Welcome to the capital of Dalarna.
Provincial capital, world heritage city, university town, culinary destination, musical scene, industrial center, sports mecca; Falun is a multifaceted municipality that embraces almost everything. Music festivals, world class sports arenas, international companies combined with a diversity of small niched and unique businesses, well-known restaurants, Dalarna’s largest hospital and one of Sweden’s 15 world heritage sites all get along here.
It’s easy to talk about history when talking about Falun, and we’ll come to the history of Falun further down in the text. However, Falun is also a municipality that has its sights clearly set on the future through educating game developers and establishing modern climate-smart data centers.
“Continued trust from companies in the industry, students, and alumni has allowed PlaygroundSquad to thrive and adapt itself to the ever-changing conditions of an evolving industry.”
Game developers of the future are shaped in Falun.
The Swedish game industry is also experiencing explosive growth and Sweden tops the top ten list of the largest producers of computer games in the world. The recipe for success includes creative people and good educational programs, something that Falun has really taken to heart. In the middle of Falun is PlaygroundSquad, a higher vocational education where students are put in the fast lane to the game industry.
The world’s first climate positive data center.
With its central location in the heart of Sweden, the region of Dalarna offers a cool favorable climate for green data centers and closeness to Stockholm and Arlanda International Airport. EcoDataCenter, which was open for business in Falun, Dalarna, in October 2018, is the world’s first climate-positive data center. The first building on the main site in Falun is largely built of wood and all the sites, including the Main site, the Arctic site and the city site are 100% powered by renewable electricity. EcoDataCenter plays a vital role in developing a sustainable and secure digitalization. The company has recently invested SEK 1 billion in building a new datacenter in Falun, Dalarna.
It all began far underground.
The Falu Gruva (Falun mine) was once Sweden’s and one of Europe’s largest and most important mines. In the hey-day of the mine in the 17th century, all of two thirds of the world’s copper ore came from Falun. Mining operations ended in 1992, but there has been a successful transition from a millennium of mining to one of Sweden’s most popular tourist destinations, with visitors from around the world. At the beginning of the 2000s, the mine and it’s surroundings became one of UNESCO’s world heritage sites. Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags AB, which was the world’s oldest joint stock company had owned and run Falu gruva for hundreds of years. This company is today named Stora Enso found by Falun municipality and Investor AB, and this foundation owns and drives Falu Gruva since 1999.
Residents in motion.
Falun residents are an active people, which is especially due to the excellent opportunities naturally provided by the surroundings and the facilities the municipality has to offer. Falun has also been the host of international championships many times over, most recently with the world skiing championships held in the city in 2015. The municipality is selected as the organizer of the coming FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2027.
