Falu Red: The Story of Why All Swedish Houses Are Red

As the 13th century neared its end, the bishop of Västerås sat in his office, deep in thought. He had managed to create a significant financial predicament. To salvage the situation, he had leveraged the church’s stake in Falun Mine as collateral for a loan. However, realizing the gravity of his actions, the bishop eventually rectified his mistake by retracting the stake. To prevent a recurrence, a bill of exchange was devised. The king, along with the archbishop and several other bishops, affixed their seals to the document, underscoring the mine’s newfound security. This letter paved the way for the acquisition of company shares, allowing individuals to become shareholders. This initiative marked the establishment of Falu Gruva (Falun Mine) as one of the world’s oldest limited companies: Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags AB.

The Sweden we know today owes a lot to Falu Gruva. The mine had been yielding copper for over a thousand years when it closed, and for many years, Falu Gruva had been one of Europe’s largest industries. Europe’s best engineers and other experts brought their expertise to Falu Gruva. They made the work more efficient, and their innovations spread to other industries in Sweden. Without the mine, that kind of expertise would have stayed outside the country.

The engineers also created a multicultural workplace through an exchange where knowledge and culture from the rest of Europe were harnessed and improved in the mine and throughout Sweden. For many, many years, Falu Gruva was Sweden’s cash cow, and without it, Sweden would probably never have attained the same prosperity. But from the mine, the Swedish people have also gained something that they still use today. Something that has never ceased to be modern: The Falun Mine gave birth to Falu red, the hue that has come to decorate all of Sweden.

Falu Red, also known as Falun Red or Swedish Red Paint, is a traditional and iconic red paint color used extensively on wooden houses, barns, and other structures in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. It is characterized by its deep red hue and has a long history of use in Nordic architecture.

The Origins of Falu Red

The origins of Falu red can be traced back to some grandiose illusions. The roof of the Swedish King’s castle was intended to be built of copper in 1573, similar to the massive castles in Europe. However, King Johan III was unable to acquire enough copper for the entire structure. As a result, he decided to paint the roof with pigments from the Falun Mine, as these pigments had a copper-like appearance. Subsequently, it became fashionable to paint parts of, or even entire, buildings with Falu red to create the illusion that the residents were wealthy. The color reminded the Swedish nobility of the red walls they had seen while touring Europe but were unable to procure.

In 17th century Sweden, during a period of significant construction, the expensive Falu red color gained popularity among the upper class. The King of Sweden, a powerful influence, inspired many, and the nobles sought to emulate his actions. Painting one’s walls Falu red became a way to declare social status, and the aristocracy swiftly followed suit.

As time passed, more and more people adopted the trend set by the king. Seeking to enhance its reputation, the Swedish church began painting parsonages in Falu red to give the appearance of expensive brick construction. The Swedish military, not wanting to be left out, followed suit as soon as the aristocracy and clergy began using Falu red. Senior officers’ mansions soon followed suit, and over time, even Swedish towns embraced the color, with more and more military structures being painted in Falu red.

In the 18th century, the Falu red was seen as being exceedingly special and a luxury that only the wealthy could afford in Sweden. A red-painted home was considered a prestige symbol. Since the Swedish king visited the towns often, it was customary to always paint the side of the house that faced the street red. Then, the whole main street’s homes were painted red, leaving the alleyways and the walls facing the courtyards unpainted.

However, Falun Mine started producing Falu red industrially around the end of the 18th century, making it feasible to make more of the color. Now the large farmers were painting their homes red. In addition to being eye-catching and fashionable, the Falu red started to gain popularity for its qualities as well. The wood used for the houses (including their roofs) lasted longer when it was painted Falu red. So, both Sweden and the red paint had a prosperous 18th century.

The Great Emigration and the Single-Family Home Movement

Good harvests, rare wars, and medical advances increased the life expectancy among Swedes. But some time into the 19th century, Sweden began to face some issues. More and more children were surviving to adulthood, and more people would have to share the land that belonged to the family. The land was simply not enough, so many people had to live without their own land.

For these, the alternative was either to become agricultural laborers or to move to the cities and their growing industries. Life as a peasant was low-paid, with long hours and often a very poor standard of living. Although industrial wages were higher than those in agriculture, the crowded conditions, dirt, and disease created an even harsher living environment for many Swedish workers.

Challenges in establishing homes and farms, along with low standards of living for workers, an economic downturn, and the crisis of the 1860s, contributed to increased emigration. The United States offered the prospect of a home on land, jobs, and a higher standard of living. The Swedes were not slow to take the bait. In total, around one million Swedes emigrated to the United States, which was one-fifth of Sweden’s population. To achieve the same population reduction today, around two million Swedes would have to leave Sweden.

The distinctive red color of Falu Red paint comes from the pigment known as Falu rödfärg, which is a byproduct of the copper mining process. This pigment is rich in iron oxides, particularly hematite, which imparts the red color to the paint.

The government wanted to keep the Swedish population in Sweden so that the workforce necessary for the country’s economic development would not migrate to North America. The government was afraid that Sweden would completely lose its young population through emigration, and without young people, the country had no future. At the beginning of the 20th century, an inquiry was launched to find out what could be done to encourage Swedes to stay in their homeland. One of the proposals made by the inquiry was to provide better housing for the population.

The aim was to build out the housing shortage. With that said and done, the Swedish single-family home movement was initiated. As it goes without saying, a true Swedish home was in the countryside, not in the city. Because cities were both crowded and filthy, people gradually preferred houses in the countryside.

While Falu Red paint has its origins in Sweden, it is also used in other Scandinavian countries, including Norway and Finland. Its popularity has even extended to some other parts of the world where people appreciate its aesthetics and durability.

This owner-occupier movement is also the origin of many of the Falu red houses we see around Sweden today. By this time, the Falun red or Falu red had become a symbol of national romanticism, which celebrated the homeland and rural life of the red farms. So when new Swedish homes began to be built, Falu red was the obvious choice for painting a house. Sweden had suffered a bit of an identity crisis at the beginning of the 20th century because so many Swedes had left the country and the Swedish-Norwegian Union had just dissolved. Therefore, red was the ideal color for reshaping the nation’s image. 

After all, it was coming from Swedish soil, and the industry at Falun Mine had helped make Sweden so successful during the “Era of Great Power.” In red, Swedish people found both the memories of the country’s prosperous times and the safe and peaceful feeling that it had lacked during the years of emigration. The red color thus became not only a symbol of the freedom of owning a home but also a symbol of the whole nation. For Swedes, the Falu red could almost be said to be as valuable as the Swedish flag.

A Red Color for Sweden

Today, Swedish people look at their red cottages with love and a strong sense of freedom. It doesn’t matter what the building itself looks like, big or small; it’s the red color they recognize and love. Today, in Sweden, the Falu red can be seen on everything from old mansions to outbuildings and modern villas. There are red-painted heritage buildings and odd new office blocks.

The Falu red has made a journey from being an exclusionary commodity that few could afford to a democratic, inclusive color today, several centuries later. It makes little difference what kind of job or lifestyle a Swedish chooses to have because the color red knows no class boundaries. Many people in Sweden have a relationship with some form of red building.