Jäders bruk, Working life museum and manor house in Arboga Municipality, Sweden

Jäders bruk is a former ironworks by the Arbogaån river in Arboga Municipality, about five kilometres from Arboga. Gustav Vasa set up workshops on Jäders holme in the 1550s to make halberds and armour using the water power. The estate later held two Lancashire hearths and two refining hearths, plus a brickyard, mill and sawmill; the forges were demolished in the 1920s and 1930s.

Gustav Vasa set up workshops on Jäders holme in the 1550s to make halberds and armour using the falls of the Arbogaån. In the 1640s the works was reorganised as Arboga faktori under Hans Kruusbart. It stayed a crown estate until 1757, when it was sold to the Neuman family, later Mannerstråle, who owned it until 1965. About 26 smiths worked here around 1700; iron production ended in the early 1900s and the forges were demolished in the 1920s and 1930s.

The name Jäders bruk comes from Jäders gård, donated to Julita Monastery in 1359 and taken over by the crown in 1527. The site's ironworking past is kept alive by the Jädersbruksvänner association, founded in 1997, which demonstrates old techniques and organises events. The Jädersbruksdagarna event takes place on the first weekend of September.

The site can be explored on foot and combines different types of buildings that are easy to access. It helps to check ahead of your visit to see which exhibitions are active and which parts of the area are open.

The site preserves the rare pairing of a luxurious manor house standing near rough industrial spaces, making the social divisions of that era tangible. This physical arrangement tells the story of class structure in industrial society in a direct way.