Östhammar

Östhammar is a municipality in eastern Uppsala County in Sweden. While the Östhammar town itself has a population of 4,500, the municipality has more than 20,000 permanent residents, and several more during summer.

Understand
Östhammar was granted city rights in 1368 by king Albrecht of Mecklenburg, however, by that date the area was already a trading hub. By the end of the 15th century the waterway into Östhammar had become too shallow. Therefore the burghers decided to move to the nearby location Öregrund, taking Östhammars city rights with them. In 1520 Öregrund was destroyed on the orders of king Christian II of Denmark. As a consequence, Östhammar was repopulated, this time somewhat closer to the coast, and regained its city privileges. Östhammar is famous for the iron industry founded by the Walloons in the 17th century. By the end of the 19th century Öregrund became a popular sea-side resort.

Today Östhammar is a seasonal summer city, with plenty of people and activities during the summer months and a much quieter and calmer atmosphere during the winter. There are a lot of summer cottages scattered around the coast and on the nearby islands. The largest and most well-known of these islands is Gräsö, Sweden's 10th largest island.

Locations

 * Östhammar, the seat of Östhammar municipality
 * Öregrund, a port town. One of the smallest places in Sweden to commonly be referred to as a 'town'
 * Dannemora, a mill town
 * Gimo
 * Gräsö, an island
 * Harg

By public transport
The regional traffic is operated by UL. From Uppsala Centralstation take bus number 811 towards Östhammar/Öregrund. The journey takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes, with departures once every half daytime during weekdays, and once an hour during the weekend.

From Gävle, take UL bus 510 towards Tierp. Get off at "Skärplinge bussterminal" and transfer to bus 835. This route is not operated during weekends.

It is not possible to reach Östhammar by train.

By car
Östhammar is located by route 76 which carry traffic towards Gävle in the north and Norrtälje in the south. To reach Östhammar, make a turn in the "Östhammar roundabout".

Route 288 from Uppsala merges with route 76 by "Börstils kyrka", about south of the Östhammar roundabout.

By bike
Route 76 is narrow and heavily trafficated, especially during the summer, making it hard to travel by bike. "Kustlinjen", or "Skärgårdscykelleden" is a biking route following the Roslagen coast. It is clearly marked with red signs, and follow small biking paths all the way from Stockholm to Öregrund and Östhammar.

By boat
While there are no ferries carrying passengers to Östhammar, both Östhammar and Öregrund have guest harbors if you travel by your own vessel.
 * "Östhammars Gästhamn" +46 173-862 90. Depth: . Room for 15 vessels
 * "Öregrunds gästhamn" +46 173-865 55. Depth: . Room for 80 vessels

By public transport
Regional bus 811, operated by UL, traffic the route between Östhammar and Öregrund. The journey takes about 20 minutes and costs 23 kr if bought with a travel fund, 30 kr if pre-purchased and 37 kr if bought on board.

To Gräsö
The ferry Gräsöfärjan carry passengers, bicycles and cars between Öregrund and Gräsö. There is no fee for the trip, with departures at least twice an hour during most of the day.

See



 * Vallonbruken: The Walloon metal industry
 * Vallonbruken: The Walloon metal industry
 * Vallonbruken: The Walloon metal industry

Buy
The town of Öregrund (located within Östhammar municipality) has some of the essential services in the area, such as the only Systembolaget alcohol shop. In terms of shopping and services, the two towns can be considered one closely liked area.

Go next

 * Uppsala - The largest city in Uppsala County has got the oldest university and the largest church in the Nordic countries
 * Gävle - A port city with an industrial heritage and a famous yule straw goat