It's been an important port since the fourteentB century, when iron ore from the Bergslagen mines was shipped out from the to ! Five hundred years later one of the country's earliest rways speeded up process, when cars loaded with iron ore coasted downhill from the mines to port The empty cars were then pulled back to Bergslagen by horses and oxen this lenh of railway line that today forms the first part of the inland route. Kristinehamn is proud, and quite rightly so, of its towering fifteenmeff Picasso sculpture, a sandblasted concrete pillar standing guard over entrance to the town. The striking piece is one of the Les Dames des series, based on Picasso's wife Jaqueline, and was raised and decorated INLANDSBANAN: THE PRACTICAL DETAILS As a route, the Inlandsbanan provides extremely cheap access from southern to northern Sweden. An Inlandsbanan kortet (available June 9Sept 30 only; 710kr, under16s 335kr) is valid for fourteen days' unlimited travel up and down the network from Mora to Gallivare. ТЪе deal is coordinated by the communities along the route and includes a map, full timetables, and a hefty wedge of discounts on campsites, meals, museums and various activities. Local county buses are halfprice to ticket holders, and for onward travel the ticket also pulls in thirty percent discounts on connecting trains GallivareNarvik, for instance. Buy ttie whole package from travel agents or any main Swedish train station. There's also a day ticket valid anywhere on the route, which costs llOkr. Ordinary tickets aren't that e3q)ensive, in any case Mora to Gallivare oneway, for example, is 300кг. A few bits of information help smooth the route. Taken in one go, the whole journey lasts two days. There are no night trains, so for fraveffing the whole line, in either direction, ifs necessary to spend the night in Ostersund one of several possible stopover destinations. A huge tome in each train details festivals, events and activities, and for any other tourist information the guards are helpful and forthcoming. In ptember, cloudberry and mushroom season, the line is especially popular with Swedes but all the hostels are closed. InterRailNordturist pass holders can use their tickets on the line all year, but they don't qualify for any of the supplementary discounts. Swedish artist Carl Nesjar. Seemg as Picasso only provided a photograph of a model of the sculpture and never actually set foot in Sweden, the "Picasso sculpture" tag seems a little unfair to Nesjar. To get there the sculpture is 7km from the centre follow Presterudsvagen, out along the cycle track that skirts the river, past Kristinehamn's flotilla of garish private boats right to the statue. Practicalities From the train station, turn left and a fiveminute walk brings you to the large main square and a river that branches its way through the centre. The tourist office (summer only; «0550105 73) is at the far end of the square facing the Stadshotellet («0550150 30; ®), the most expensive place to stay in town.