Introduction to the Project

Långedsverken's history begins at the powerful Långedsströmmen rapids, which as early as the first half of the 1800s powered a mill and a sawmill. The Wærn family, led by brothers Wilhelm and Carl Fredrik Wærn Jr. at the helm of the Baldersnäs company, came to shape the district over the following decades — not least through the Dalsland Canal, which Carl Fredrik Jr. pushed through and which was inaugurated in 1868 by King Carl XV.

The canal's five locks at Långed, together with the characteristic "Ön" (the Island) formed when the canal channel was separated from the rapids, opened new transport routes for iron, timber and goods between northern Dalsland and Lake Vänern. The canal, however, came too late for Dalsland's ironworks, which were being outcompeted by new technology during the same period. Instead, the pulp industry became the district's new future: as demand for paper grew and new methods for processing wood into pulp were developed, Carl Fredrik Wærn Jr. judged that the location at Långed — with its water power, forest and available labour — was well suited for a new venture. In 1871, Dalsland's first mechanical pulp mill stood ready on Ön, the foundation of what would grow into one of the country's largest wood-pulp mills. Since then, Långedsverken and Dals-Långed as a community have undergone a transformation in step with Sweden's changing industrial development, from a mill town to a knowledge society.

This whole development is admirably described in the book "Långed – En bildberättelse" ("Långed – A Pictorial Story") (Långedprojektet, 2015)¹, one of many outcomes of the Långedprojektet association, founded by former employees and local residents after the decision to close Långedsverken in 2014. Långedprojektet's work also became part of the foundation for the documentation project that Västarvet (the Region Västra Götaland's cultural heritage administration) carried out on commission from Rexcell. The report "Långedsverken, Rexcell Tissue och Airlaid" was published in 2017 and describes the paper mill, its industrial processes, and the property's development from a building-conservation perspective.²

"Older building sections, together with preserved buildings from the 1950s, 60s and 1980s, form important growth rings in a building history that has continued for roughly one hundred and seventy years."

— from the report Långedsverken, Rexcell Tissue och Airlaid, Västarvet, 2017

The buildings, parts of which were erected in 1916, have since grown organically like a Lego construction, with the most recent extension completed in 1986. The building mass on Ön today comprises 28,000 square metres, wedged between nature and industry.

Since Långedsverken closed in 2015, several initiatives have been launched around how the historic environment can be preserved and put to use. A central driving force in this work has been Mötesplats Steneby³ — a development environment focused on culture-driven community development, entrepreneurship, innovation and a sustainable transition in Dalsland and Fyrbodal. Through Mötesplats Steneby and GU Ventures, Open Wood⁴ moved into a smaller part of the old premises: a pilot project that brought together the furniture industry with newly graduated master's students in furniture making, in a fully modern, open workshop focused on woodworking.

Another notable and recurring project at Långedsverken is the music and art festival BRUK⁵. The concept started in 2002 as "Musikaliska Möten" ("Musical Encounters") and was named BRUK in 2009; since 2021, Långedsverken has been its permanent venue. The festival is run by the Långedprojektet association and blends music, art and performing arts in a factory setting. BRUK 2022 drew around 300 visitors and featured, among other things, the Østfold Symphony Orchestra from Norway and a sound installation built from 100 tonnes of paper rolls as stage design.

The positive experience from Open Wood laid the foundation for a new initiative from Mötesplats Steneby, aimed at exploring whether the whole large property could be taken on — not just the part of the premises (around 2,000 m²) where Open Wood currently operates. As part of this, the project Långedsverken 2.0⁶ was launched in 2024, with Mötesplats Steneby enlisting the help of CaseStudio Arkitekter and Protek Projektstyrning. During the project, two feasibility studies were produced, among other things, outlining some visions of what Långedsverken, with the right resources, could become: on one hand the report "Rapport Långedsverken" from CaseStudio Arkitekter⁷, and on the other "Presentation Långedsverken" together with the exhibition "Drömmar om fabriken" ("Dreams of the Factory") from Mardi Winkler Arkitekter⁸ — two separate, independent architecture firms.

In recent years, Mötesplats Steneby, Långedprojektet, local working groups such as Studio Växt⁹, local residents and other engaged parties have been working to explore how the historic factory environment at Långedsverken can be cared for and developed further in the long term — in dialogue with Duni, the property's current owner. As part of this work, the company Långedsverken Partners AB¹⁰ has been formed. More information on how the work progresses will be published here as it becomes available.

Sources and References

1. "Långed – En bildberättelse", Långedprojektet, 2015. See the Långedprojektet website. ↩
2. "Långedsverken, Rexcell Tissue och Airlaid", Västarvet, 2017. The decision to close was made in 2014, production stopped in 2015. Read more·Download the report (PDF). ↩
3. Mötesplats Steneby. ↩
4. Open Wood. ↩
5. About BRUK, Långedprojektet·BRUK 2022, Kulturförvaltningen VGR. ↩
6. Långedsverken 2.0, Mötesplats Steneby. ↩
7. CaseStudio Arkitekter·Download the report (PDF). ↩
8. Mardi/Winkler, see Mardi Arkitektur AB. Two reports: "Presentation Långedsverken" (PDF)·"Drömmar om fabriken", exhibition (PDF). ↩
9. Studio Växt, Dals Långed — a shared office and workspace for designers and craft artists. ↩
10. Newly registered company (14 August 2026): "New company launches in Bengtsfors: Långedsverken Partners AB", NWT. ↩