Rödhällan

Remains of a millstone quarry

At Rödhällan, traces can be found of an old quarry where millstones were handmade. The hard stone was extracted here and worked into heavy millstones used for grinding grain in watermills. We know that at least twenty pairs of millstones were delivered from this site during the 1890s – and that is essentially all we know about the history of the place

The Millstone

A finished millstone could weigh up to 1,500 kilograms. In the quarry, you can still see millstones in various stages of production – from rough blocks to nearly finished stones. All work was done by hand, and transportation was carried out by horse and sled through the surrounding terrain.

*Rester av kvarnstenar*
Photo: Peter Ladan.

Gristmills

The millstones were used in different types of watermills. The oldest water-powered mills in Scandinavia date back to the 12th century. These were simple skvaltkvarnar (horizontal watermills) with a horizontal waterwheel directly connected to the millstone.

In the 18th century, more advanced mills began to appear, with vertical waterwheels and gears that efficiently transferred power to the millstones. By the late 19th century, water-powered turbines were introduced, capable of driving even larger milling machinery – and it was precisely such heavy millstones that were produced here at Rödhällan.