Nora

Nora was chartered in 1643 in the iron district of Bergslagen and never burned, which is why the wooden town survives largely intact - low houses along a grid of streets round the square, painted in ochre and red, with courtyards and outbuildings behind. Sweden's first standard-gauge public railway ran from here to Ervalla in 1856, and the veteran line from Nora to Jarle and Pershyttan still runs steam and diesel trains with volunteers over the summer, with the roundhouse and workshops kept as a working depot. Pershyttan, a few kilometres out, has a preserved blast furnace and mine buildings. The lake is at the bottom of the town with a bathing place.

The main sights

• An intact wooden town - ochre and red round a square.
• A veteran railway with steam - on the country's first standard-gauge line.
• A working depot and roundhouse - kept by volunteers.
• Pershyttan's blast furnace - a short way out of town.

When to go

May to September for the railway. Half a day.

Good to know

Train services run on limited days. The town is quiet outside summer. Pershyttan needs transport of its own. It is a small place with modest facilities.

Nearby

Pershyttan is south-west; Orebro is south.