Nora

Nora is a town in Västmanland. Nora is one of three towns in Sweden considered to have especially well preserved wooden buildings town centres (the other towns being Eksjö and Hjo).

Understand

Nora is a small city with a population of about 12 000 inhabitants. It has an old city centre, packed with tiny boutiques, making Nora a proper merchant city! The town centre still has a large number of wooden houses from the 18th and 19th century. Nora's prosperity was built on mining between the 17th and 20th centuries, as part of the wider mining region Bergslagen. Much of its mining heritage is preserved today, including Pershyttan, one of the best preserved mining villages in Sweden. In order to benefit the health of the miners, Nora became a centre for apple farming, a tradition kept alive today by the local organization Pomologiskt Centrum. By the nearby lake Norasjön, there is a large island with an adventure park for children. Nora is a destinations for Sweden's oldest normal-track veteran railway. During summer several sections are operated with steam locomotives and old diesel engines. Nora is also renowned for its ice cream parlor NoraGlass, which sells freshly made ice cream and attracts throngs of ice cream lovers during summer.

Most Swedes know Nora from Anna Maria Roos 1909 poem and children's song Tre små gummor about three little old ladies, who travel to the market fair in Nora to eat candy and ride carousels.

Get in

Regular bus traffic from Örebro, 25 km to the south from Nora.

The closest railway station which is trafficked by passenger trains is located in Lindesberg, some 14 km (8.7 mi) north east from Nora. It is trafficked by the national train operator SJ and the regional train operator Tåg i Bergslagen. Lindesberg is connected by bus with Nora.

Nora is about 30 minutes from Örebro by car, via Route 50. Örebro is located on the European highway E18, connecting Stockholm with Oslo.

Get around

See
  • 🌍 Göthlinska gården, Kungsgatan 4 (By the main square in the city center), ☏ +46 587-811 20. Guided tours Sa 11.00 end of May-Early Sep; Tu-W 11:00 Jul-mid Aug. A grand building preserved and furnished like a typical Swedish bourgeois home during the turn of the century. The house was constructed in 1793 and the Göthlin family moved here in 1885. Since 1962 it is operated as a museum. 80 kr. 
  • 🌍 Pershyttan (3 km (1.9 mi) south of Nora). Guided tours July-Mid August. It is a small mining town which can be reached by the museum railway train. The area has been used for mining from the 12th century until 1967. It is home to one of Sweden's best preserved charcoal-fuelled blast furnaces, made in 1856, and a huge water wheel. One of the site's best preserved mines is Lockgruvan, which is also open for guided tours. The site also features a restaurant. 80 kr. 
  • 🌍 Siggebohyttans bergsmansgård (15 km (9.3 mi) north of Nora), ☏ +46 70-2592800, . Open from the middle of June to the middle of August, W-Su, 11:00-17:00. Guided tours at 14.00. A museum showing how a Bergslagen miner could have lived during the end of the 19th century. The farm was purchased by a local history society in 1910, and listed as a historical heritage in 1970. There is also a cafe on the site. 50 kr. (updated May 2019)
  • 🌍 Nora Church (Nora kyrka), Prästgatan 3. (updated Jul 2021)

Do
  • 🌍 Nora Bergslags Veteran-Jernväg, Järnvägsgatan 1, ☏ +46 587-103 04, . Operated June-August, and during Nora Christmas fare in December. A museum railway based at the Nora railway station at the lakeside. The museum railway has a network of 25 kilometer of normal gauge track. This is one of the most genuine old railway environments in Sweden. The station building at Järle is the oldest one in the country. The strech between Nora and Ervalla was the first normal gauge railway in Sweden, opened for traffic March 5, 1856. Several old steam powered locomotives are maintained by volunteers. In summer, a small diesel train takes tourists to Pershyttan, a few kilometers away (see above). 

Buy

Eat

Local delicacies are cooked and served in some of the heritage railway restaurant wagons.

  • 🌍 Bryggerikrogen, Prästgatan 42, ☏ +46 587-103 40. Th-Sa 15.30-late, Also open for lunch F 11.30-13.30. A fine dining restaurant listed in the national restaurant guide White guide. The building was constructed in 1893, and used as a beer brewery until the 1950s, so it is only natural that Bryggerikrogen offers plenty of locally made beers! (updated May 2019)
  • 🌍 Hult säteri, Hults säteri, ☏ +46 587-500 70, . The hotel restaurant of Hult säteri, located in an old manor. They offer traditional Nordic cuisine made from local products. (updated May 2019)
  • 🌍 NoraGlass, Storgatan 11, ☏ +46 738 440 700. 10.30-18.30 daily, May-Aug. Nora is home to one of Sweden's oldest ice cream manufacturers, NoraGlass. They have served fresh ice cream in waffles since 1923. Aside from their ice cream shop on Storgatan 11, they also operate Kafé Strandstugan (Storgatan 1) and the waffle parlor Selma G (Borgmästargatan 1). They are both set on the shores of lake Norasjön, and of course, they both offer delicious NoraGlass ice cream! (updated May 2019)
  • 🌍 Pizzeria Babylon, Kungsgatan 6, ☏ +46 587-130 30. A pizzeria. (updated May 2019)

Sleep
  • 🌍 Nora tåghem, Järnvägsgatan 1, ☏ +46 587-14676, . An original and beautiful hostel. Originally set in sleeper wagons parked by the railway station, beautifully located just by Norasjön lake. (updated May 2019)
  • 🌍 Åkerby Herrgård, ☏ +46 70-696 06 01. A hotel and conference center located in a manor by lake Fåsjön, a few km north of Nora. They have a lunch and à la carte lunch restaurant, and organize different activities for their guests. (updated May 2019)

Cope

Go next
  • In nearby Pershyttan (4 km) the old iron works are located. The guided tour takes you inside the buildings to see how pig iron was made from iron ore. Nearby, an old mine has been reopened to visitors, though only with a guide. The mine isn't very deep underground and you can always still see daylight.
  • Gyttorp, a small former industrial village, with an interesting residential architecture, drafted in the 1940s by the British-Swedish architect Ralph Erskine (1914-2005).
  • Kopparberg (50 km to the north) is a village with some beautiful old buildings to visit. The tourist office is located in one of these, the Tingshus (Courthouse) from 1642. Next door is Bergslagsarkivet - an old archive building from the mining company (1876-1877), and a very old grain seed warehouse from the 17th century. Around the corner, there is a small country life museum where the local pensioners give you a personal tour of the premises: a photographer's studio, a shoemaker, a postal office and a goldsmith's workshop. In a shed outside a small reconstruction has been made of a mine. The town also has a beautiful old church (1635) with separate bell tower and stables.
  • Grythyttan with its famous restaurant academy.
  • Örebro, the county seat and dominant city, known for its castle.
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