Engelsberg Ironworks

Engelsberg worked iron from the 1680s to 1919 and then stopped without being demolished or converted, which is why it is on the World Heritage list: not for a single building but for the survival of the whole system, some fifty structures with the blast furnace, the forge, the charcoal sheds, the office, the manor house and the workers' dwellings all standing in their original relationship. Swedish bar iron of this period was the material English steelmakers preferred, and works like this one are what produced it. The estate sits by a lake north of Fagersta with the Stromsholm canal running past, and the buildings are shown on guided tours in the summer months.

What you actually see

• A complete works of about fifty buildings - furnace, forge, sheds, houses.
• The blast furnace and forge - as they were left in 1919.
• The manor and workers' dwellings - the social arrangement intact.
• A lakeside estate on the canal - the transport that served it.

When to go

May to September, when tours run. Two to three hours.

Honest expectations

Interiors are tour-only and English tours are limited. The season is short. There is little on site beyond the works itself. The last stretch needs a car or a walk from the station.

Nearby

The Stromsholm canal runs through; Fagersta is south.