Tumba papermill
Paper for Swedish banknotes has been manufactured at Tumba for 250 years. The buildings and the surroundings reflect this long historya and a museum has now been opened on the site.
Sveriges Riksbank (the Central Bank of Sweden) built Tumba papermill next to one of the waterfalls on the Tumba stream in 1755. Its task was to manufacture banknote paper under the auspices of the bank, in order to make counterfeiting difficult. Initially, Dutch specialists were employed to lead the manufacture and train the Swedes. A guild of artisans was established that would come to work at the mill for generations. This gave social stability, something that was important for a place where an activity as secret as working with banknote paper was carried out. Eventually, a society grew up based on this industry with housing, school, outhouses and storage.
The manufacture was a skilled manual craft until 1939. It was then that the first paper machine was installed, and technical improvements then followed in a steady stream. The printing presses themselves were moved to Tumba in the 1970s.
Sold to an American company
Sveriges Riksbank sold the complete production, with paper manufacture and printing works, to an American company in 2002, and this company now runs operations. Other buildings are managed by the National Property Board (SFV).
The oldest building at the mill is the administration building from 1760. A museum has been set up in a worker’s cottage from the same time, showing banknote and paper manufacture, and the special mill society. The large four-storey stone house was built in 1820-1823, following a design by CG Gjörwell. The uppermost story of this building was the mill’s ceremonial room.
Workers’ cottages
In addition to this, there are a number of interesting buildings, such as the workers’ cottages that were built during the 19th and 20th centuries. These have been integrated into the main building. A beautiful avenue stands along the mill road, planted in 1810.
Tumba Papermill Museum
The Tumba Papermill Museum has been run since 2004 by the Royal Coin Cabinet. The museum was renovated and reopened in 2005, and is housed in three buildings, Oxhuset, Röda magasinet and Kölnan. The exhibitions depict the history of paper and banknotes, the work of manufacturing them, and the special society that grew around the mill.
Links
Nearest public transport is the SL stop at Tumba bruk.
