Nora received its
charter in 1643. The government had requested the inhabitants of both Nora and the adjacent town
Lindesberg to move together into a newly chartered city called
Järle. However, the government proved unsuccessful, and instead granted both Nora and Lindesberg independent charters at that year. . Many wooden houses built in the 18th and 19th century have been spared from fires and demolition, making the town Nora one of Sweden's best preserved wooden towns.
Eksjö and
Hjo are two other examples, and they have together with Nora initiated a wooden-town development project. Also part of the old city structure are cobbled streets with small houses and shops by small windling street.
Anna Maria Lenngren, a Swedish poet, once proclaimed "Så liten stad, så mycket smak" (Such small town, so much taste). The first normal gauge railway in Sweden was opened to the public in 1856 between Nora and
Ervalla. It is today a museum railway, worked by a preservation society. == See also ==