Kolarbyn Eco Lodge: Sweden’s Most Primitive Hotel in Charcoal Burner Huts

Kolarbyn Eco Lodge, deep in a spruce forest in Skinnskatteberg about two hours from Stockholm, is often called Sweden’s most primitive hotel. Its 12 turf-covered charcoal burner’s huts have no electricity, no showers and no running water. Guests chop their own firewood, cook over an open fire and end the day in a floating sauna on the lake.

For many guests that simplicity is the whole point: the evening revolves around fire, food and the sounds of the forest. Here is the story of the huts and what a stay involves.

The charcoal burners’ huts of Kolarbyn

Kolarbyn means “the charcoal burners’ village”. For hundreds of years this corner of Bergslagen, Sweden’s old mining and iron district in Västmanland, supplied charcoal for blast furnaces. Burners stacked wood into kilns covered with soil, turf and grass, then let it smoulder slowly for two to three weeks. One burner often tended up to six kilns, living alone in the forest in simple huts. Charcoal production in Bergslagen lasted until the end of the Second World War, and the nearby Lienshyttan blast furnace, one of the last fired with charcoal, closed in 1959.

The present huts date from the winter of 1996. Local charcoal worker Sven Råberg (1913–2006) started the project, and retired forest workers from the nearby village built the shelters from thin poles covered with soil, each with a wood-burning stove at one end and two or more berths. The site was chosen for its fresh-water spring beside Lake Skärsjön. Berndt-Olof Johansson, one of the builders, led the lodge’s traditional charcoal burning until 2015. Marcus Eldh opened Kolarbyn to the public in 2004 in cooperation with the Swedish Tourist Association (STF), and the lodge still keeps the heritage alive: every August a charcoal kiln is built and lit in the traditional way.

What a stay at Kolarbyn Eco Lodge is like

Each hut has its own fireplace, and keeping it going is your job. A typical evening means splitting wood, lighting the stove, fetching water and cooking dinner over the flames. The floating sauna on the lake is included in every booking, and a swim in Skärsjön afterwards is part of the ritual.

Things to do around Kolarbyn

• Wildlife safaris: moose, beaver and wolf tours with the partner company WildSweden, some starting at the lodge.
• On the water: canoes and rowing boats for hire; fishing with a licence bought through the lodge.
• In the forest: guided hikes, bushcraft and survival courses, wilderness riding, and mushroom and berry picking in autumn.
• Groups: conferences and team events with meals cooked over an open fire.

Dogs are welcome in some huts. Prices, seasonal opening and directions are on the lodge’s own pages; check the operator’s current information before you go.

Planning your first night in a forest hut

Arrive in daylight so you can find your hut, learn the fire and collect water before dark. Pack a head torch, warm layers for the night, and food that is easy to cook over flames. In winter, the hut stove and a good sleeping bag make all the difference.

For an imaginary version of woodland living, explore Daniel Barreto’s Woodhouses. For a compact architectural retreat, see Refugi Lieptgas.

Related reading

• The Orange Solar Tent Concept: Shelter with an Energy Budget
• Treehotel in Harads: Architecture, Rooms and a Northern Sweden Stay
• ESCAPE’s Cabin-Like Park Model: Interior Layout and Small-Space Design

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