Skultuna was founded by King Karl IX in 1607, and then as now, timeless design of the highest quality is at the heart of the company. All of Skultuna’s pieces are created to last through time, becoming more beautiful with each day and with every generation that uses, wears, and cherishes them. Today, Skultuna is one of the oldest companies in the world and has long held the title of Purveyor to the Swedish Royal Court.

At the beginning of the 17th century, Sweden was heavily indebted to the Hanseatic League, debts that King Karl IX had inherited from his predecessors. One solution to relieve this burden was to establish a domestic brass industry, both for export and local needs. The king tasked his vassals with finding a suitable location, and the choice eventually fell on Skultuna. Here, the Svartån River could provide water power, the Falu Copper Mine could supply raw materials, and the surrounding landscape offered coal and timber. Today, more than 400 years later, Skultuna Brassworks remains on the exact same site where the first master founders were recruited from Germany and Holland. For them, design was an integral part of the craft, bringing with them all the expertise in producing brass objects such as chandeliers and candelabras—knowledge that is still embedded in Skultuna’s tradition today. The oldest known Skultuna chandelier, dated 1619, can be found in Vårfrukyrkan in Enköping. The journey through four centuries has at times been challenging: spring floods once swept away the factory, and the foundry has been destroyed by fire at least three times.

At the end of the 19th century, processes and working methods were standardized, laying the foundation for what we today call industrial design. Leading this transformation was Carl Hjalmar Norrström, trained at Konstfack in Stockholm and a designer at Skultuna from 1895 to 1912. Norrström was one of the most recognized designers of his time and received numerous awards for his creations. Notably, he was awarded a gold medal at the 1900 Paris World Exposition for his magnificent baptismal font, which is still on display at Skultuna Brassworks. In the 1950s, modernism arrived at the foundry through silversmith Pierre Forssell. His designs reflected Scandinavian modernism in a clean, contemporary style, and he created a number of iconic products during his more than 30 years at Skultuna. Another renowned designer who worked with Skultuna in the 1980s was Sigvard Bernadotte, who designed a range of acclaimed everyday items, including brass and silver salt and pepper shakers.

Today, Skultuna collaborates with leading international designers and has its own in-house design studio. Skultuna’s products are featured in major department stores around the world, and the company has won numerous international design awards. Skultuna currently operates five of its own stores in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Skultuna. At the same time, production continues at the foundry on the original site, following an unbroken tradition since the early 1600s. Today, this mainly involves finishing processes such as polishing, grinding, assembly, engraving, and packaging. The foundry is also one of Sweden’s most popular tourist destinations, where visitors can explore the Skultuna Flagship Store, Service Desk, Museum, Outlet, and Bistro Bruket. For more information on the foundry’s opening hours and directions, visit www.skultunabruk.se