Salt-glazed – a large scale industry
Salt glazed stoneware is Höganäs’ backbone. The main income came from industrial goods: bricks, tiles, slabs and sewage pipes. The flow of salt glazed goods from Höganäsbolaget from 1835 to 1954 played an important part in Sweden’s progress. Much of the output is still in use.
Salt glazed pottery is still produced by Höganäs Saltglaserat and in Wallåkra and Raus, outside Helsingborg.
The art of salt-glazing
Salt glazing is a 600 year old process used to give pottery a hard surface. When temperature reaches approximately 1280 degrees Celsius, salt is thrown inside the kiln. As it vaporises hydrogen chloride forms a protective layer on the pottery, making it ideal for preserving food and resistant to acids.
Everyday pottery, an identity
The clay from coal mines was thrown on potter’s wheels and fired in kilns to become tough, practical household goods. Höganäskruset – the iconic jam jar – is a symbol of the massive production of stoneware that made housework easier and put pottery in every home, even abroad. The dark, shimmering pottery has become an integral part of Höganäs’ identity.
