Dalhalla

Dalhalla is one of the more improbable concert venues in the world: a former limestone quarry 7 km north of Rättvik that closed in 1990 and was converted into an open-air amphitheatre within five years. The quarry is 60 metres deep, 400 metres long and 175 metres wide, with sheer limestone walls on three sides creating a natural acoustic bowl. The stage sits at the water level at the quarry floor — over the years the pit has partially flooded — and the 4,000 seats rise steeply around it.

The programme runs from June to early September and mixes opera, choral works, jazz, and popular concerts. The setting adds something to every performance: the limestone turns pink at sunset, the acoustic is extraordinary without electronic amplification, and the summer evenings can be entirely still. Book in advance for the major opera productions; some sell out months ahead.

things to do sight
A story
The idea for a concert venue in the quarry came from Margareta Dellefors, a former opera singer, who visited the abandoned pit in 1991 and immediately heard the potential in its acoustics. She spent four years pushing the project through planning and funding, and the venue opened in 1995. The natural limestone walls proved to be an almost perfect acoustic reflector — engineers have measured the reverberation time at around three seconds, comparable to a purpose-built concert hall.