Ivanssons Bilskrot i Båstnäs
Historic / Ruins
Europe Sweden
What will the world look like twenty years after the great apocalypse, when nature has slowly begun to reclaim the place that man once occupied? It will probably be reminiscent of what it looks like in the forest outside Töcksfors, where the Ivansson brothers once ran their successful car scrapyard.
When Ivansson's car scrapyard in Båstnäs started in 1956, Norway was a country with a depressed economy. The country's oil reserves were still undiscovered, and to promote domestic trade, cars were subject to high tariffs, something the Ivansson brothers would use to their advantage. The gravel road that is now mainly used by smugglers was once an important shipping route into Sweden, and near Båstnäs there was a customs station that carefully controlled traffic.
A Norwegian who wanted to buy a cheap car in Sweden had two choices: either he could dismantle his new acquisition into three parts – engine, body and wheel axles – and bring the parts into Norway on separate occasions, or he could simply take Norwegian number plates with him and screw them onto his car from Ivanssons before driving it through customs intact.
The car scrapyard did well for a long time and the brothers became known far beyond Töcksfors, but when the Norwegians began to have a better economy in the late 1970s, it was also the beginning of the end for the car scrapyard in Båstnäs. The business was scaled down and in the 1980s the brothers finally lost their scrapyard license. Since then, about a thousand cars scattered over two hectares have stood abandoned in the Värmland forest, to the great joy of all wreck tourists.
Wandering among the endless rows of scrap cars is a colorful and highly surreal experience that attracts a large number of tourists from all over the world every year. There is no signage and most likely no insurance applies in the area. However, there is no problem getting to the scrapyard, the gravel road from Töcksfors is in good condition and there are many parking options on site.
