Those who worked in Falun’s copper mine in its glory days heard and passed on tales, myths, superstitions and more or less incredible stories about dead and living people who were linked to the mine. One such story is the tale of the boy and miner Fet-Mats, or Mats Israelsson, which was his real name.

 

On 2 December 1719 the miners started to extract ore in a part of the mine that had not been used for a long time. Suddenly the body of a man appeared; it could not have been there a long time, because it was still soft. The excavation of this body caused great commotion among town residents. Everyone wanted to see him, but no one recognised him, and it was many years since any young miner had been reported missing. But when Margareta Olsdotter, an elderly lady, heard about it, she realised that it was Mats who had come back to her – she recognised the young man at once. The couple had been suddenly separated 42 years previously, when Mats Israelsson disappeared, despite the fact that he was engaged to Margareta. Mats died when part of the mine caved in, and the copper sulphate preserved his body, which was put on public display.

 

Mats Israelsson was eventually laid to rest in consecrated ground. Today, you can visit his grave in the cemetery by Stora Kopparberg Church. The tragic story of Fet-Mats and the fact that so much was written and said about him, has led to him being called “the world’s most famous Falun resident”.