Falu gruva

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About Falu gruva

The Falu gruva, Falun's copper mine, was exploited from at least the 10th century until 1992. In the 17th century it produced about two-thirds of Europe's copper, and the wealth it generated financed Sweden's expansion as a northern power. The town of Falun grew around it, with miners' houses and the manor houses of the mine owners. The mine area and the surrounding landscapes have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001.

The first impression is the Stora Stöten, the large crater: in 1687 the galleries collapsed and opened a hole about 95 metres deep and 350 metres long, which remains open. A walkway runs around the rim, with viewpoints over the red-and-gray bottom. Next to it are the old engine buildings, the water wheels, the slag heaps and the mine museum, which tells the technical and social history of mining.

The guided tour goes down with helmet and cape into the galleries, 67 metres deep, through tunnels, excavated halls and old shafts, and explains how miners worked with fire and hand tools. The temperature down there is usually around 5 °C.

From the mine's residues the Falu rödfärg is still made today, the red paint based on iron pigment that colours Sweden's wooden houses. It is still produced next to the mine.