This cotton mill at Rydal (Västergötland, Sweden) was built in 1853, along the river Viskan - the same river that also flows through the town of Borås (where I live). This is also where the first hydro-electric power station in Sweden was
built; and this mill was the first building in Sweden to have indoor
electric lighting.
"Due to the well preserved remains of an old industrial community, this factory, along with several other buildings, have been declared historical monuments. They tell the story of how the Borås region became the textile epicenter of Sweden."
https://digitaltmuseum.se/021015654584/arbetarbostader-i-rydal
A whole community grew up around the cotton mill, with the workers all living in (wooden) apartment buildings along the road nearby. Whole families would work at the mill - also young children, back in the early days. Some people lived their whole life here, in a very closed community.
Inside the mill, the huge machine hall is also preserved pretty much as it was when production stopped. We were able to join a guided tour, with a guide telling us about the history of the place, and demonstrating how the various machines worked, and what they were for - following the process from raw material (imported cotton) to finished product (yarn).
"The spinning machines in the old spinning hall... represent the production of a novelty yarn that became the main product of the company in the 1920's. It was used in the weaving of rugs, furniture fabrics and as knitting yarn. Production ceased in 2004 [but a few machines are still run for public displays]"
The guide only turned on one machine at a time, for a very short while - but that still gave an idea of what an infernal noise all of them going at once must have made together... All day long...!
An old manual spinning wheel on display, hanging from the roof.
(My paternal grandmother had one like it, but painted green, I never saw her use it but I think it had belonged to her mother, from when they lived on a farm, and had sheep, and spun their own wool.)
Some old enamelled kitchen items - I remember similar ones in that combination of beige and green from my grandmother's kitchen as well.
13 comments:
This interests me. Saltaire, where I live, is a similarly historic textile town with a mill. At Christmas, when we decorate our town's windows as an Advent Trail, we have for several years now twinned with Rydal. They send us a decoration to display in a window and we send them one.
i would like to visit this. i like that old wood burning stove in the kitchen set up.. and its amazing how they made beautiful fabrics using the old spinning wheels and then this mill
It would have been very loud once turned on
Very interesting! Once more, I can see the similarities between your language and mine, Monica. Maskin is Maschine in German, and the sign at one of the machines in the museum obviously means Strickmaschine (knitting machine).
You live in Saltaire? That is a place I‘ve been wanting to visit for years but somehow never get round to it during my annual Yorkshire holiday.
Jenny, I remember the Saltaire tradition of Advent window displays from your blog. I also know that they have a similar tradition in Rydal - I have never been there to see it myself but have read about it in our local newspaper. I never made a connection between them in my mind, but now that you mention it, I'd not be surprised if Rydal got their inspiration from Saltaire.
Sandra, it's a museum full of nostalgia even when one does not have any direct connection with the textile industry oneself. And also a reminder how much work still goes into producing textiles we all wear/use - even if most of the production now takes place in other countries. (And the conditions for the workers in some of those places are probably as bad as they used to be here...)
Ro, I suppose quite a few of those working there for years must have ended up with severe hearing damage.
Meike, if you're referring to the sign saying "sträckmaskin", the word "sträcka" means "stretch", which was one of the first steps in processing the raw cotton, before it could be spun into yarn. I don't think they had any knitting machines here - but they do at the textile museum in Borås. The Swedish word for that is "stickmaskin" (knit=sticka). The fourth machine in the collage btw is one for making cotton string (from yarn of different colours). The Swedish word for cotton btw is "bomull", no doubt from German "Baumwolle"... :)
Ah, so sträck is streck in German 😊
Exactly!
That looks like a somewhat noisy visit. Interesting to see the layout of the kitchen area too. How things have changed!
Many years ago husband and I visited his cousin and family in Scotland. They took us to see the early 18th century woollen mill at New Lanark, which had been decomissioned but retained as a heritage site. In it's past it had been powered by water from the River Clyde which ran alongside the building and on occasions the mill was open to the public when a tributary of the river was re-routed to power the machinery. I remember how noisy it was - absolutely deafening! Easy to imagine that many workers suffered from hearing and other health related problems working in such an environment.
Carol, the guide only ran each type of machine for us for a very short while, one at a time. So as visitors we weren't exposed to much noise - just enough to give us an idea...
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