About us
Welcome to Winterviken – a venue for everyone!
In beautiful Vinterviken, Gröndal, just minutes from Stockholm city centre, lies Alfred Nobel’s old dynamite factory from 1891. Today there is a Café open during the day year-round, sometimes also open in the evenings. Here you will find a unique Event Hall for corporate parties, weddings, conferences and other events, and a Stage for concerts in the magnificent Grand Hall.
It is also possible to rent the Grand Hall exactly as it is – perfect for photography and filming.
The business has been owned and operated by Erika Michael and Markus Aujalay since 2008.
They also operate Tegelbacken restaurant and Tegelbacken kiosk in central Stockholm.
The Building’s History
We are located in Nobel’s old dynamite factory from 1891. In 1889, a nitric acid warehouse was demolished here to make room for the new factory, which became known colloquially as “Syran” (The Acid). The factory, designed by Belgian engineer Gustaf Delaplace, was completed in 1891 and is now the only factory building remaining in the area.
ARCHIVE UNKNOWN PHOTO DATE
Workers line up outside Nitro Nobel’s sulfuric acid factory in Vinterviken in Stockholm sometime between 1891 and 1914.
Photo: Nitro Nobel’s Archive / SCANPIX / Code 194
The longer section of the building was divided into three parts, where one section was used for storing coal, another section for storing iron pyrite, and in a third section there were furnaces for heating the pyrite. On the upper floor in the tall section of the building there were large lead-lined chambers and concentration apparatus for sulfuric acid, which is an important component in the formation of nitroglycerin. The nitroglycerin was then sent down to the kneading house by the water, where the dynamite mass was hand-pressed and formed into cartridges along the southern shore. After that, the now finished dynamite sticks were wrapped in brown, paraffin-coated paper and packaged in cartons with one kilo in each for further distribution.
Production began to be phased out in 1914, and in 1920, all explosives manufacturing was moved from Vinterviken to Gyttorp in Västmanland. Vinterviken was retained only for storage and distribution. However, some test explosions and other experiments were conducted until 1988.
After operations were completely shut down, the building was left to decay. In connection with Stockholm being the Cultural Capital in 1998, the old “Acid Building” was renovated and decontaminated by the City of Stockholm to house the Skulpturens Hus in the premises for just under a ten-year period.