Rademacher’s Forges

Eskilstuna is a planned industrial town of the mid-17th century, established for King Carl Gustaf in 1658 by Reinhold Rademacher. Twenty wooden smithy buildings, designed by the architect Jean de la Vallée, were laid out on a grid plan. Smiths, including nailers, locksmiths and cutlers, many of them from Germany were encouraged to settle in the town, and by the late 1660s 72 craftsmen were working there. Six adjacent smithy buildings of the 1650s have been restored, several of them as working smithies, and other craftsmen occupy adjacent buildings.

Eskilstuna’s metal-working traditions continue to the present day, and more recent products, particularly vehicles, are displayed in the Munktell Museum, which is linked with the Volvo company.