History

After the Inland Ice

10 000 years ago when the fourth and latest inland ice had receded, the whole Grums area and the south parts of Värmland were under sea level. Only Näshöjderna were above the highest coastline, 175 m above present sea level.

Elevation of the land is today about 0.35 cm each year. Big parts of the district are wooded with pine and spruce and belong to the southern conifer region. There are almost no bogs in the area.

The Stone and the Bronze Ages

The oldest finds known today, pointing to settlings in Värmland, are the so-called Lihultyxorna. The name of these roughly cut stone axes with sharpened edges originate from the finding-place in Bohuslän.

Another rock axe - trindyxan - relatively common in this county and in Grums´ all communities was contemporary with Lihultyxorna. A number of isolated finds were concentrated to Slottsbron, Liljedal and south Gärsnäs.

There was a gradual increase in settlement at the end of the Stone Age and the very first Värmlanders settled down in Grums when the inland ice receded north.

There are many relics of the past in the region and one of the most famous is “kuvertgraven" in central Grums. This is the only one of its kind in Värmland.

From the Middle Ages and onwards

Bailiffs and gentlemen from castles and manors around Grums ruled Värmland during different epochs. The legend says that a castle was strategically built at Slottsbrosundet where the evil lady Rangela demanded customs from everyone who came by land and by water.

The castle of Edsholm was built at the same place in the 14th century and was occupied by the king´s bailiffs until the Engelbrekt uprising in 1434 when it was burnt down.

Borgvik was a central place already in the 14th century. There is a preserved medieval document describing an agreement between the tenant of the mill and the Catholic Church who owned Borgvik at that time.

After the mill was shut-down, an iron mill was driven by water power from the 17th century until 1925.

Karl XII visited Borgvik on his way to Norway in 1718. He wanted to grant Borgvik a town charter but as we know, he did not return from Norway and Borgvik did never become a town. The church of Borgvik was consecrated the same day the king died, on November 30, 1718.

Castles and Manors

Many words have been written about the manor of Long, and as to Fernow, there was already in the 14th century an old manor called Long at Grums. The name originated from the family Lange who lived at Long before the Black Death in 1350.

After 1550, the owner of Long was named Sturk and he was succeeded by many other owners. The ironmaster Lindroth, 1704‑1772, owned except for Long also mines and several ironworks. He built a house at Long that was later rebuilt to a castle. In 1789, captain C.G. Löwenhielm moved to Long and in 1839 the entailed estate was inherited by lieutenant general C.G. Löwenhielm.

The kings Oscar I, Karl XV and Oscar II visited the castle. General Rosensvärd married to Long castle and was in 1870 appointed county governor of Värmland. Later the city of Karlstad bought Long and made it a working-class camp. It was torn down during the Second World War.

The Agnhammar manor belonged to the Anckar family already in the 16th century. The most famous of the owners was Botvid Skrivare, chief judge in the district court and bailiff of Värmland. He set up Värmland´s oldest Book of Land Laws in 1540. By marriage the manor later belonged to the families Lillieram, Stuart and Löwenhielm.

In 1540 tax was placed on the estate Kälkebräcka, the owner of which was Botvid Larsson. The estate, that later became a manor farm remained in the family until the end of the 17th century. The ironmaster Carl Rosenholm acquired the estate that was named Carlberg after him.

Around 1800, Elias von Echstedt was the owner of the estate. Hammarsten was built in the 16th century and belonged to the Uggla family whose head banner adorns the longer wall of the church in Grums. In the middle of the 19th century the estate was owned by the district judge Jonsson and functioned as sessions hall.