The quarries

Swedish natural stone – A sustainable building material

Swedish limestone and marble are some of the most beautiful and durable building stones in the world. Borghamns Stenförädling AB quarries limestone along the eastern shore of Lake Vättern, while Kolmården Marble operates in the original marble quarries north of Bråviken. The raw material is several hundred million years old and requires careful handling along with specialized stonemasonry work for refinement.

The classic Swedish Kolmården Marble, known as Östergötland’s landscape stone, is currently quarried at a single location: our quarry in Oxåker, situated on the shores of Bråviken, just outside of Norrköping.

Kolmården Marble is unique to the northeastern region of Östergötland and is one of Sweden’s most renowned stone types, recognized internationally as well. In the late 17th century, the marble work in Kolmården received its charter from The Crown; however, long before that, baptismal fonts were already being crafted from this distinctive green stone. At the height of Kolmården marble quarrying, there were over 60 active quarries. Unfortunately, quarrying came to a complete halt in the late 1970s and did not resume until we opened the Oxåker quarry in 1993.

Our quarry is notable for its large natural color variations in the marble. The existence of so many historical quarries explains why there are pieces of Kolmården Marble with a wide range of appearances. We quarry both Kolmården OX and OXL varieties here, with the differing grain patterns achieved by sawing the stone in various directions.

Our journey began in 1951 when Oskar Ericsson founded our family business, intending to pass it down to his son, Ola.

The quarrying of limestone in the Borghamn area dates back over 900 years, with the stone primarily used for constructing churches and monasteries.

The limestone itself is even older, having formed nearly 485 million years ago. It is twice as old as the other types of limestone quarried today and is significantly denser and harder—comparable in hardness to marble.

What sets Borghamn limestone apart is its consistently high quality in terms of color, hardness, and density. We offer our limestone in two colors: light gray and gray-brown.