anordinarywoman

Falu red – a color we love ❤️ & it’s never as current as during the summer with all the red cottages suddenly in focus. The Sweden we know today has a lot to thank Falu Mines for. Copper was mined there for over a thousand years before the mine closed. That’s where Falu Red color was born, the color that’s become a hallmark for Sweden.

The history of the red color begins in the 16th century when the Swedish king wanted the roof of his castle to be made of copper, as in the really large castles in Europe. But copper for an entire castle roof was too expensive, so the solution was to dye the roof with red paint made from pigments from Falu Mine – which almost looked like copper.

In the early 18th century, the red color continued to be very exclusive, having a red-painted house was a status symbol. It was therefore common for the side of the house facing the road to be painted red, so the houses along the entire main street were red, while the alleys & walls towards the courtyards were left colourless.

There’s no other country where the color of a house ties the population together as this red color ties Sweden & Swedes together. Most people here has a relationship with some kind of red cabin today, centuries later.