Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The purpose of the project is to identify and map old industries and businesses in Uppsala who could have caused ground pollutions. The report is intended as a starting point for later more detailed inventories, but also to make fast assessments of the risk of ground pollutions in an area.
The project is based on literature studies, including old maps, photos and old telephone books. Much information was found in the Uppland collection in the Uppsala City library and in the Room of Facts in the Upplands museum.
The report contain, except information about the object themselves, a historical background of the industrial development of the city over the last two hundred years, a description of the different branches and a general risk classification.
Thanks to the clay as an industrial resource, and the location of the city, Uppsala developed from a small rural area to Sweden's forth largest town. In the 19th century most people was working in the agriculture or in numerous small handicraft businesses. In the 19th century many clay industries started outside the town and were, together with the milling industries, the largest enterprises industries in the town.
At the tum to the 20th century,· many businesses changed from handicraft too industrial production. This resulted in larger but fewer enterprises. Larger industries could no longer fit in the city centre and had to move to the outer area, especially to areas close to larger roads, the railroad and the river. Most of the industries were built on the east side of the river because the Crown, the Church and the University owned most land on the west side.
In particular three areas became dominated by industries; Svartbacken in the North, the area around Vaksala torg in the east and Kungsangen in the south. Among the largest were Hastens shoe factory and Fyrisvalls tegelbruk in Svartbacken, Nymans verkstader and Uppsala valskvam near Vaksala torg and Gahns chemical industry, Uppsala silk industry and the Gas works in Kungsangen.
In the beginning of the 20th century the metal industry was one of the largest branches in Uppsala. The largest single company was the bicycle industry ofNymans verkstader, with up to 1 300 employees. Other large branches were textile and shoe industry, grocery industry and chemical industry. The report contains several hundred objects in many different branches.
In the middle of the 20th century many of the industries disappeared. Some of them became bankrupt or was bought up and moved from the town. Instead, people started working at the University, at government offices and in the military. Many of the old industry areas were tom down and were replaced by blocks of flats and business premises. The new industry areas are today located in Libroback, and in the north, in the outer Kungsangen area and in Bolandema and Fyrislund in the South.