Dalsbruk

Dalsbruk (Finnish: Taalintehdas) is a small town with about 1000 inhabitants in the municipality of Kemiönsaari in Southwest Finland. Until 2009, Dalsbruk was the central settlement of the former municipality of Dragsfjärd, when the municipalities of Kemiö, Västanfjärd, and Dragsfjärd merged to form Kemiönsaari.

The development of the village of Dalsbruk has been primarily influenced by industrialization and the more than 300-year history of the Dalsbruk ironworks. The ironworks were founded in 1686, and the iron factory operated there until 2012. The village itself is considered to have emerged when the ironworks were established in the village of Dahls.

Every July, Dalsbruk hosts the Baltic Jazz festival, and in August, the multi-arts Norpas Festival takes place. In June, the Lövö broloppet half marathon runs from Dalsbruk over the Lövö bridge to Kasnäs.

The Finnish National Board of Antiquities (Museovirasto) has designated the historical industrial area of Dalsbruk as a nationally significant built cultural environment. A distinctive feature of the town is that many of its buildings are constructed entirely or partially from slag bricks, which are made from the by-products of iron production. The oldest residential buildings in Dals Bruk date back to the 18th century. In 2015, the Trade Union of Education (OAJ) awarded Taalintehdas School as School of the Year.