Stenhuggarmuseet i Vånevik

About the museum

Vånevik, south of Oskarshamn, was the centre of the stone industry from the 1870s until the mid-1950s. For about 80 years granite was quarried in some thirty quarries in the area, and traces of quarries, quays, gunpowder cellars, forges, stone cranes and haulage roads (rallvägar) remain in the landscape. The stone was shipped out from seven quays.

The museum association Hård Klang was formed in 1988 to deepen knowledge of the stone industry's time in Vånevik and on Näset. The name comes from the novel Hård klang (Hard Ring) by Hans Hergin, who was born in Vånevik and began working as a stonemason at the age of fourteen. The association has gathered photographs, films, interviews and written material that form the basis of the exhibitions.

At the Ångkrans quarry the association has built the Stenhuggarmuseet (Stonemasons' Museum), with an exhibition hall, a forge, a grinding shed, stonemasons' sheds and a food store. In the Kasernen, which was built in 1876 as an apartment block for the stonemasons' families with twelve one-room flats, there is a museum flat that shows how the families lived. The outdoor museum at Näset, about 3 km north of Vånevik, was inaugurated in 2012. Along the Stenhuggarleden (Stonemasons' Trail), about 10 km long, there are 15 QR codes with digital guiding.

Highlights

• The Stenhuggarmuseet at the Ångkrans quarry with a forge, grinding shed and stonemasons' sheds
• Museum flat in the Kasernen from 1876
• The outdoor museum at Näset with texts and pictures
• Stenhuggarleden with digital guiding via QR codes
• Water-filled quarries and old haulage roads

Permanent exhibitions

• Stenhuggarmuseet vid Ångkransbrottet – Exhibition hall, forge, grinding shed, stonemasons' sheds and food store, showing the workplace of the stone industry.
• Museilägenheten i Kasernen – Flat showing how the stonemasons' families lived in the late 19th century and the early 20th century.

Founded

1988

Operated by

Museiföreningen Hård Klang

Admission & discounts

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Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

Vånevik lies just under one mil (Swedish measure of distance) south of Oskarshamn.

Amenities & dining

No refreshments are sold along the Stenhuggarleden; bring your own drinks and food. A bathing place is at Södra kajen.

Events & venue rental

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