The oldest written source mentioning Malung is the Sverre Saga from the 13th Century. The mill wheel manufacturing in the area is supposed to be centuries older than that. The history of Malung as a village or settlement precedes local recorded history. It is however mentioned in the 13:th century tale "
Sverres saga" that the Norwegian king
Sverre Sigurdsson rode through a town named "Molung" while passing through Jarnberaland (swe: järnbäraland, "iron-bearing land", a part of modern-day
Dalarna) in the year 1177. The locals were described as friendly and helpful although heathen due to their belief in
Aesir faith or
old Nordic religion. This makes Malung the first settlement in
Dalarna to be recorded in text. In addition to the locality's own history one of several
millstone quarries can be found approximately five kilometers south-east of the
town centre. The quarry is 1700 meters long, 50–170 meters wide and it has been active since the early
Viking Age based on finds
dated to the later half of the eighth century. Millstones cut in this quarry has been found as far south as
Lund as well as in
Mälardalen, most parts of
Svealand and even
Norway. The quarry is a culture reserve as of 2003. In more recent history, Malung is known as the
leather capital of Sweden, with its leather industry and several tanneries. Malung also has a proud and old tradition of so-called "skinners" or "skinnare": groups of leather merchants, tailors and tanners who would walk between villages to create and sell pelts, leather jackets and even shoes in exchange for accommodation and a modest pay. ==Climate==