The biggest slide in the mine’s history
The great collapse of 1687 is one of the most known events in Falun Mines’s history. The mine workers had started to sound strange and disturbing in the rock. And sure enough, during the Midsummer weekend of 1687 the biggest slide ever occurred. Below ground, rubble masses were found as far down as 350 meters underground.
The Great Pit, with a circumference of 1,6 kilometers and a depth of 95 metres, was what appeared afterwards. The incident became known all over Sweden, and also in Europe, because not a single miner lost their life – they had been given time off to celebrate midsummer.
Discover our QR codes
Take a walk around the open pit and enjoy the view over Falun. You pass a series of historic buildings and with the help of the signs with QR codes that are placed around the area, you can watch videos where our guide tells you about the place you are in.
There is also a viewpoint at the edge of the Great Pit.