The cultural activists in the Swedish town of Hörnebo have opened the former slate mine outside Ramkvilla as a concert hall. During the summer months each Wednesday until mid-August, the mine offers a very different kind of music experience.
Ramkvillas website tells about the Hörnebo slate mine. There you can read how the cuttings were broken out most intensively in the mine in the latter half of the 19th century. Although the mine has been shut down for a long time, it is constantly accessed through a tunnel that is immersed in the mountain between the two shafts bottom.
Just because the mine does not work anymore does not mean it's empty. Every summer, music is organized in an enlightened mine. Last summer, the old slate mine acted for six consecutive weeks. Magnus Färjhage, sitting with the mining committee, describes the atmosphere of the mine.
- The feeling in the mine is special in many different ways. First, one meets the long mine that leads to the former mining area itself. Because we use to start 22 PM, we use lightings, which makes the already grand environment even more atmospheric. In addition, the acoustics in the mining shaft is very special. It does not echo at all, forming all tones "right" from the beginning, he says.
Ramkvillas Homestead Association, which stands behind the project, collaborates with a number of local actors. For example, Ramoa Adventure Village will have special offers in conjunction with the musical performances on Wednesdays. Something else that is central to the event is obviously the artists.
- We want to give local artists with development potential the chance to perform even though they have little experience with stage performances. Our goal is always to find local artists who maintain high quality, explains Magnus Färjhage.
- As a whole, it is a wonderful cultural experience characterized by a special environment, a different music experience and local artists. I usually say that a Wednesday night cannot be spent in a better way than in this mine, he says.
