Visiting the Sala silver mine - an exciting destination

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What is it like to visit the Sala silver mine? The mine, which operated between the 15th and early 20th centuries, is now a major tourist attraction. We visited the mine 15 years ago, and now it was time for another visit.

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Sala silver mine

Sala silver mine is a now closed mine, which was in operation from the 15th century until 1908. Today, visitors can go down into the mine, and learn more about what life as a miner was like in the past ...

The Sala silver mine is located in Sala in Västmanland.

Sala silver mine - with a long history

The Sala silver mine was active for a very long period, and had heyday in the 16th, 17th and 19th centuries. In its best years, it produced 3-5 tonnes of silver per year and in total extracted more than 450 tonnes of silver and around 40,000 tonnes of lead.

At the end of the 17th century, Queen Christina's shaft was the deepest in the world. Carl XI's shaft later became even deeper, reaching 318.6 metres, almost as deep as the Eiffel Tower is high!

Being a miner, however, was hardly a walk in the park. Miners worked underground for 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a week. The work was also heavy, hard and dangerous!

Visiting the Sala silver mine - above ground

When visiting the Sala silver mine, you can, if you wish, start above ground. There are various exhibitions, and we started by looking at a temporary and charming exhibition of various portraits of Queen Kristina, made by various local artists.

We then watched an exhibition about the mine and its history. The exhibition was quite simple in its design, but we learnt some interesting facts. Among other things, we were impressed by the Swedish mining industry, from a European perspective.

Visiting the Sala silver mine - underground

Then it was time for the highlight - visiting the Sala silver mine underground! We were here 15 years ago, and back then you had to take a lift down into the Knektschaktet, to a depth of 155 metres. It was fascinating, as we remember, and down there was also the "mining suite", where it was possible to book an overnight stay.

Unfortunately, the lift can no longer be used, having been condemned in terms of safety, and must be replaced. This will, we understand, involve considerable costs and it still seems to be up in the air how it will all be resolved. Sooner or later a new lift will arrive!

While waiting for a new lift, you can walk down the stairs, but only to a depth of 60 metres, which means 370 steps in each direction. Guided tours are organised at certain times, but the most common is to book a "timeslot" when you go down without a guide.

You start with a safety briefing above ground, and then you go down on your own. However, there are guides on each floor - ready to tell you about the mine, in Swedish or English.

The guides were knowledgeable and engaging, and overall it was an exciting and interesting visit to the mine.

By the way, let's not complain about the stairs. In the old days, miners had to get down via a basket that was hoisted up and down the shaft. Usually they didn't go as smoothly as the guy in the picture, but they stood on the edge, and when they had to get off, they had to swing the bucket and then jump ...

Service at the mine

There is a restaurant at the mine, Konstmästargården, where you can find home cooking and traditional pastries.

There is parking for both cars and caravans at the mine, but no specific parking space. For overnight stays with a motorhome or caravan, the mine recommends Sofielund, Väsby Kungsgården or Silvköparen. We have no experience of these places but continued ourselves to Bredsands camping in Enköping.

More to see and do near Sala silver mine

When you are satisfied with visiting the Sala silver mine, you might want to continue your tourism? We can recommend a visit to the beautiful Västerås, including Anundshög, Tidö Castle, Strömsholm Castle and Vallby open-air museum. If you are heading north instead, towards Dalarna, you can start with a visit to Borlänge.

Have you visited the Sala silver mine?

Have you visited the Sala silver mine? How was your experience? Please tell us!

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