The Great Falun Copper Mountain was a copper mine located in the city of Falun, Sweden, which operated for a millennium, from the 10th century to 1992.
The copper mine with its 1000 year history is great.
Access to the grounds is free, as is access to some buildings. You should definitely do the tour around the pit (1.6 km) because of the great views of the pit and Falun and because of the lots of information along the way.
Information from the information board:
The Falun mine was already in operation in the 8th century. In the first thousand years, mining was mainly focused on extracting copper.
The oldest surviving documents about the mine date back to 1288 and 1347, which was then called Tiskasjöberg. The name of the mine has changed over the years. It is best known as Falun Mine and Stora Kopparberget (Big Copper Mountain). The townspeople sometimes called the mine "Old Grandmother". King Magnus Eriksson's charter of 1347 contains detailed regulations on how work should be done at Kopparberget.
In the 15th century, the miners who co-owned the mine had a major impact on the economy and politics of Dalarna and Sweden as a whole. They held great power until 1533 when they clashed with King Gustav Vasa. The king summoned them all to a meeting at Kopparberget, and after a thunderous speech that lasted all day, the king had some of the ringleaders executed.
The 1570s brought improved methods of pumping water and lifting ore. This technical development coincided with an increased demand for copper in Europe and the mine entered its heyday. In the 17th century, the Falun mine was at times the largest copper producer in the western world.
In the 18th century the supply of copper at the mine decreased and the mining company began to diversify its activities. In the 19th century it was more focused on iron production and forestry products. In 1888 the old mining company was transformed into Stora Kopparbergs
In the 1980s the company was one of the world's top ten forest industry companies and the name was shortened to Stora. On December 8, 1992, mining at the Falun Mine was suspended.
Since 2000 the mine has been owned and managed by an autonomous foundation, Stiftelsen Stora Kopparberget.
In December 2001, Unesco included the Falun Mine along with parts of the city of Falun on the World Heritage List.
Translated by Google •
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