Discover Marmaverken

Marmaverken combines a distinctive industrial heritage with the landscape around Lake Marmen. For travellers looking for a hotel in Marmaverken, these themes offer practical guidance when planning a stay: in the town, industrial history and the settlement’s layout take centre stage, while the wider area offers archaeological remains, trails and activities on the water. This makes it easier to decide in advance whether local history or activities on the lake should shape your stay more.

Industrial history and the townscape

Marmaverken is part of the industrial heritage of Söderhamn Municipality and reflects an era in Swedish industrial history. The sawmill operated from 1854 to 1989. This period of operation provides a clear timeframe for the town’s history. Marmaverken also has a cohesive settlement layout around the former pulp mill. This brings together two perspectives: the duration of the sawmill’s operations and the spatial layout of the town around the former pulp mill.

Herrgårdsparken was laid out by Jonas Weng in 1857–1858. Its documented history adds another historical reference point to the story of Marmaverken’s industrial heritage. The specific years help distinguish different periods in the town’s history.

Cultural heritage around Lake Marmen

The area of national cultural heritage interest around Lake Marmen includes the entire lake and parts of the surrounding forests; Marmaverken lies in the north-western part of this area. The wider Lake Marmen area contains almost 100 remains of bloomery furnaces and more than 200 charcoal-burning pits. It is also home to one of the largest concentrations of prehistoric iron-smelting sites in Northern Europe.

Bloomery furnaces are evidence of early iron smelting, while charcoal-burning pits were used to produce charcoal. Together with the cultural heritage area, which includes the lake and forest areas, these sites form a distinct focus alongside Marmaverken’s more recent industrial history. The area around Lake Marmen is also considered important for outdoor recreation involving physical activity.

Trails and destinations in the wider area

The Askestastigen trail runs along the northern shore of Lake Marmen and passes through several bloomery furnace sites with slag heaps and furnace remains. This means archaeological traces are not only part of a larger cultural heritage area, but are also located along a specifically named trail.

Improvements to recreational areas in Marmaverken included signposts, information materials and picnic tables with benches. New walking routes were created between the centre, the park, the cultural trail and the bathing area. The cultural trail was cleared and made accessible. As these details describe completed measures, check the condition of the trails you plan to use before your visit.

In the wider Marma area, Hiboberget and its cabin are a popular excursion destination. Check information about the facilities on site before planning your visit. Skäret is a small natural beach on a lake in the wider Marma area; the lake is not specified.

Paddling and boat launch

The Marmentour is considered an easy paddling route that takes one or two days. It is about 15 kilometres long. The day count describes the timeframe, while the kilometre figure indicates the approximate route length. Check local conditions before setting out, as they may vary.

In Marmaverken (Mellangärdet), there is a small harbour with a boat launch ramp available to the public. Check the launch conditions before setting out. This lets you consider the paddling trip and the boat launch as separate planning points, without confusing the trip’s timeframe with local conditions.

Go to the main destination overview: Söderhamn.