Film was earlier at the center of Film Parish, the settlement growing around the parish church. This is today a smaller village with around 100 adult inhabitants in the areas Film Kyrkby and Tallbacken. It is a few kilometers from the former ironworks at Österbybruk and is today a part of Östhammar Municipality in Uppsala County.
A Short History of Film
The local legends tell of a king, King Filmer, whose fortress stood at the Filmer Hill. Could this be the origins of the name? This is most likely an old saga and can probably never be proved. Another suggestion about the name is that it has the same origins as that of the current Swedish word “film”, meaning a thin sheet. The thin sheet could have been the ice usually forming on the local lake.
The Film Parish had its origins in the Middle Ages and covered an area that these days would also include most of what is today Österbybruk, including the mansion of the old ironworks. Film Parish was in 1862 replaced by the Film Congregation and the Film Municipality, dividing the different responsibilities between church and the civil state. The municipality has since been merged twice, the first time in 1952 when it became part of Dannemora Municipality and later in 1974 when Dannemora became a part of Östhammar Municipality. For the congregation, it would take until 2010 before it became a part of Dannemorabygden Congregation.
The small village used to have a school. It was, however, closed down in 2014. It is now a ghost of its former self and its gates
Things to Do and See
The old school that is today a ghost building does attract some glances when passing through the village. Otherwise, there is one main attraction in Film, and that is the old parish church.
Film Church
The church is believed to have been inaugurated sometime during the 15th century. It was for a long time the center of the local parish and congregation, before it in 2010 became one of four churches in Dannemorabygdens Congregation. Many alternations have been done to the church during the centuries, the last one in 1954 had the goal to restore the church of the 18th century. The external clock tower was built in the 17th century.
How to Get to Film
- Flights: The closest major airport is Stockholm-Arlanda Airport, 77 kilometers away with both domestic and international flights.
- Car: Film is along countryside roads just north of Österbybruk.
- Bus: Local and regional UL buses are available in nearby Österbybruk.
- Train: Upptåget has train connections to and from nearby Örbyhus.
The driving distance from 5 major Swedish cities, according to Google Maps:
- Stockholm – 115 kilometers (1 h 23 min)
- Gothenburg – 502 kilometers (6 h 2 min)
- Malmö – 723 kilometers (7 h 40 min)
- Linköping – 310 kilometers (3 h 20 min)
- Kiruna – 1143 kilometers (13 h 21 min)
Find out more about other destinations in Sweden by visiting our page Exploring Sweden
