Holiday apartment in Ludvika: Culture, Lakes and Cycling Trails

Ludvika combines water and trails with industrial history and cultural events. The town can be explored in the centre, while also leading into historic cultural landscapes and the wider surrounding region. Extensive cycling routes are complemented by museums, churches and activities on the water.

Nature

Marnästjärn is an 18-hectare birdwatching lake in Ludvika. A walking trail with a total length of approximately 2.6 kilometres runs around the lake in central Ludvika. There are barbecue areas, wind shelters and benches along the trail. This section therefore combines observing the lake with a manageable route through the town centre.

Culture

The approximately 5.5-kilometre High Voltage Valley Walk is a walking route in central Ludvika. Information boards explain Ludvika’s leading position in the field of electrical power supply. A historic route through the region is described by Romboleden: it is Sweden’s longest pilgrimage trail and has origins in the 11th century. Via Harnäs, it leads into Ludvika Municipality, continuing through Gammelgården to central Ludvika and Ludvika Ulrika Church.

Hammarbacken is also part of the town’s industrial history. The site is part of Ludvika bruk, Sweden’s first Crown or state-owned ironworks, founded by Gustav Vasa in 1552. Hammarbacken includes a four-storey grain store and workers’ housing. The grounds can be explored on foot independently and offer views of Lake Väsman.

Ludvika Gammelgård is a historic Bergmansgård, meaning a former farm belonging to mining farmers, with origins dating back to the 16th century. As an open-air industrial history museum, it includes mining and iron-processing facilities: a waterwheel, rod machinery, a horse-powered winding engine, a headframe, an ore-processing plant, a forge and a winding house. The site also includes a herb garden, a mineral museum, a building-supplies shop and a café open in summer.

The Dan Andersson Museum displays photographs and information about the poet Dan Andersson and offers guided tours. The recurring Dan Andersson Week in the Ludvika district is also dedicated to him. The event comprises around nine days of culture in the spirit and footsteps of the poet, in the Finnish cultural landscapes around Ludvika. The programme includes music, poetry, cultural breakfasts, walks through Finnmark, charcoal kilns and open stages. The week is organised by Ludvika Municipality together with the Dan Andersson Society and the Skattlösberg local community association.

Ludvika Ulrika Church was inaugurated in 1752. It is a cruciform church with a shingle-clad façade. Another event in Ludvika is Scensommar, featuring culture, history, music, dance and culinary experiences.

Cycling

Väsmanstrand connects central Ludvika with the shore of Lake Väsman and is the starting and finishing point of the Ludvikaturen cycling tour. The circular cycling tour is 100 kilometres long and can be divided into shorter stages. It mainly follows cycle paths, minor roads and gravel roads; a large part runs along former railway embankments.

Ludvika has almost eleven Swedish miles—just under 110 kilometres—of car-free cycle paths. These also include routes along former railway embankments. The information about the Ludvikaturen and the cycle-path network therefore describes both a standalone circular tour and a larger network of car-free routes.

Water and Swimming

Ludvikabadet at the sports hall has a family pool and a swimming pool with a 25-metre pool. The municipality of Ludvika regularly organises baby swimming as well as swimming lessons for children and adults there.

At Skuthamn, visitors can rent kayaks and explore Lake Väsman. The Kayakomat kayak station at Skuthamn has four single kayaks and two double kayaks; life jackets are included.

Winter

In winter, Väsman VinterArena creates and maintains ice rinks and cross-country ski trails on Lake Väsman and Burtjärn in Ludvika Municipality.

Surrounding Region

In the wider region around Ludvika, visitors can follow the Nittälven River through the Nittälven Nature Reserve. There, the river flows through rapids, past waterfalls and through calmer, slow-flowing sections. Skattlösbergs by is an old Finnish settlement in Grangärde parish, with origins dating back to the 17th century.

Other local pages in the immediate local network: Fredriksberg, Ludvika, Grangärde, Sunnansjö, Nyhammar, Grängesberg. The same higher-level local area also includes Borlänge and Hedemora.

To the higher-level travel overview: Dalarna County.