On Sunday, Hanna and I wanted to venture down the Falu Mine on a guided tour. We were joined by Rachelle from the Cayman Islands; a relative of Hanna who was in Stockholm for the weekend to attend a wedding and who came to Falun for the day. Having never been down a mine before, I was really exited about it!

Information about Falun Mine

Falun Mine consists of the open-cast mine called the Great Pit, an underground visitor’s mine and several small mines and shafts alongside the Great Pit, besides a maze of galleries (tunnels), underground chambers and sunk shafts in the rock around and under the mine area. The total length of the cavities is about 80 km, of which some 33 km is above today’s water level of approximately –220 m. The maximum depth of the mine is 600 m and the deepest shaft, Oscar, is 440 m. Falun Mine has been worked since the end of the eighth century. The mine was closed on 8 December 1992.

Source: http://www.falugruva.se/

Hanna & Rachelle under the Swedish flag, while we waited for the guide to appear…

Hanna & I in front of The Great Pit, called “Stora Stöten” in Swedish…

The Great Pit - Stora Stöten

More information about Falun Mine

Ore mining started back in the 8th century, but the Falu Mine enjoyed its glory days in the 17th century. There was plenty of work on offer, which attracted many people to Falun. At that time, it was an important international town with a population of 6,000. A job at the mine meant extremely hard physical work, and exposure to risks of cave-ins, falls from great heights and serious lung diseases. But the wage was often better than in other jobs, so labour shortages were rare.
On Midsummer’s Day in late June 1687 the mine collapsed, forming Stora Stöten (the Great Pit). It was a miracle that no one was injured, because everyone was off work on that particular day.
Mining continued until 1992. The visitors’ mine comprises an exciting walking trail, from which you can make out countless passages and shafts in the darkness. Knowledgeable and dedicated guides tell you about the harsh life of the miners, and show you the tools they used – which really makes you think about what people were able to achieve without modern machinery.
Above ground the site includes the Världsarvshuset (world heritage centre), Gruvmuseet (mine museum), Rödfärgsverket (Falu Rödfärg paint plant), Gruvhospitalet (mine hospital) and historic buildings from various periods, which together take you on an exciting trip in time right up to today’s Swedish industrial society. The huge slagheaps nearby are further evidence that Stora Kopparberget (the Great Copper Mountain) was Sweden’s biggest workplace for several centuries.

 Source: http://www.visitfalun.se/en/The-world-heritage/World-heritage-Falun/The-Falu-Gruva-mine/

Here we are, well protected and ready to venture underground… Love the outfits?

I must admit that the outfits looked way better underground!

And here we go…

History of Falun Mine: The eighth century AD

The history of mining in Falun begins in the Iron Age. There was almost certainly mining in the eighth century, and there are indications that the mine could be even older. The earliest extant document about the mine dates from 1288, recording how Bishop Peter of Västerås acquired an eighth share of Kopparberget, then called Tiskasjöberg.

Source: http://www.falugruva.se/

“OK, let me just follow those brave workers in front of me…”

I’m glad the guide was with us, or the blind would have led the blind!

Watch out, the ground is slippery! (…and yet here we were, taking the path destined for the fortunate!)

“Watch out!! I told you the ground was slippery!”

Which the reason for these lovely shoe protections!

A smaller shaft… People were obviously not as tall in those days…

History of Falun Mine: Charter of 1347

King Magnus Eriksson’s charter to the yeoman miners in 1347 confirms earlier charters and contains detailed rules for how the work at Kopparberget was to be done. The document was supplemented in 1360 with an ordinance on mining, thus setting the norms for the working of the mine until the start of the seventeenth century. The fifteenth century

At the end of the fifteenth century almost 300 tons of copper were mined and smelted each year. Trade between Sweden and the continent went through the Hansa, and thanks to customs records in Lübeck we can follow the amount of copper exports from the fourteenth century onwards.

Source: http://www.falugruva.se/

How about climbing those slippery stairs holding a torch of fire in your mouth?

History of Falun Mine: 1533

In the fifteenth century the part-owners of the mine, the yeoman miners, acquired great influence on the economy and politics of Dalarna and the whole of Sweden. The guild of the yeoman miners was called after Saint George. No other guild in Sweden has had the same martial character or the same power to pursue political goals. In 1533 King Gustav Vasa lost his patience with the yeoman miners’ rebelliousness and disobedience and summoned them to meet him at Kopparberget. After a thunderous speech that lasted the whole day, the king had some of the ringleaders executed. This was the end of the yeoman miners’ era of political power.

The 1570s brought improved methods for pumping water and hoisting ore. This technical development coincided with an increased demand for copper in Europe, and the mine entered its heyday.

Source: http://www.falugruva.se/

Our guide told us all about life underground…

History of Falun Mine: The seventeenth century – the Age of Greatness

During Sweden’s period as a great power in the seventeenth century, there were times when the mine provided for two thirds of Europe’s copper needs. The Council of the Realm in Stockholm called the mine the nation’s treasury and strongbox. The mine was the biggest industrial workplace in Sweden, sometimes with over 1,000 men working each day. In 1650 the mine reached its peak with an output of more than 3,000 tons of raw copper.

The first map of a Swedish mine was the one showing Falun Mine in 1629. Maps were an essential part of the work to achieve better organization and safer mining. Despite this, the operations at the mine were often driven by greed and ruthless exploitation. This led to several major cave-ins, and the one in 1687 is considered to be the end of the mine’s heyday.

Source: http://www.falugruva.se/

The real thing for the miners… Approximately 2000 people died working here… Here was the exception:

History of Falun Mine: The cave-in of 1687

At Midsummer 1687 ominous noises began to be heard in the mine, and on 25 June the biggest cave-in ever took place. The earlier open pits – Blankstöten, Bondestöten and Skeppsstöten – collapsed to give one huge gaping hole. The next day a large part of the Bockbacken pit also collapsed. The result was the Great Pit, with a depth of 100 metres and debris down to a depth of 300 metres. Rumours of the event spread quickly, not just because of the size of the cave-in but also because not a single person was killed. The workers were all free for Midsummer.

Source: http://www.falugruva.se/

Just imagine what it would have been like when the lights went out… The guide made us try it once, and it was truly PITCH BLACK.

History of Falun Mine: The eighteenth century

During the eighteenth century copper production in Falun Mine decreased and the mining company began to diversify its operations with iron production and sawn timber. Manufacture of red paint had begun on a small scale in previous centuries, and production gained momentum in earnest during the eighteenth century.

Source: http://www.falugruva.se/

History of Falun Mine: The nineteenth century

In the nineteenth century conditions were established for a new Stora Kopparberget as a result of a greater concentration on iron production and forest products. In 1888 the old mining company was converted into a joint-stock company, Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags AB.

In 1881 the sorter boy Gustaf Eriksson found solid gold for the first time in the Falun Mine. After that find there was gold fever in Falun for several years. The “golden age” of the mine lasted a few years into the twentieth century. A total of five tons of gold were extracted from Falun Mine.

Source: http://www.falugruva.se/

History of Falun Mine: The twentieth century

Falun Mine lived on during the twentieth century, but copper production had become a sideline. Mining was dominated by iron pyrites and zinc. Since 1969 some of the oldest parts of the mine have been open to the public.

In the 1980s the company was the biggest forestry enterprise in Sweden and one of the ten biggest in the world. The name was shortened to STORA. On 8 December 1992 all mining ceased in Falun Mine.

Source: http://www.falugruva.se/

History of Falun Mine: Today

Since 2000 the mine has been owned and administered by the autonomous Stora Kopparberget Foundation. In December 2001 Unesco placed Falun Mine, together with parts of the town of Falun and the master miners’ country homes, on the World Heritage List.

Source: http://www.falugruva.se/

The tour lasted for an hour, and when we were done underground, we took the modern elevator up.

Back in the old days, the workers would use the shaft, hopping on to a bucket carrying copper back to ground level. The shaft however never stopped for the workers, so the men would have to first swing the bucket so they’d get close enough to the level they wanted to get off on, and then jump. No wonder there were so many casualties…

Total production at Falun Mine

A total of about 30 million tons of ore have been mined, 10 million of this in the last hundred years.

The content of sulphur and metal in the ore has been estimated as shown in the table:

Sulphur	3,500,000 tons
Zinc	500,000 tons
Copper	400,000 tons
Lead	160 tons
Silver	380 tons
Gold	5 tons

Source: http://www.falugruva.se/

After the tour, we visited the Museum nearby.

Lots of different mining prototypes… 

Different rocks extracted from the Falun Mines

Miners in modern time

Hanna tells the story of Fet Mats who found in the cave and probably led a more exiting life dead than alive…

The Story of Fet-Mats

Those who worked in Falun’s copper mine in its glory days heard and passed on tales, myths, superstitions and more or less incredible stories about dead and living people who were linked to the mine. One such story is the tale of the boy and miner Fet-Mats, or Mats Israelsson, which was his real name.

On 2 December 1719 the miners started to extract ore in a part of the mine that had not been used for a long time. Suddenly the body of a man appeared; it could not have been there a long time, because it was still soft. The excavation of this body caused great commotion among town residents. Everyone wanted to see him, but no one recognised him, and it was many years since any young miner had been reported missing. But when Margareta Olsdotter, an elderly lady, heard about it, she realised that it was Mats who had come back to her – she recognised the young man at once. The couple had been suddenly separated 42 years previously, when Mats Israelsson disappeared, despite the fact that he was engaged to Margareta. Mats died when part of the mine caved in, and the copper sulphate preserved his body, which was put on public display.

Mats Israelsson was eventually laid to rest in consecrated ground. Today, you can visit his grave in the cemetery by Stora Kopparberg Church. The tragic story of Fet-Mats and the fact that so much was written and said about him, has led to him being called “the world’s most famous Falun resident”.

Source: http://www.visitfalun.se/

This little goat Kåre had a different story: according to the legend, he was the one who helped his owner discover the mine, as he came back with red colour on his horns…

Maybe Kåre the Goat would like to exchange places with Amadeus in Niger, since he doesn’t have a violent tendency?

OK, so I don’t know the story behind this statue, but he was in the museum, and I kind of liked it…

Money as seen throughout the ages!

The Falun Mines needed so many hides for the work below, that they started to produce their own saussage with all the excess meat. Hence the renowned Falukorv, which we had for dinner when we came home (so that Rachelle would get to taste it before she went back).

And that was it!

You can bet we were satisfied when we left!

If you want to book your own tour at the Falune Mine, here is all you need to know:

Guided tours of Falun Mine

Mon-Fri 10.00-4.00, Sat-Sun 11.00-3.00

One-hour tour of the mine with a guide. Follow the exciting new route into the underground. Experience a world of winding steps, huge underground chambers and impressive sunk shafts, not to mention a magnificent view of the Great Pit. The new entrance to the mine was opened to the general public in spring 2007.

Dress: sturdy shoes or wellingtons are recommended. Helmets and rain capes available on loan.

To book in advance call: 023-78 20 30

Source: http://www.falugruva.se/

Just don’t forget to sign the guest book before you leave!