Ångkransbrottet

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Ångkransbrottet.

Ångkransbrottet is the largest area of quarries in Vånevik. It was the German company Hugo Gerlach that began the work here. From 1896 the company was named Svenska Granitaktiebolaget (Stockholmsbolaget). The quarrying took place from the 1870s to 1926.

ACCIDENTS IN THE QUARRIES
Two fatal accidents occurred at Ångkransbrottet. August Ohlsson was killed in a blasting accident and Little Hans was crushed under a falling stone. The risk of injury was high and the work exhausting. Silicosis caused suffering and premature death.

There were many stories about accidents in the quarries. This one is narrated in a local textbook:

”The man with the sledgehammer slipped with his clogs on the slippery ground just as he struck, and hit his companion on the head. His head was cut in half and the halves fell down on the driller´s shoulders. He then grabbed the halves with both his hands and slapped them in to place, put his hat on to make them keep together, grabbed his drill, leared at his companion and said: Come on’!” (Freely translated from Swedish to English.)