Stora Kopparberget

Great Copper Mountain - Falun Copper Mine - Tiskasjöberg

Useful Information

Location:	Falun.
Open:	MAY to JUN daily 10-17. JUL to AUG daily 10-18. OCT daily 10-17. NOV to APR Mon-Fri 12-16:30, Sat, Sun 10-17. Closed 01-JAN, 25-MAR, 24-JUN, 24-DEC, 25-DEC. [2005]
Fee:	Adults SEK 90, Children (7-18) SEK 45, Families SEK 225. Groups: School Children SEK 30. [2005]
Classification:	Copper Mine
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	V=250,000/a
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Stora Kopparberget, Falu Gruva, 79161 Falun, Tel: +46-23-782030, Fax: +46-23-782643. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

700	start of mining, according to legend.
17th/18th cty	the world's largest copper mine.
1677	Fat Mats Israelsson killed in a slide.
1687	a devastating slide was the reason to form Stora Stöten.
1719	Fat Mats Israelsson found well preserved.
1725	Vintjärn's mining field discovered by Olov Andersson.
1731	Stora Kopparberg acquired two shares of Vintjärn.
1937	Stora Kopparberg became the only owner of Vintjärn.
1979	mining at Vintjärn ended.
1992	mining at Stora Kopparberget.
2001	inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Description

Kupfermine Katharineberg in Schweden (copper mine Katharineberg in Sweden). Historic engraving from a German enzyclopedia named **Meyers Universum**, published by **Carl Joseph Meyer**. By nn in ca 1850, 15x10 cm.

Stora Kopparberget (Great Copper Mountain) is the name of an area of great geologic, historic and economic interest. It is even inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The mine itself is called Falu Gruva (Falun Copper Mine) and located at the village Falun.

The Falun Copper Mine was a mine of superlatives. It was the world's largest copper mine during the 17th and 18th century. It was also Sweden's largest gold mine and silver mine, only rivaled by Mine Sala Silvergruva in the last point. Linnaeus, the great Swedish botanist visited the mine and described it as "The greatest marvel in Sweden but as terrible as hell itself". A hell for more than 1,200 miners working by hand to mine the ore under dangerous and unhealthy conditions. Deaths because of collapses or simply falling rocks were common. Only few miners from that time are known by name, but one became legendary, named Fat Mats Israelsson. He was killed in a mining accident in 1677.

In 1725 a new mining field was discovered ba Olov Andersson named Vintjärn. This mine was active for 250 years and produced mainly iron ore with a high content of silver.

The underground show mine shows impressive parts of the mine with drifts, shafts and pits. The normal tour shows the Creutz shaft with the highest wooden construction in the world. It divides the 200 m deep shaft from the surface to the bottom into two parts. The tour shows mostly the 55 m level, with historic working tools, ladders and stairways. There are also dramatised shows and tours for children. At the surface at the rim of the huge open cast mine Stora Stöten (Great Open Pit) is a sort of open air museum. Mining buildings include wheel houses, headframes and pivots. The Mining Museum has collections of historic documents and pictures and a collection of fantastic models.