At a former crossing of the Fyris River, Ulva Kvarn grew from a medieval mill into a complex of water-powered industries. Its 1750s mill, millrace and falls now anchor a riverside recreation area and craft village north of Uppsala.
Quick facts
A mill at Ulva is documented in a 1329 record; a possible reference from 1275 is less certain.
The present mill was built in 1757–1759, suffered an interior fire in 1875, and was raised by one storey during rebuilding.
A fish passage at Ulva opened in 2017; in June 2020, the first asp in roughly 350 years was recorded passing the site upstream.
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Guide
At Ulva Kvarn, the river is part of the machinery. The Fyris once drove mills and other workshops here; today its falls, dam and channels still explain why a settlement grew at this bend. The whitewashed mill building dates from 1757–1759, but the documentary history of milling reaches back centuries earlier.
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