Sala Silvermine

After our moose encounters, the crew headed down the road to the Sala Silvermine, what Gustavus Adolphus called "Sweden's purse" during the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). The mine has medieval origins (eee!) and was first mined extensively during the fifteenth century. The mining techniques created severe instability in the 16th c, which led to a terrible cave in in the 17th century. There are still bones buried under this wreckage.

Back in the oldest days of the mine, they didn't have dynamite to clear rock with. They would build fires that would burn for two days to fracture the rock, and then chisel it away. They could get two centimeters in each time they did this, yet in the four hundred years the mine was active, they managed to go 380 m into the earth. Today, only 155 m remains above water, as the mine was shut in 1969. We went down 60 m through the Kristinashaft (named for the Swedish queen who ruled as it was made).

It was very very cold under the earth (and as you remember, I hadn't dressed warmly enough for the day to begin with!) Everyone was worried about my bare arms, which led to many friendly and comforting hugs, but I was honestly fine. Mind over matter, man! The scariest bit was descending the wet metal spiral staircases that hovered above shivering drops straight down into hell itself (apparently). There were a few hearty ghost stories, too. When entering the mine, you must knock three times to announce your presence to the lady of the mine. If you see a woman wearing a white dress, you're good to go. But if she appears to you in a black dress, and you hear the sound of falling rock, it might be a good idea to clear the area as soon as possible.

The magnificent subterranean vistas were basically impossible to photograph, but it was stunning to imagine the underground cathedrals the brave Swedish miners managed to chisel out of bare rock hundreds of years ago. Staring down the stunning depth of the Kristinashaft was enough to weaken anyone's knees, and those miners used to swing across its insane breadth in buckets.

Our guide, dressed in historic foreman's clothing, granted us the luck of the mine with a song. In the past, this chamber was used as a concert hall!