Seventeenth-century silver mine shaft at Sala Silvergruva with its 1858 headframe, forming part of a listed heritage complex open year-round for guided underground visits.
Drottning Christinas schakt is the principal historic shaft of Sala Silvergruva in Sala, Västmanlands län, and one of the most significant mine shafts surviving in Sweden. Sinking of the shaft commenced in 1650 under Queen Christina's reign, reaching 190 metres in the first decade and subsequently extended to 257 metres during the nineteenth century. The shaft served as the mine's central winding shaft, housing a winding gear with four ore buckets for the transport of materials, ore, horses, and workers.
In its own time it was the world's deepest shaft and remains the world's largest shaft created by the tillmakning (fire-setting) method. The headframe over the shaft was designed by the mine's then konstmästare J. G. Skröder and erected in 1858. The wider Sala Silvergruva operated continuously from the fifteenth century until 1908, with intermittent revival through to 1962.
The site was declared a byggnadsminne in 2013–2014, protecting around fifty buildings. It is operated today as a heritage destination by Sala Silvergruva AB, with underground guided tours, a museum, accommodation, and seasonal events.
Silver mining at Sala began in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century, with privilege letters issued from 1512 and Gustav Vasa taking close control of production in the 1530s. During the peak years of 1538 to 1548 the mine produced approximately four thousand kilograms of refined silver annually, prompting Gustav Vasa to call it the "treasure chamber of the realm of Svea." The mine experienced three periods of peak significance: the early sixteenth century, the mid-seventeenth century, and the late nineteenth century. By 1600 production had declined sharply and the mine was in difficulty, but it was revived under successive monarchs who recognised its strategic importance.
In 1624 Gustav II Adolf granted Sala town privileges and transferred the settlement from the old mining village to the location it occupies today. Drottning Christinas schakt was begun in 1650, a major engineering initiative of the mid-seventeenth century period of the mine's activity. Sinking in the first phase, carried out using the tillmakning method — in which rock was heated by fire and then broken with picks and bars — reached 190 metres within approximately ten years.
At this depth very large ore bodies were found and extracted during the latter half of the seventeenth century. By the end of that century the shaft was the deepest in the world. It served as the mine's central shaft, housing a winding gear with four ore buckets which transported ore, materials, horses, and workers.
In August 1687 King Karl XI visited the mine during his Bergslagsresa and was lowered in a blue-painted ore bucket to the bottom of the shaft, at 190 metres depth, where he spent an entire day underground; a royal seal was carved into the rock as a commemorative record of his visit, and the bucket — described as fitted with a bench — survives in the mine museum. A further haulage level at 155 metres was opened in the 1690s. During the eighteenth century the use of gunpowder as a complement to fire-setting was extended in the mine, and significant technical development continued.
In the nineteenth century Drottning Christinas schakt was deepened progressively from 190 to 257 metres, the first 190 metres having been accomplished in the seventeenth century and the remainder during the nineteenth. Two large ore-dressing and washing works were built at the mine in 1819–24, the first occasion on which ore was pre-concentrated on site. The headframe now standing over Drottning Christinas schakt was designed by the mine's then konstmästare J. G. Skröder and constructed in 1858.
It is described as an iconic structure. The wider mine entered private ownership gradually from the mid-nineteenth century, having previously been a state enterprise. The main working mine closed in 1908 after centuries of continuous operation; in total, Sala Silvergruva produced more than 450 tonnes of silver and approximately 40,000 tonnes of lead over its history, with significant zinc production also occurring.
Some mining was resumed in the post-war period and the last active section, Bronäsgruvan, closed in 1962. About fifty buildings survive on the mine site from different centuries of activity. Sala Silvergruva was declared a byggnadsminne by Länsstyrelsen i Västmanlands län in December 2013, with the formal declaration effective 2014, protecting the entire site.
The mine is operated by Sala Silvergruva AB, a company majority-owned by Sala kommun, as a heritage destination with underground guided tours descending to the 155-metre level, a museum, seasonal events, and accommodation. Environmental remediation works were conducted at the site from 2020 following a grant of 150 million kronor from Naturvårdsverket in 2019.