Falun

:This article deals with the Swedish city Falun. For the spiritual practise, see Falun Gong

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Falun is a city in central Sweden and the seat of Falun Municipality. It is located in the province of Dalarna, at {{coor dm|60|36|N|15|37|E}} and has about 35,000 inhabitants. Together with the surrounding area, Falun Municipality has 55,000 inhabitants.

Related Topics:
City - Sweden - Falun Municipality - Dalarna

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The city of Falun received its privileges in 1641. By then Falun was already one of the largest cities in Sweden. The town of Falun is known to have existed in the 14th century as a market place for the surrounding lands. Mining for copper had been a local business since the mid-1200's and the organisation for the extracting of copper and gold from the Great Copper Mountain (Stora Kopparberg) is believed to be the oldest still existing enterprise in the world, proved active since 1347. Falun is located in the Bergslagen district, and the mining area of the Great Copper Mountain in Falun has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stora Kopparberg (Great Copper Mountain), which also was the name of the mining company of Falun, is today a part of Stora Enso.

Related Topics:
Great Copper Mountain - Stora Kopparberg - 1347 - Bergslagen - UNESCO - World Heritage Site - Stora Enso

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Today the city of Falun has a population of 35,930 (1996) and together with its neighbour city of Borlänge it forms a city area with close to 100,000 inhabitants. Falun is the city of residence in Dalarna County, and is still an important service and industrial city although the mine itself is closed. The city also holds part of the University College of Dalarna (Högskolan Dalarna) and each year it hosts the Swedish Ski Games by its skiing arena Lugnet. Falun has also applied for the Olympic Winter Games but hasn't received them yet.

Related Topics:
Borlänge - Dalarna County - University College of Dalarna - Swedish Ski Games

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The city's most successful sport team is the bandy team Falu BK which has played in the Swedish top division for many years.

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