What to do and see in Norrbotten County, Sweden: The Best Places and Tips

Of Sweden's 71 original church towns, only 16 are left today. The majority of these have been reduced to a remnant. Gammelstad has the country's largest and best preserved church town with 408 cottages comprising 553 rooms. The church town presumably arose from a combination of several factors: the long distances, merchants' needs for storage and accommodation at the marketplace, the church stables and last but not least the population's duty to attend church regularly. The oldest mention of Gammelstad Church Town is in Johannes Bureus' depiction of his visit here at Christmas 1600: "All farmers have their cottages near the church at a place they call The Hill". Unfortunately Bureus does not mention the age of the church town, but the first cottages were presumably built in the mid-16th century. Gammelstad Church Town was put on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 7 December, 1996.The World Heritage Committee's reasoning was as follows: "Gammelstad Church Town is a remarkable example of the traditional church town of northern Scandinavia. It admirably illustrates the adaptation of conventional urban design to the special geographical and climatic conditions of a hostile natural environment." The World Heritage area includes the church itself, surrounded by the Church Town, the well-to-do areas, the public buildings and certain sections of the more recent permanent buildings.The church town tradition, i.E. The custom of spending the night in church cottages in connection with church weekends, was a decisive factor for conferring world heritage status.

Come along to the world’s largest underground iron-ore mine. We go by bus directly from the Tourist Center into the mountain and down to the show mine LKAB’s Visitor Centre at level 540 metres. Here in Kiruna much revolves around our mine. The guide will talk about modern mining and how it can cause a whole town to be moved. Coffee and cookies will be served in the cafe. A warm welcome!

Easily accessible and reconstructed Sami camp on the old market and assembly place in the village of Jukkasjarvi. Grazing reindeer, outdoor Exhibitions about Sami culture and livelihoods. Sapmi slow food lunch and coffee served by the fire in Cafe Sapmi's giant lavvu-tent; sale of genuine Sami handicraft in adjacent handicraft shop. Guided tours. Ideal for day visitors with a limited amount of time, but still an interest to get an introduction to Sami culture, food and reindeer. Summer/autumn open: 5 Jun - 5 Nov Winter open: 6 Nov - 8 April Located next to Jukkasjarvi church and in 900 m walking distance from ICEHOTEL.

The family business Kukkolaforsen Tourism & Conference Ltd. is run by the Spolander family. We have been active, in various ways, in the area for over 5 generations. Through lots of hard work we are constantly improving our specialties: gourmet fare, saunas ad conferences. Not long ago we had a shift in generations within the business and it is now their goal to continue developing and running Kukkolaforsen Tourism & Conference. We will continue to do everything we can to satisfy our customers and offer the most personalized service possible. Kukkolaforsen Tourism & Conference Ltd. is a conference, experience and knowledge center in the Torne Valley. The spirit of the region is presented by the rustic accommodation, the various sauna experiences, and the rewarding fishing opportunities.