The Polhem Museum

At the small an intimate Polhem Museum you get an insight in what this strange man, Christopher Polhem, used to do in Stjärnsund. The museum exhibits different objects and models; locks, klocks and utensils. Here you can find some of the designs of Polhems mecanical alfabeth that were prototypes for how to evolve transmission of hydroelectrics for primarily mines.

The Polhem Museum openes in one of the preserved 1700s buildings, preveously used as a chaplain housing, a few years after the creation of the Husby Ring. The house has a preserved manor roof made of metal. Right next to the Musium is Goudes watchmaker's, that is still making clocks. Christopher Polhem was born on Gotland 1661 and left the island when he was young. His talent was discovered early and he was called a magician. As a student in Uppsala he managed to fix the medieval clockwork in the cathedral. After this accomplishment he was calle to the king Karl XI where he got to show his constructions which impressed the king who gave him a reward and a annual pension of 500 silver daler. Year 1698 he became the manager over Bergsmecaniken and 1700 the art manager at Stora Kopparberget in Falun. He was ennobled in 1716 and got the name Polhem. The idea for the manufactory in Stjärnsund came on a trip in Europe. In 1699 he found the place for the manufactory at Sund in Husby together with Gabriel Stiernkrona. In this place they built a large plant that in 1734 had 200 employees. The manufactoring consisted of a variety of products as utensils, mangles, saws, jack-screw, help machines for crafts etc. Production of clocks was also one of the products. In 1735 Polhem moved from Stjärnsund. He got involved in operations in the whole country, floodgates in Trollhättan, canals, ponds, mines, etc. He died in 1751, almost 90 years old.