Copper mine in Falun
The mining museum (yellow building), near the edge of the Great Pit. Central Falun is in the background.
The mine, known as the Great Copper Mountain , and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in December 2001 - a must-see when in Falun. The mine was an important source of copper for an entire millennium until mining ended December 8, 1992. Part of it is still open for visitors with a guide. The interesting tour, with English translation available upon request, takes about an hour and visitors are taken 65 meters underground.
| Tours of the mine
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| May - September except July
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Daily, 10AM - 5PM
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| July
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Daily, 10AM - 6PM
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| October - April
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Weekends, 12.30PM and 2.30PM
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Tickets are bought in the souvenir shop, and the price for adults is 100 SEK. Helmets and raincoats are handed out before the tour. Do not wear your best shoes or trousers, since the red, copper-rich mud in the mine causes stains. Shoe protection is available in the souvenir shop for 5 SEK.
There is also a mining museum in the area. It has exhibitions about the history of coins in Sweden (including the largest coins in the world), and scale models of mining inventions by medieval tech genius Christoffer Polhem. Entry fee 20 SEK.
The Great Pit (Stora Stöten) can be seen from the surface for free. It's the result of an enormous collapse in the mine in 1687, and with a depth of 95 meters and a diameter of 400 meters it's an impressive sight. Miraculously nobody was killed in the collapse since it occurred on Midsummer's Day when the miners were free from work!
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Falun
