Falun facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Falun
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Falun seen from the Sveriges Radio building
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 Falun
Location in Dalarna
Falun
Location in Sweden
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| Country |  Sweden |
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| Province | Dalarna | |
| County | Dalarna County | |
| Municipality | Falun Municipality | |
| Charter | 1641 | |
| Area | ||
| • City | 27.1716 km2 (10.4910 sq mi) | |
| • Metro | 2,052.65 km2 (792.53 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 110 m (360 ft) | |
| Population
(31 December 2010)
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| • City | 37,291 | |
| • Density | 1,372/km2 (3,550/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) | |
| Postal code |
791 xx
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| Area code(s) | (+46) 23 | |
| Climate | Dfb | |
Falun is a city in Dalarna County, Sweden. It is the main city of Falun Municipality and the capital of Dalarna County. In 2010, about 37,291 people lived there. Falun and nearby Borlänge together form a larger area with over 100,000 people.
Falun was once very famous for its copper mine. Even though the mine closed in 1992, Falun is still an important city for services and industry.
The Faluån river flows through the city, splitting it into two parts. The copper mine was on one side. For many centuries, this "mining side" had little plant life because of the smoky air. On the other side, called "the delightful side," the air was cleaner, and many large houses were built. Falun's city center has classic streets with small shops. In 1998, it was named "the city center of the year" in Sweden.
In 2001, the city, its copper mine, and the surrounding mining areas became a World Heritage Site by the United Nations. Dalarna University has a campus in Falun with 18,000 students. It's near the national ski stadium, which has hosted the ski world championship many times, including in 2015.
Falun has also given its name to several Swedish things. These include Falu red (a special paint color), Falu rågrut (a type of snack), Falu ättika (a kind of vinegar), and Falukorv (a popular sausage).
Contents
A Look Back at Falun's History
The town of Falun existed as a market place as early as the 14th century. People had been mining copper here since the mid-1200s, or even earlier, around the year 1000. The company that managed the copper and gold mining from Stora Kopparberget is thought to be the oldest business still running in the world. It was officially active in 1347 when the king gave it a special document. The first share in the company dates back to 1288.
Back then, a company was more like a group of owners working together. Each owner put in money for things like buildings and tools. They could use the mining facilities and share the profits based on how much they had contributed.
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Falun town hall (Rådhuset)
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House in Falun
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View from ski-jump on Falun
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Stora Kopparbergs kyrka
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Church in Falun
Falun officially became a city in 1641. At that time, it was one of Sweden's biggest cities, with about 6,000 people. However, the copper mine soon became less important. In 1687, part of the mine collapsed, creating a huge pit 100 meters deep. Even though the mine was used for another 300 years, its production slowly went down until it finally closed in 1992.
The mining area of the Falun Mine is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The old mining company, which was also called Falun, is now part of a company named Stora Enso.
During World War II, Falun was a place where British and American airmen who landed in Sweden were kept. Unlike other refugees, these airmen stayed in hotels and bed and breakfasts in the Falun area. They had a lot of freedom compared to others.
Falun's Climate
Falun has a humid continental climate. This means it has warm summers and cold winters.
Winter is the longest season, usually lasting from mid-November to the end of March. March days can start to feel milder. July is the warmest month, with an average high temperature of 23°C (73°F). The hottest temperature ever recorded was 35.1°C (95.2°F) on August 4, 2014. This was during a big heatwave that affected much of Scandinavia.
Falun's climate is more "continental" than many other parts of Sweden. This is because it's further away from large bodies of water that usually make temperatures milder. So, Falun's summers can be warmer than places much further south in Sweden. Winters are cold but can change a lot because of some ocean influence, which sometimes brings milder temperatures above freezing.
Most of the rain falls during the summer months of July and August. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Falun was -40.0°C (-40.0°F).
| Climate data for Falun (2002–2018 averages; sunshine in Borlänge; extremes since 1901) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) |
12.0 (53.6) |
17.9 (64.2) |
26.4 (79.5) |
29.8 (85.6) |
33.2 (91.8) |
33.3 (91.9) |
35.1 (95.2) |
27.0 (80.6) |
21.8 (71.2) |
15.3 (59.5) |
12.2 (54.0) |
35.1 (95.2) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 5.0 (41.0) |
6.3 (43.3) |
13.3 (55.9) |
19.3 (66.7) |
25.2 (77.4) |
27.8 (82.0) |
29.8 (85.6) |
27.8 (82.0) |
22.0 (71.6) |
15.6 (60.1) |
10.4 (50.7) |
6.2 (43.2) |
30.9 (87.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −1.9 (28.6) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
4.5 (40.1) |
11.2 (52.2) |
17.0 (62.6) |
20.9 (69.6) |
23.6 (74.5) |
21.3 (70.3) |
16.3 (61.3) |
8.7 (47.7) |
3.4 (38.1) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
10.4 (50.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −4.9 (23.2) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
5.5 (41.9) |
11.1 (52.0) |
15.1 (59.2) |
17.9 (64.2) |
16.2 (61.2) |
11.8 (53.2) |
5.3 (41.5) |
0.9 (33.6) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
6.0 (42.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −7.9 (17.8) |
−7.4 (18.7) |
−4.7 (23.5) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
5.1 (41.2) |
9.2 (48.6) |
12.1 (53.8) |
11.0 (51.8) |
7.2 (45.0) |
1.8 (35.2) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
1.6 (34.8) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | −20.1 (−4.2) |
−17.8 (0.0) |
−13.5 (7.7) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
3.4 (38.1) |
6.6 (43.9) |
4.6 (40.3) |
0.3 (32.5) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
−10.4 (13.3) |
−16.2 (2.8) |
−22.4 (−8.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −35.6 (−32.1) |
−37.2 (−35.0) |
−28.6 (−19.5) |
−19.0 (−2.2) |
−10.0 (14.0) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
2.5 (36.5) |
0.4 (32.7) |
−5.1 (22.8) |
−14.0 (6.8) |
−24.0 (−11.2) |
−35.6 (−32.1) |
−37.2 (−35.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 41.0 (1.61) |
28.7 (1.13) |
24.9 (0.98) |
26.5 (1.04) |
52.4 (2.06) |
68.6 (2.70) |
77.0 (3.03) |
79.1 (3.11) |
43.5 (1.71) |
58.0 (2.28) |
46.8 (1.84) |
37.8 (1.49) |
584.3 (22.98) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 47.7 | 74.8 | 164.0 | 213.8 | 238.5 | 257.7 | 256.8 | 210.9 | 157.8 | 107.3 | 54.4 | 47.0 | 1,830.7 |
| Source 1: SMHI Open Data | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: SMHI average data 2002–2018 | |||||||||||||
| Weather chart for Falun | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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41
-2
-8
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29
-1
-7
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25
5
-5
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27
11
-0
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52
17
5
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69
21
9
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77
24
12
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79
21
11
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44
16
7
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58
9
2
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47
3
-2
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38
-0
-6
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| temperatures in °C precipitation totals in mm |
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Imperial conversion
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Famous Buildings in Falun
Stora Gruvstugan
Stora Gruvstugan was built between 1771 and 1785. It was designed in a style called Rococo, which is also known as Late Baroque. This building is located near the Falun Copper Mine. It used to be the main office for the copper mine. In 1882, it became the Berslagets museum. In the early 1920s, mining activities got too close to the building, making it weak. So, a lot of repairs were done to keep it safe.
Västra Skolan
Västra Skolan was built in 1915. It was designed by Klas Boman, who was the city architect in Falun. This building was used as a school until 2010. Its tower looked like a smaller version of Kristine Kyrka, an old church from the 1600s. From the tower, you could see the whole city.
Egnellska Huset
Egnellska Huset was built in 1903, also designed by Klas Boman. It was a modern apartment building. It was first light yellow, then later painted a brighter yellow. After two fires in 2007 and 2008, the building was fixed to look like it did originally.
Falugatan Street
Falugatan is a street in Falun that has connected the eastern and western parts of the city since the 1400s. Because it was by the river, it became an important place for trade. When Falun officially became a city in 1641, this street gave the city its name. The street looked the same until the 1960s when Falun was modernized. During the 1960s, four out of five old 18th-century buildings were torn down. Today, the Körsnerska Huset is the only one left that looks like it did originally.
Centralpalatset
Centralpalatset is a large building on Stora Torget (the main square) in Falun. It was built between 1895 and 1896 and designed in the Art Nouveau style by Ferdinand Boberg. The famous author Selma Lagerlöf lived in this building. She wrote her book The Wonderful Adventures of Nils here. In 1947, the original balconies were removed. In 1955, the whole building was renovated, and its outside was changed, making it shorter and flatter.
Rådhuset (Town Hall)
The Rådhuset, or Town Hall, is also on Stora Torget. It was built between 1649 and 1653. It first had only one floor, but a second floor was added in the 1960s. In 1761, a fire destroyed the building. However, it was quickly rebuilt and still stands in the same spot today.
Education in Falun
Falun has many elementary schools and high schools. For higher education, part of the University College of Dalarna (Högskolan Dalarna) is located in the city.
Falun Today
Sports in Falun
Falun is a big sports city. It hosts the yearly Swedish Ski Games at its Lugnet, Falun skiing arena. The city's most successful sports team is the bandy team Falu BS. They have played in Sweden's top league for many years. The floorball teams, IBF Falun (both male and female), have also been very successful. The football team Falu FK plays in Division 2 Norra Svealand.
The Lugnet, Falun Stadium has hosted the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships four times: in 1954, 1974, 1993, and most recently in 2015. Falun tried to host the Winter Olympics twice, in 1988 and 1992, but did not win the bids.
Falun is also home to 'The Battle', a very famous snowboard competition.
Falu Red Paint
Even today, materials from the old copper mine are used to make Falu Red paint. This paint is very well-known and important to Swedish culture. It is especially used on wooden houses.
Notable People from Falun
Many interesting people come from Falun:
- Oscar Alin (1846–1900) – a historian and politician.
- Ferdinand Boberg (1860–1946) – an architect.
- Joakim Brodén (born 1980) – a musician, founder and singer of the band Sabaton.
- Elma Danielsson (1865-1936) – a journalist and politician.
- Björn Dixgård (born 1981) – a musician from the band Mando Diao.
- Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) – a famous author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1909.
- Lina Leandersson (born 1995) – an actress.
- Kristian Matsson (born 1983) – a musician.
- Georg Stiernhielm (1598–1672) – a civil servant, mathematician, and poet.
- Pär Sundström (born 1981) – a musician, founder and bassist of the band Sabaton.
- Putte Wickman (1924–2006) – a jazz clarinet player.
Sports Stars from Falun
- Adam Boqvist (born 2000) – an ice hockey player.
- Jesper Boqvist (born 1998) – an ice hockey player.
- Zećira Mušović (born 1996) – a footballer.
- Mattias Ekström (born 1978) – a racing driver.
- Samuel Ersson (born 1999) – an ice hockey goalie.
- Maria Hjorth (born 1973) – a golfer.
- Tomas Jonsson (born 1960) – a former ice hockey player and now a coach.
- Anders Kallur (born 1952) – a former ice hockey player.
- Jenny Kallur (born 1981) – an athlete, World Championships finalist in hurdles.
- Susanna Kallur (born 1981) – an athlete, World Record Holder in 60-meter hurdles.
- Marcus Ljungqvist (born 1974) – a former road bicycle racer.
- Jenny Rissveds (born 1994) – an Olympic Champion in mountain biking (Rio 2016).
- Walter Steiner (born 1951) – a former ski jumper.
- Ulf Stenlund (born 1967) – a former tennis player.
- Mats Gren (born 1963) – a former footballer.
Sports Clubs in Falun
Here are some sports clubs located in Falun:
- Falu BS
- Falu FK
- Korsnäs IF FK
- Slätta SK
- IBF Falun
Music Festival
Since 2008, Falun has hosted a rock and metal music festival called Sabaton Open Air: Rockstad Falun.
See also
In Spanish: Falun para niños
