Pythagoras Mechanical Workshop Museum
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Pythagoras Mechanical Workshop Museum ( sv, Pythagoras industrimuseum) is located in the premises of the earlier engine factory Pythagoras at the town of
Norrtälje Norrtälje is a locality and the seat of Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 17,275 inhabitants in 2010. It is one of the largest towns in Roslagen. History Norrtälje’s early history dates back to the Iron Age. Around 225 ...
in the province of
Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...
in Sweden. At the museum, production facilities and working conditions from the first half of the 20th century are on display. The factory produced
hot bulb engine Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to: Food and drink *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality *Hot, a wine tasting descriptor Places *Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand ** Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...
s and spare parts for them from 1908 up to closure of the
workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the on ...
in 1979. The engine factory is an
industrial heritage Industrial heritage refers to the physical remains of the history of technology and industry, such as manufacturing and mining sites, as well as power and transportation infrastructure. Another definition expands this scope so that the term a ...
site, complete with functioning
production line A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward c ...
s and offices.


Pythagoras company

The company was founded in 1898 as Verkstads AB Pythagoras (Pythagoras Mechanical Workshop Ltd.), originally to produce
mechanical calculator A mechanical calculator, or calculating machine, is a mechanical device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic automatically, or (historically) a simulation such as an analog computer or a slide rule. Most mechanical calculators we ...
s, hence its name from the Greek mathematician and philosopher
Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His politi ...
. However, these plans failed and the factory instead started producing
locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...
,
brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...
candlestick A candlestick is a device used to hold a candle in place. Candlesticks have a cup or a spike ("pricket") or both to keep the candle in place. Candlesticks are less frequently called "candleholders". Before the proliferation of electricity, candl ...
s and electrical fittings. Beginning in 1908 hot bulb engines were designed and manufactured, and such engines afterwards dominated the production line of the Pythagoras factory.


New Pythagoras

After a bankruptcy in 1927 the company was reconstituted as Nya AB Pythagoras (New Pythagoras Ltd.). A new bankruptcy followed during the Great Depression, in 1933, but it was reorganized once more. From 1957 and onwards, under new owners, the production was step by step reduced.


Fram and Drott

Pythagoras manufactured hot bulb engines under the trademarks of ''Fram'' and ''Drott'', the latter for export markets. The engines were used in farm machinery and on fishing and other vessels. The company was, with about 80 employees, once the largest manufacturer in Norrtälje.


Pythagoras today

The factory was threatened by demolition in the early 1980s, but was rescued by a group of local enthusiasts. Nowadays the Pythagoras Engine Factory is recognized as one of the most valuable industrial heritage monuments in Sweden. The Pythagoras Mechanical Workshop Museum is owned by the Engine Factory Pythagoras Foundation, which runs it in cooperation with the support group Pythagoras Vänner (The Friends of Pythagoras).


Further reading (in Swedish)

*Dag Avango: ''Motorfabriken Pythagoras – En levande verkstadsindustri och kulturmiljö'', 1998, *Jan-Bertil Schnell: ”Motorfabriken Pythagoras, ett törnroseslott i Roslagen”, in the 1993 yearbook of the Swedish Tourist Association


External links


Official homepage of the Pythagoras Workshop MuseumOfficial homepage of The Friends of Pythagoras (only in Swedish)
{{Coord, 59, 45, 21, N, 18, 41, 59, E, source:svwiki_region:SE_type:landmark, display=title
Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His politi ...
Museums in Stockholm County Uppland 1898 establishments in Sweden Locksmithing museums Marine engine manufacturers Electrical engineering companies Defunct companies of Sweden Great Depression in Sweden 1979 disestablishments in Sweden 1980s establishments in Sweden Industrial tourism