Sala is a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

and the seat of Sala Municipality in

Västmanland County Västmanland County ( sv, Västmanlands län) is a county or ''län'' in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Södermanland, Örebro, Gävleborg, Dalarna and Uppsala. The county also has a stretch of shoreline towards Mälaren (Sweden's ...

, Sweden. As of 2010, it has a population of 12,289. Sala is the home of several famous places and people, but it is most known for its silver mine, which today is a popular tourist attraction.

Silver mine

The small town is best known for the historic Sala Silver Mine (Sala ''silvergruva''), which is located about southwest of the town. It dates back to at least

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

times, and was in operation until 1908. In 1624, the town of Sala was moved to its current location close to the mine, receiving its

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

from King Gustavus Adolphus. The silver was important for Sweden's economy and the base for

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

production. A total of 400

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s of silver was extracted, and 40,000 tonnes of

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

; with at most 3-5 tonnes of silver during a year. The mine eventually reached a depth of , and a total heading length of .

Amenities

The main streets, in terms of retail outlets, are Drottninggatan (which begins at ''stora torget'' — the town square — and runs west to Ekebygatan) and Bergsmansgatan (which begins at ''stora torget'' and runs east to Kålgårdsgatan). The spa town of

Sätra brunn Sätra brunn is a spa town in Sala Municipality, Västmanland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of Sweden ...

, about from Sala, is another important place for the town.

Måns Ols Utvärdshus

Måns Ols Utvärdshus is a restaurant on the southeastern shore of Långforsen, a reservoir to the northwest of Sala's centre. The location was originally a dust keeper's home, and its first resident was Måns Olsson, who worked at the silver mine between 1709 and 1748. The building's purpose evolved, and from around 1791 it began serving food and drink. Starting in the summer seasons from the late 19th century, the venue played host to carnivals, performances and competitions. The current building was erected in the 1960s. The Skanevall family took over the business in 2002.

Transportation

Sala's bus and train station is located on Stationsplan, a short semi-circular road off Väsbygatan. About 35 trains from

Stockholm Central Station Stockholm Central Station ( sv, Stockholms centralstation) is a railway station in Stockholm, Sweden. It is situated in the district of Norrmalm at Vasagatan/Central Plan. The station opened on 18 July 1871 and it had over 200,000 visitors da ...

(either directly or indirectly) arrive at the station each day, with around 40 making the return trip. The three high-speed SJ Snabbtåg trips take about one hour and twenty minutes. Journeys on SJ InterCity trains take a similar amount of time and run seven times a day. The slower SJ Regionaltåg trains take just over two hours but make around 20 trips from the capital. There is one SJ Tåg i Bergslagen, which departs Stockholm at 22:14 and is direct to Sala. The SJ trains that pass through terminate at either Stockholm, Linköping, Falun, Mora (once per day), Uppsala or Västerås. Sala's airfield, ''Salanda flygfält'', is located just east of highway 56, between Norrkivsta and Kumlaby. It is the home of Salaorten Flying Club (''Salaorten Flygklubb''), which flies

Ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

UL-B aircraft of type Atec Zephyr.

Climate

Sala has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

influenced by both its inland position but also frequent maritime winds reaching the town, moderating winter averages compared to what would be expected for an inland location on its latitude.

Sport

Sala's football club, Sala FF, play in Division 3 Södra Norrland in Sweden's fifth tier. They were founded in December 1972, when IF Norden and IFK Sala merged. Their former home was Silvervallen, but they now play at the sports fields on Sportfältsgatan. The first floorball club in the world, Sala IBK, was founded in Sala 1979.Innebandyns födelse
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Notable people

The impressionist painter Ivan Aguéli was born in Sala in 1869. There is a small museum and a park dedicated to his memory in the centre of the town. Sala is also the domicile of the former Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Deputy Prime Minister Lena Hjelm-Wallén. She held several ministerial posts in the Social Democratic government in the 1980s and 1990s and has, despite her career in politics, remained in Sala and is still active in local life.

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player

Erik Ersberg Erik Ersberg (born March 8, 1982) is a Swedish retired professional ice hockey goaltender. During his playing career, he made a total of 54 appearances in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings. He is currently serving as the goal ...

was born here. British horror and thriller writer Steven Savile lives in Sala.

International relations

Sala is twinned with: *

Kristinestad Kristinestad (, Sweden ; fi, Kristiinankaupunki ; la, Christinea) is a town and a municipality in Finland. It is located in the western part of Finland on the shore of the Bothnian Sea. The population of Kristinestad is () and the municipality ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

References

External links

Sala Allehanda news site
{{authority control Populated places established in 1624 Municipal seats of Västmanland County Swedish municipal seats Populated places in Västmanland County Populated places in Sala Municipality 1624 establishments in Sweden