Sweden’s Treasure Chest: The Secrets of Sala Silver Mine

Sweden is considered synonymous with lush forests, vast lakes, and lively festivals such as midsummer. It is a land of abundant beauty as far as the eye can see.

So, it may surprise some to find out that one of its best-kept beauties and resources is actually tucked away deep underground, just over two kilometres southwest of Sala - a relatively modest-sized town in central Sweden.

Once called “Sweden’s Treasure Chest” in the 1500s by King Gustav Vasa, the Sala Silver Mine not only played an integral role in Sweden’s history, but also in the country's economy and legacy. 

The history of Sala

The production and sourcing of metals have been critical to Sweden’s economic development since the middle ages. Financial success was essentially King Gustav Vasa’s ultimate aim, as the country was experiencing a time of upheaval and instability.

Fortunately, Sweden was rich in natural resources such as silver, ore, and waterpower - making mining a natural choice for monetary stability. Ultimately - largely thanks to the Sala mine - King Gustav Vasa achieved his goal, as he has since been credited as the founder of modern Sweden after helping fuel its economy at a time of relative precariousness. 

The bedrock in the land around Sala was historically known to be rich in silver - thus, mining on a small scale started a few kilometres from the major mine as early as the 12th century. However, organised mining of the area didn’t begin until the 15th century.

At one stage, between the 1530s-1540s, approximately 3,500 kilograms of pure silver were removed annually from the mine - roughly four hundred and fifty tons overall. What’s more, thirty-six thousand tons of lead were also extracted from Sala. Hence, the mine created a wealth of taxes for the state of Sweden - and, by proxy, the King’s delight in its success; he was not just able to secure his crown, but also help Sweden achieve independence from Denmark. 

Interestingly, the town of Sala didn’t exist until after the formation of the mine. Initially, it emerged from the miners settling near their place of work, but evolved to where it is currently located based on directions from the King.

The difficult construction of the mines 

Of course, the most important silver mine of all time wasn’t created overnight. In fact, the Sala Mines took 10 painstaking years to carve out, as they were constructed through a method known as “fire-setting.”

Fire-setting was a traditional technique and a standard mining method from prehistoric times to the middle ages. It was done by setting fires in close proximity to the rock face and subsequently dousing the rock with liquid - creating thermal shock and causing the rock to fracture and break. However, fire-setting could be particularly dangerous in more ventilated mines; thus, it was made redundant and replaced in time with explosives. 

Many of the main mining shafts were completed during the 16th century - including the impressive Queen Christina Shaft. As well as creating the shafts using fire-setting, horses were lowered underground using a harness to move the heavy loads of rock. Unfortunately, the animals lived to work and led a tough life where they would only see sunshine once or twice per year. 

There were a number of severe collapses during the 17th century, resulting in the death of many individuals. For this reason, German, Dutch, and Austrian mining engineers were brought in to improve the mining techniques and facilities of the particularly deep areas of the mine.

Furthermore, during this period, a system of waterways was added to facilitate even deeper level mining - approximately one hundred and fifty-five meters below the surface of the earth. 

Who worked at Sala?

Mining has always been recognised as a hazardous job - especially in Sala, where the weather conditions and hours were notoriously harsh. For this reason, the King ordered that the most dangerous work in Sala be done by prisoners of war, as after Sweden’s conflicts with Denmark, Russia, and Poland, the prisons were filled with foreign captives. 

Predictably, the prisoners were given a particularly challenging time, and it is said that the mine managers were put to death if they were considered too lenient. 

The current condition of the Sala Silver Mine

Although the Sala Silver Mine is no longer active, this does not mean that it doesn’t attract a crowd. Tourists flock to see the attractive buildings from the 18th century and the High Wire Track - which includes a three hundred meter suspension bridge over the mine. Moreover, the mine provides a fascinating insight into the depths of prehistoric rock from the Paleoproterozoic era and the industry that was developed around it. 

Also, interestingly,  the world’s deepest hotel suite can be found in the Sala Silver Mines. Aside from an intercom on the cave wall, the room is completely shut off from the outside world as it is one hundred and fifty-five meters below the ground surface. The attraction of the hotel room is likely the novelty of being able to completely immerse oneself in Sweden's deepest history. 

Your potential connection to the workers at Sala Mine

Due to the high number of deaths at the mine, the church cemetery in the nearby village of Salberget was used to bury miners, forced labourers, and foreign specialists. Between the years 2004 to 2011, 102 skeletons were unearthed from 93 graves. Based on the individuals’ clothing, the evidence of injuries sustained during life, and an iron collar found around the neck of one of the skeletons - many of these people were likely forced labourers at Sala.

The cemetery had been used for a variety of social groups including miners, foreign specialists and forced labor - either prisoners of war or individuals convictim of crimes. 80 of the graves were men, women and children buried in shrouds. However 22 were earthen burials of younger men wearing every day clothes, and they seemed to have a high degree of perimorten fractures. The Ancient DNA Spotlight samples included in our database are from this group of forced laborers.
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If you would like to know whether you could have a possible genetic link to one of the miners at Sala, you can upload your DNA results to the My True Ancestry website. We can then compare your DNA against the spotlight from these forced labourers and help determine the true history of you.