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What is an Ecomuseum?

As you know, a museum is a building that contains all sorts of historical and fascinating objects and exhibits. It is also a good place for finding out about things.

But what do you think an Ecomuseum is? Perhaps something to do with echos?

No, an Ecomuseum is an open-air museum. It doesn’t have a roof—just the sky above it. But, above all, it’s a place where you can see all sorts of old outdoor historical sites close up... fascinating places like iron-ore mines, smelting works, forges and ruins. There’s a lot of interesting history here for you to discover and explore.

The Ecomuseum Bergslagen is enormous. It would take about two hours to drive through it nonstop, from one end to the other. There are nearly 50 sites of interest, and, as you can guess yourself, you will need lots of time to see it all.

- So why is the museum spread out over such a large area?

- Quite simply, so that you can see everything in its original setting, as it was. But there’s another reason, too. It would be impossible to put all the sites, buildings and structures—mines and manor houses, heaps of charcoal, water-wheels and railways—into an ordinary museum.