Bofors Industrial Museum
If you are interested in industrial history, you can have a look at the Bofors Industrial Museum, which will take you back 350 years in time. You can see how the old ironworks Bofors was developed into a large-scale industry during the 20th century.
The Bofors factory has a history beginning 1646 with authorization from the civil service department Bergskollegium to build ironworks in Karlskoga. It was common that large-scale agriculture belonged to the ironworks. The ironworks were developed and manufactured iron bars, shovels, castings and many other products. In the late nineteenth production of gun materials started which were sold to the company Finspång for completion. Rather soon the workshops in Karlskoga were extended and started their own gun production.1873 the company became a limited company, called AB Bofors-Gullspång.
The community Bofors started to grow around the factory. Shops, houses, doctors, butchers, tailors and a variety of other activities were handled by Bofors. Karlskoga started to grow under the influence of Bofors, serving the company. Over the years AB Bofors became the dominating employer in town, which was the only one until the 1970th with more than 10 000 employees!
Exhibitions about Bofors works and AB Bofors-Gullspång, later AB Bofors, show the development from hammer and farming to a large-scale industry. Here you can also see social ambitions by the company with housing, pensioners’ home, day nursery, medical treatment and holiday camps.
Bofors Industry Museum is located in the northern part of the stable at Björkborn and in the building Veboa/Woodshed.