Polhemshjulet

How It Worked

Polhem's Wheel is an overshot wheel: water poured in through a timber conduit entering the north side of the wheelhouse, and the weight of that water set the massive wheel turning. The crank arms on the axle converted the rotary motion into a powerful back-and-forth stroke, which was channelled through connected iron-and-wood rods stretching roughly one kilometre to the mine shafts. A bell mounted on the rod line rang day and night as long as the system ran; silence meant the pumps had stopped and the mine was in danger of flooding.↗↗↗

The water supply came from Lake Bålsjön via a hand-drawn canal just over three kilometres long. A preserved turning point (vändbrott) still stands on the hill across the road, showing exactly how the rod route changed direction. The entire system delivered about 15 horsepower — roughly half consumed driving the rod line itself, the rest running the mine pumps.↗

Visiting the Wheel and Surrounding Mining Landscape

The wheelhouse door uses a code lock — the code is 1661, the year Christopher Polhem was born. Step inside and you'll find the enormous wooden wheel still in place, its iron-banded scoops and stone-block bearings remarkably intact. A 150-metre section of the original rod drive is preserved nearby, and the path from the car park actually follows the old rod route, marked beneath and alongside the wheelhouse.↗↗

The feeder canal, once crucial to keeping the wheel turning, is now a pleasant walking trail and part of the longer Norbergsleden hiking route. In the wheel's working days, the canal and timber conduit teemed with crayfish — a fact that tempted local children to walk and cycle along the water trough feeding the wheel's top.↗↗

The Kärrgruvan Mining Environment

Polhem's Wheel is part of a broader cluster of mining heritage sites in Kärrgruvan, all within the Ekomuseum Bergslagen network. The nearby mining museum sits in the Risberg shaft building, constructed in slag brick and red-painted timber in 1876 over a 114-metre-deep shaft. The Svinryggen mines, where ore deposits were shallow and easily accessible, date back to the early 1600s. A museum railway, a sculpture park and art gallery (Linnégården), and the bathing spot at Fliken (3 km away) round out a visit.↗↗

Getting There and Practical Notes

From Norberg town centre, follow signs toward road 68/69 toward Avesta. At road 68, turn off toward Kärrgruvan at the DinX petrol station and continue about 4 km along Hedemoravägen (road 69). After passing Storkiosken on your left, turn left onto Polhemsvägen — not Kylsbovägen — a sharp almost-90-degree left. Parking is 170 metres along on the right.↗

The site is self-guided and well signposted. Terrain is mostly flat, with a mix of gravel paths and natural forest trails. Note that there is a step up into the wheelhouse building. The site is part of the Bergslagen ecomuseum and is generally accessible year-round for outdoor areas, though the wheelhouse may be closed in winter.↗↗

Why It's Remarkable

What makes Polhem's Wheel especially striking is the timing of its construction. By 1876–77, steam power was already available in Norberg, and electricity arrived in 1897. Yet this 18th-century rod-drive technology was chosen for a brand-new installation and kept running for another 23 years afterward. It stands as evidence both of Bergslagen's deep conservatism in mining technology and of how effectively the system actually worked.↗↗