First published: 29/07/12.

Els Slots 3.5

Falun Great Copper Mountain

Falun Great Copper Mountain (Inscribed)

Falun Great Copper Mountain by Els Slots

There are so many mining landscapes on the List now, last week even 2 more were added. But I was still pleasantly surprised when I arrived at Falun. The big pit indeed is an impressive sight, although it is a totally ruined landscape of course. Sweden has a number of fairly underwhelming WHS, but I definitely rank Falun as the best Swedish site that I have visited so far.

I did the full hike around the pit, where you can see it from different perspectives. You also pass several very cute wooden red buildings, constructed for various uses during the mining periods. Unfortunately, it started to rain when I was halfway, so I made a brisk walk back to the entrance.

Near the entrance lies the big mining museum. A good place to hide from the rain of course, though I did not spend long inside. In my opinion, it focuses too much on tools and other technicalities, and too little on the circumstances and stories of those that worked here or how the mine was run. But that could just be my preference for social history.

In general, Falun is a sight not to be missed when you're in Central Sweden.

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