or FAHLUN, a town of Sweden, capital of a cognominal laen, and situated near the W. shore of lake Runn, 73 miles W. of Gefle. The town is built chiefly of timber, and the inhabitants, amounting to about 4500, are mostly engaged in mining and smelting. West of the town are the celebrated Falun copper mines, which are the oldest and most celebrated in Europe. They have an historical existence of upwards of 600 years, and it is certain that they are much older—probably by many centuries. In the town are museums of mineralogy and geology, a school of practical mining, a model room, and a large scientific library. The fumes arising from the copper-smelting works destroy vegetation in the vicinity of the town, but do not seem to be injurious to human life; on the contrary, the freedom of the inhabitants from cholera and other serious epidemics which have visited the country has been ascribed to this cause. The laen of Falun has an area of 12,113 square miles, and in 1850 contained 151,497 inhabitants.