Stavsjö in the county of Södermanland

My mother's cousin passed away in cancer so I want to write about something that is connected to him. I am going to write about the village where he, his father, and my grandfather grew up in.

The village of Stavsjö, situated between Norrköping and Nyköping south of Stockholm, mainly exists because of the ironworks that started its production in 1662. The ironworks was placed by the lake Stavsjön because of the natural resources of the area. In 1666 the production of canons started and became the main product for 200 years. Today the factory is still running and produces knife gate valves.

Stavsjö bruksmuseum - model of the village around 1900

The Russians attacked and burned down almost all of the village in the early 18th century but the ironworks was soon rebuilt. My great grandfather used to work at the ironworks and it was where my grandfather had his first job as a young teenager.

During the years 1898-1902 3000 arcres of forest was damaged by the black arches butterfly and a railroad was built to transport timber from the Kolmården woods down to the bay in the Baltic sea. The railroad-trasportation ended in 1939 when cars had become more common. Today you can walk or go by bike where the rails once were.

Kolmården station down by the bay.

Stavsjö station

The old canteen, that had also worked as an inn, of the ironworks was moved at the end of the 19th century and served as living quarters for the workers as well as housing a store on the bottom floor.

The old original part of the inn.

In 1947 the building once again became an inn under the current owner, counseler Julius Lindström. The mian road to Stockholm passed right outside the inn and it became a popular place for travellers to stop and have a bite to eat at. Traffic became heavier and heavier and the highway was moved a kilometer and the inn started to have troubles. It has stood empty for many years but in February renovations were being made in order to turn the inn into a place to house newly arrived immigrants who are waiting to know if they can stay or have to leave.

The restaurant

The conference and hotell section that was added in the early 1980's.

My grandfather's brother used to run the local gas station, right next to the inn, and my mom's cousin took over. When the highway moved so did the gas station and is one of Sweden's most visited gas stations.


Pictures:
Stavsjö bruksmuseum by Masugn  under license CC BY-SA 3.0
Kolmården station, Stavsjö station and the inn by Your Swedish Herigage

Sources:
http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stavsj%C3%B6
http://www.stafsjo.com/index.php?id=233
http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Stavsj%C3%B6_V%C3%A4rdshus

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