baths. Resorts of this kind were common at the time and guests were mostly members of the upper middle class.  
• Nostalgidagarna. A festival in late June, commemorating Hällefors' heydays in the 1950s and '60s (when its population was twice of today), with American cars and rockabilly music. 

Grythyttan

The historical town centre. The slate quarry. Måltidens hus, a gastronomic academy housed in what was Sweden's pavilion at the '94 World's Fair.

Buy

• In Grythyttan, Måltidens hus and the nearby Grythytte Qwarn (a watermill museum) offer high-end Swedish food and crafts.
• Nearby villages host low-cost auctions and flea markets during the summer.

Eat

• Bredsjö Blå. Locally produced mold cheese. 
• Grythyttans gästgivaregård. A nationally famous inn with great food and furnishing. Lunches are reasonable in price, dinners are more costly, but the height of Swedish cuisine. 
• Måltidens hus.  

Drink

Måltidens hus i norden- Sörälgsvägen 4.

Cornelis pub- at the square of Grythyttan.

Grythyttan gästgivaregård- Prästgatan 2.

Sleep

• Hellefors Herrgård. A 18th century manor. 
• Grythyttans gästgivaregård, Prästgatan 2. The inn noted above, can put you up very comfotably, at a price. 

Stay safe

There are mining holes in the surrounding forests. Don't fall down!