Holiday apartment in Munkfors: Industrial heritage on the Klarälven

Munkfors is situated on the Klarälven. Munkforsen is located in Bruksparken and, with its 17-metre drop, is the highest natural waterfall on the Klarälven. On certain summer days, the fast-flowing water can be observed from just a few metres away as it puts on a spectacular display.

Nature on the Klarälven

Hästskoholmen is also part of the landscape, a municipal nature reserve in the municipality of Munkfors. Here, riverbanks, parkland, deciduous woodland and pine heath meet. The area also includes a path, a bathing area and barbecue facilities. There are several fishing waters in the wider surroundings of the river, all open to everyone with the appropriate fishing licence. In the area around Munkfors, grayling, trout, perch and pike can be caught in the Klarälven using natural bait, fly or spinning tackle.

Culture and industrial history

At Gamla bruket, the museums take visitors through industrial history. Historical models and true-to-scale installations illustrate developments at an industrial site whose origins date back to the 17th century. This museum complex includes Sweden’s first open-hearth furnace and a presentation of the development of the iron industry. The collection is complemented by a fire brigade museum, a magnificent horse-drawn steam fire engine and a tool museum with a unique collection of iron stamps.

Lilla bruket houses a model museum and a chapel containing the furnishings of the former Methodist church, considered Munkfors’s first church. Laxholmen Kulturhus, next to the highest natural waterfall on the Klarälven, is home to an art museum. It features a permanent exhibition of sculptures donated by the artist Bo Englund, who was born in Munkfors. The Fridolf-Rhudin Museum is located in a preserved setting in Munkfors’s old industrial district and presents an exhibition about his life and career.

The history of work also remains visible in the open spaces of Bruksparken: alongside the ruins of a former cold-rolling mill, there is a legal graffiti wall. The mill operated from the beginning of the 20th century until 1964. Two large murals were added in summer 2017. Two British artists painted them as part of the Artscape Värmland – White Moose Project.

Trails and activities

The municipality of Munkfors has 17 hiking trails with varied terrain, lengths and levels of difficulty. A distinctive and playful trail concept is Munkis Sagostig in the Gamla bruket area of Munkfors. The easily accessible trail has signs with tasks, combines exercise with discovery and is particularly suitable for younger children accompanied by an adult.

At the start of the disc golf course next to the car park at Munkfors Arena, there is an information board and a course map. The course is one kilometre long, runs through woodland and lies along the illuminated circular trail. Forsnäsbadet offers swimming lessons, family recreation in heated water and training in the swimming pool.

For longer journeys through the surrounding area, the Klarälvsbanan runs through the municipality of Munkfors east of the Klarälven and passes through, among other places, Ransäter, Blia, Centrum and Heden. The 90-kilometre-long, car-free nature trail has an asphalt surface and runs from Karlstad in the south to Hagfors in the north. In nearby Ransäter, Erlandergården includes a schoolhouse and a memorial farm with an exhibition about Tage Erlander’s active life as a politician and prime minister.

Other local pages in the shared area lead to Karlstad, Forshaga, Kristinehamn, Hammarö, Säffle and Sunne.

Destination on the river

Laxholmen Kulturhus is located about one kilometre from the centre of Munkfors and is signposted from National Road 62.

To the main travel overview: Värmland.