wm
It: 3
Tronyem—more resembling the boxes of a theatre
than the usual seats in a place of worship.
Church at Roraas.
I may here observe that the smelting-houses are
in the town of Roraas, to which all the o.”e from
the mine is brought. The great smelting-house is
a very old building, nearly worn out, and, as the
concern is a thriving one, it was said to be in contemplation
to build a new one during the ensuing
year. I t contains seven or eight furnaces, which
were nearly all in full work during my visit: the
blast bellows for heating them are worked by water
wheels. As I had not yet visited the mine, nor
ever seen the works usually connected with one,
the different processes of smelting and roasting the
ore were viewed with much interest by such a novice.
The population of Roraas is stated at about
1500 souls. There are a few well-constructed
wooden houses in the town, but the greater part
are miserable enough: they are built of logs of
wood, are very low, and the roofs covered some
with turf, some with sods, and others with slags;
and when viewed from an eminence, have a singular
effect. Numerous detached huts, standing
singly in the middle of the fields, which are here
enclosed by stone walls, are scattered around the
town, and these I learned were used as repositories
for hay for the Avinter consumption of the cattle.
T h e elevation of Roraas above the level of the sea
is marked doAvn, on Mr. Forsell’s Chart, at 2260
feet, and th a t of the principal mine is said to be
upwards of 3000 feet.
Immediately on my arrival, I called upon Mr.
Schult, the director of the mines, to whom I had
the pleasure of conveying a letter of introduction
from Mr. Knudtzon. He received me with great
,1!