The old log flume

Untitled, 1992

Ante Dahlstedt (1941– )

UMEÅ ENERGICENTRUM, KLABBÖLE

Owner: Umeå Energi AB

Log driving had major significance in northern Sweden until the construction of hydropower plants put a stop to it, and trucks took over the work. The last year of log driving in Sweden was 1979.

A few hundred metres of the lower portion of the old log flume are all that remains of the flume by Umeå Energicentrum in Klabböle. The flume was put into use in 1959 when the Stornorrfors power plant was completed. It was originally six kilometres long and went from the Stornorrfors inlet channel to the outlet in Klabböle, beside Umeå Energicentrum. In 1980, the sorting station (where timber was sorted to the correct owner) by Lillån was shut down and the log flume no longer served a purpose. The plan was to demolish the entire flume, but through a partnership between Vattenfall, Umeå municipality and the Umeleden Foundation, the lower section of the flume was preserved for posterity.

Ante Dahlstedt’s sculpture in red-varnished steel with various welded parts now crowns the old log flume. The wind and water sculpture features symbols associated with log driving. The artwork serves as a memorial to a bygone era and a bygone profession. (LB)

Height approx. 6 m