History of Klädesholmen
The 16th century herring period was the first with major economic importance for Bohuslän.
When Bishop Jens Nilsen made his visit in 1594, it had just ended. Marstrand was then the central location for herring trade and export, and it is easy to understand the importance this had for Klädesholmen as the closest fishing village.
The Great Herring Period
The Great Herring Period between 1748-1808 is fundamental in the development of Klädesholmen. At its peak, there were close to 1,000 people living on this small island. Enormous quantities were caught. In one year in the 18th century, about 250,000 tons of herring could be caught along the coast – as much as the entire Swedish fishing fleet caught in the mid-1960s. Herring meant prosperity and development for many.
Herring boats sailed all the way up Lake Mälaren
Towards the end of the 19th century, another herring period began. At this time, many of Klädesholmen’s fishermen began to run their own trade as small entrepreneurs. Instead of just fishing, they now sailed around and sold various products, such as salted herring, spiced herring and dried ling, directly from their boats, which were called herring boats. In the early 1930s, there were actually almost sixty herring boats on the island, which regularly reached most ports along the entire Swedish coast – from Strömstad in the west to Haparanda in the north, and further through the Göta Canal up to the towns around Lake Mälaren. At the same time, more and more canning factories were started on Klädesholmen, and many fishermen now combined both factory operations and boats that went out and sold their products.
The canneries emerge
During the war years, fuel shortages and new, stricter requirements for food sales led to the boats gradually disappearing. However, the customers still remained, and instead of direct sales, the canneries developed new and more efficient ways of distributing their products. In total, there were twenty-five canneries on Klädesholmen during the 20th century, which shows how central this industry has been to society.
Our modern industry
In recent years, competition has become increasingly fierce, making it harder for the smallest manufacturers in the food industry to survive – this also applied to the fish industry. In the 1980s, there were still twelve canning factories left, but twenty years later, after the turn of the millennium, four of the remaining companies on Klädesholmen merged. Four long-standing family businesses on the island known under brands such as PK, Bråse, Alax and Klockbojen, were thus united to form what is today Klädesholmen Seafood AB. Since then, we have continued to work to preserve our heritage and traditions. At the same time, with the old craft traditions as a foundation, we have created a modern and efficient organization. We are now proud to be one of Sweden’s largest herring producers.
Read more about Klädesholmen on Wikipedia
Would you like to know more about the history of Klädesholmen?
Then we recommend a visit to the Sillmuseet Sillebua.
The museum shows the unique industrial environment that Klädesholmen represents. Here you will have the opportunity to see how it was when herring hunters from Klädesholmen regularly visited the ports. Almost all Swedish ports visited them to sell various fish and herring products.
After this time of sales directly from the hunts, the canning industry grew on Klädesholmen, which today produces a full 40% of all Swedish canned herring. In addition, you can experience how the fishing boats arrived with lings from Shetland and how the fish was prepared before it was turned into lutefisk. In total, there are only five canning museums in the world, of which the only one that shows the semi-canning method is located on Klädesholmen. Here you will see an era in the canning industry, which extends from 1920 to 1960 – a period when the canning industry and fishing provided jobs and livelihoods for most people on the island.
For information and other inquiries, please contact Nils-Gunnar Johansson at 0702-754647.
