This can be found along Jälmåleden
This guide is made as a complement to the map over Jälmåleden.
In this tourguide we have tried to describe and tell you about the places that the hike passes and about interesting places that are a little bit away from the trail in itself. Most places are culturally interesting, but some are geological. Several of the sites have ancient remains and others from the industrial period in the late 19th century. However, every place has one in common; The beautiful and varied nature surrounding Jälmån.
With the help of Gula Kartan Dalstorp 6D: 61 and Rånnaväg 6D: 82 and if you have your eyes open, you will probably find your own "little donuts" along Jälmådalen.
Generally
The hiking trail passes a lot of pastures with animals, wetlands and uneven hilly terrain, therefore all walks are at your own risk.
If you do not want to walk among the animals you can go outside the fence and if it is very wet in the fields, you may have to choose an alternative route.
Do you have a dog so keep it on a leash and avoid the pastures.
Along the trail there are six wind shelters with fireplaces suitable for breaks and overnight stays. Please use the prepared fireplaces for fires and cooking.
NOTE! Fishing is permitted only with a valid fishing license.
Facts about Jälmån
The river is included as a tributary in the Ätrans water system. Its length is about 40 km from its source flow in Rydssjön, a few kilometers south of Strängsered until it flows into Månstadsån in Tranemosjön, then changes its name to Assman.
The drainage (precipitation) area of the river is 258 km2 of which 2.1% or 5.42 km2 is sea level.
The level difference from Rydssjön to Tranemosjön is 134.5 m.
At Björsdamm power station in the lower part of the river, the flow of water varies between 0.6 m3 per second at very low water levels to 40 m3 at high tide. The average is about 10 m3.
Maderna or the moorings
In some places where Jälmån's beaches are flat, quite wide-ranging "food fields" or MADERNA (in swedish), spread out. The moorings / maderna are often flooded and thus get their nutrients from the water. In the past, they were therefore important for the local farmers, especially in dry summers, they got much of their winter food for the creatures here. The moorings were almost always harvested with a scythe and the hay was handed together by hand and carried home. This kind of haymaking ended almost completely in the early 60's. The fact that the wetlands was important in the past is explained by the waterfront of Rydfors pond it is established that all river / pond gates shall be kept open during the period 10 May to 10 October. This to make sure that the water level in the river would not get too high and flood the moorings / maderna.
Log floating channel
Already in the 1890s, Jälmån was an important flood run. When the Borås - Alvesta railroad arrived in 1902, it became a boost and during a period after World War I it seems to be particularly active.
As there were not many industries in these towns, the fleet gave welcome jobs for the locals.
Work in agriculture were less when autumn came and before the winter's forest shedding began, it was good to be able to "go on the go" for floating timber and logs.
The fleet operation was going on up to sometime in the 1930s, when the competition with truck transport probably made this labor-intensive mode of transport un-economical.
The bridges
There are thirteen bridges along the Jälmål trail. Nobody is the other really similar. The structures and types vary greatly depending on building time, purpose and terrain.
The bridges at Stocken, Ods mill, Sörkvarna and Rydfors have arisen as a result of making a dam to exploit the hydro power to drive a saw or a mill. Here, you automatically got the foundation of a bridge at the pondfence.
The Nailerys current wooden bridge was completely renovated in 1990 by Dalstorp IF.
The suspension bridge at Hjälmafors was renovated in the same year by some private individuals. This replaced the old from 1958 that Vattenfall built.
The materials for these two bridges were donated by Hållander's sawmill and Östra Kinds Electric Power.
The gateway in Dalstorp was added in the late 70's to dismantle the roadway bridge, built in 1935.
The bridges at Nyfors are very easily constructed with iron beams and wooden planks.
"Nettarpa bro" has got its own chapter (see No. 16).
The new bridge at Brobacken (Fourth Bridge on Maps) was built in 1983. The old was of wood and very narrow. The road made a sharp turn directly south of the bridge, causing many cars to end up in the ditch. In any case even in the river. The old bridge lay about 30 m downstream of the new one.
In Gisslarp town there were old names on the bridges in Nygårdssjön. North of the lake was called Nole Bridge (Nole = North). This bridge is sometimes called Tommaredsbron. The reason was that the tommaredsborna had a long detour to the church when it was moved from Nittorp to Nittorp. They then took the shortcut over Sjöbo Mosse, the Hagen and down to the Tommareds Bridge. This continued until the bike became a man's property, maybe until the thirties.
The bridge south of Gisslarp was called Sörebro (söre = south). The current bridge was built in 1923, when the road between Grimsås and Limmared was added. The old bridge was just north of the new one. At this time there was only one house in "Nittorps society" namely Sjölid, the little red wooden house along the Tranemovägen. During the midsummer period of 1927 a heavy rain fell, causing a flood in Jälmån. The source could not "swallow" these water bodies. To save this new bridge, you had to dig the bridge on its eastern side. Please note how well this stone bridge is built. It is a masterpiece to first cut the stones and then put them together into a bridge. Unfortunately, the Swedish Road Administration has now "EU adapted" the bridge by mounting a metal rack on top of the old stone.
In this tourguide we have tried to describe and tell you about the places that the hike passes and about interesting places that are a little bit away from the trail in itself. Most places are culturally interesting, but some are geological. Several of the sites have ancient remains and others from the industrial period in the late 19th century. However, every place has one in common; The beautiful and varied nature surrounding Jälmån.
With the help of Gula Kartan Dalstorp 6D: 61 and Rånnaväg 6D: 82 and if you have your eyes open, you will probably find your own "little donuts" along Jälmådalen.
Generally
The hiking trail passes a lot of pastures with animals, wetlands and uneven hilly terrain, therefore all walks are at your own risk.
If you do not want to walk among the animals you can go outside the fence and if it is very wet in the fields, you may have to choose an alternative route.
Do you have a dog so keep it on a leash and avoid the pastures.
Along the trail there are six wind shelters with fireplaces suitable for breaks and overnight stays. Please use the prepared fireplaces for fires and cooking.
NOTE! Fishing is permitted only with a valid fishing license.
Facts about Jälmån
The river is included as a tributary in the Ätrans water system. Its length is about 40 km from its source flow in Rydssjön, a few kilometers south of Strängsered until it flows into Månstadsån in Tranemosjön, then changes its name to Assman.
The drainage (precipitation) area of the river is 258 km2 of which 2.1% or 5.42 km2 is sea level.
The level difference from Rydssjön to Tranemosjön is 134.5 m.
At Björsdamm power station in the lower part of the river, the flow of water varies between 0.6 m3 per second at very low water levels to 40 m3 at high tide. The average is about 10 m3.
Maderna or the moorings
In some places where Jälmån's beaches are flat, quite wide-ranging "food fields" or MADERNA (in swedish), spread out. The moorings / maderna are often flooded and thus get their nutrients from the water. In the past, they were therefore important for the local farmers, especially in dry summers, they got much of their winter food for the creatures here. The moorings were almost always harvested with a scythe and the hay was handed together by hand and carried home. This kind of haymaking ended almost completely in the early 60's. The fact that the wetlands was important in the past is explained by the waterfront of Rydfors pond it is established that all river / pond gates shall be kept open during the period 10 May to 10 October. This to make sure that the water level in the river would not get too high and flood the moorings / maderna.
Log floating channel
Already in the 1890s, Jälmån was an important flood run. When the Borås - Alvesta railroad arrived in 1902, it became a boost and during a period after World War I it seems to be particularly active.
As there were not many industries in these towns, the fleet gave welcome jobs for the locals.
Work in agriculture were less when autumn came and before the winter's forest shedding began, it was good to be able to "go on the go" for floating timber and logs.
The fleet operation was going on up to sometime in the 1930s, when the competition with truck transport probably made this labor-intensive mode of transport un-economical.
The bridges
There are thirteen bridges along the Jälmål trail. Nobody is the other really similar. The structures and types vary greatly depending on building time, purpose and terrain.
The bridges at Stocken, Ods mill, Sörkvarna and Rydfors have arisen as a result of making a dam to exploit the hydro power to drive a saw or a mill. Here, you automatically got the foundation of a bridge at the pondfence.
The Nailerys current wooden bridge was completely renovated in 1990 by Dalstorp IF.
The suspension bridge at Hjälmafors was renovated in the same year by some private individuals. This replaced the old from 1958 that Vattenfall built.
The materials for these two bridges were donated by Hållander's sawmill and Östra Kinds Electric Power.
The gateway in Dalstorp was added in the late 70's to dismantle the roadway bridge, built in 1935.
The bridges at Nyfors are very easily constructed with iron beams and wooden planks.
"Nettarpa bro" has got its own chapter (see No. 16).
The new bridge at Brobacken (Fourth Bridge on Maps) was built in 1983. The old was of wood and very narrow. The road made a sharp turn directly south of the bridge, causing many cars to end up in the ditch. In any case even in the river. The old bridge lay about 30 m downstream of the new one.
In Gisslarp town there were old names on the bridges in Nygårdssjön. North of the lake was called Nole Bridge (Nole = North). This bridge is sometimes called Tommaredsbron. The reason was that the tommaredsborna had a long detour to the church when it was moved from Nittorp to Nittorp. They then took the shortcut over Sjöbo Mosse, the Hagen and down to the Tommareds Bridge. This continued until the bike became a man's property, maybe until the thirties.
The bridge south of Gisslarp was called Sörebro (söre = south). The current bridge was built in 1923, when the road between Grimsås and Limmared was added. The old bridge was just north of the new one. At this time there was only one house in "Nittorps society" namely Sjölid, the little red wooden house along the Tranemovägen. During the midsummer period of 1927 a heavy rain fell, causing a flood in Jälmån. The source could not "swallow" these water bodies. To save this new bridge, you had to dig the bridge on its eastern side. Please note how well this stone bridge is built. It is a masterpiece to first cut the stones and then put them together into a bridge. Unfortunately, the Swedish Road Administration has now "EU adapted" the bridge by mounting a metal rack on top of the old stone.