Stamp Mills Along the Hjo River

Stamp Mills Along the Hjo River

Several stamp mills once lined the Hjo River. These included not only bark stampers, but also bone stampers and wool stampers.

Bark Stamper – For Leather Production

To make animal hides usable, they had to be tanned into leather. The traditional method – vegetable tanning – involved soaking the hides in water with crushed oak or spruce bark.
At the bark stamper, the bark was pulverised using heavy wooden beams driven by water power.

Bone Stamper – For Making Bone Meal

Bone stampers were used to crush animal bones into bone meal, which is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus. Bone meal served as a long-lasting fertiliser.
🦴 Tip: Visit Sweden’s oldest preserved bone stamper (1865) in Sätra, Karlsborg.

Wool Stamper – For Making Wadmal

Wadmal (vadmal) is a woven wool fabric treated in a wool stamper. The cloth was placed in wooden vats with hot water, then compressed and rolled with heavy logs – a process known as fulling.
Wadmal is durable, dense, warm and water-repellent – ideal for outerwear in older times.

🧪 Traditional Tanning Recipe

Want to try traditional tanning? Here’s how:

1. Fill a pot halfway with finely shredded bark, then top up with water.

2. Boil for 1 hour.

3. Mix half of the decoction with an equal amount of fresh water.

4. Place the hide in the solution. Stir for 10 minutes, then every 10 minutes for 1 hour.

5. Leave at room temperature. After a few hours, add the remaining bark mixture.

6. After 4–5 hours, take the hide out and scrape off any membranes.

Tanning time:

• Large hides (cow/moose): ~6 months

• Goat hides: 7–10 days

• Use approx. 4–5 kg dried bark per goat hide

• When done: Rinse thoroughly in fresh water for several hours

Follow the Nature Trail

The nature reserve is a green oasis in the heart of the town, offering wonderful outdoor experiences all year round. Follow the Nature Trail along the Hjo River, from Hjo Harbour all the way up to the small lake Mullsjön, just west of the town.
This lush and leafy path takes you on a historic walk through wild landscapes, rich in birdlife – right in the middle of Hjo.

You can easily find the trail by following the wooden signs marked “NATURSTIGEN” along the river.
The full walk is approximately 4 km, from Hjo Harbour to Stämmorna at Lake Mullsjön.

Trail Information

• Waymarking: Clearly marked nature trail with wooden signs: "NATURSTIG"

• Length: Approx. 4 kilometres

• Food along the trail: YES – restaurant Stampens Kvarn

• Toilets: Dry toilet at Stämmorna, Mullsjön

• Open: Year-round

• Managed by: Hjo Municipality

• Protected area: Part of the EU’s ecological network of protected areas, Natura 2000