Stockholm is somewhat fascinating in the way that it is a capital, but it takes just twenty minutes of car ride from the city centre until you reach real countryside.

Vira bruk (Vira works/smithy) is located some 40 km north of Stockholm, and was founded in 1635 to supply the [at that time] victorious Swedish army with bayonets and swords. The works received royal privileges for the coming 140 years, which happened to fit fairly well with the fall of the “Superpower Sweden”. Although the importance of the smithy was deteriorating during the 1900th century, Vira bruk was finally closed as late as 1948.

Today, the works has been turned in to a museum, and the surrounding village has been kept mostly intact. The entire site shows a very genuine 1800th century atmosphere and is very well worth a visit.
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