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Kiruna [M] (pronounced key-rune-a) in Norrbotten [S] county, Norrland [S] is the northernmost and one of the most unusual towns in Sweden and with its 18,000 inhabitants, the largest town in Swedish Lapland [S].
Kiruna [M] houses the largest underground mine (iron ore) in the world and is also known for the Satellite/Space [S] projects, the Sámi culture, the long winters, the modern town planning, the beautiful church and town hall, the Icehotel [S] and the easy access to the wilderness and adventure of northern Lapland [S], including Sweden's highest mountain, Kebnekaise [M].
At N67°49'48'' latitude, Kiruna [M] is located about 145 km north of the Arctic Circle, making it possible to experience the midnight sun and polar night there. This means that the sun will shine 24h a day between roughly the last week of May until the middle of July. And also that the opposite happens in the winter, from the first week of December until the second week of January, Kiruna has zero hours of sunlight per day. However, this doesn't mean that it's completly dark the whole days. When the night is the longest, there is daylight/twilight for around one hour during midday.
The Kiruna [M] Municipality includes several small villages and settlements scattered around a rather large wilderness area approximately the size of Slovenia. The biggest and most visited includes: Jukkasjärvi, Abisko [S], Karesuando and Vittangi.
SAS [1] and Norwegian [2] has direct flights to Kiruna [M] (also via Umeå [M]) from Stockholm [M] Arlanda. (Norwegian are usually the cheaper one, but especially students and youths (under the age of 26) can find even cheaper tickets with SAS.) Barents AirLink (Nordkalottflyg) [3] has flights from Luleå [M].
The small airport is located a few kilometers outside the city centre, and unfortunately the connections are kind of bad during off-season where the airport bus is only going at weekdays and not very often. In the evening or on weekends a taxi (should be pre-ordered, otherwise very long waiting time) or pre ordered coach is pretty much the only way to get anywhere (or hitchhiking), but that can be very expensive. During high season there is usually no problems since an airport bus is available then.
SJ operates night trains trains going all the way from Gothenburg [M] and Stockholm [M] and north along the eastern parts of Sweden passing cities like Uppsala [M], Gävle [M], Sundsvall [M], Umeå [M] and Boden [S] where sometimes a change of trains are required to get to Kiruna [M] instead of Luleå [M]. In summer, Connex [S] operates trains from Göteborg and Malmö [M] to KirunaNarvik. The train travel time from Stockholm is about 17 hours. There are two kinds of sleeping cars available on the trains, "liggvagn" which is the general ones where 6 passengers share a berth with six seats/beds. Then there are "sovvagnar", the slightly more expensive ones where a booking gives full access to an small berth for 2 or 3 people, so no sharing space with strangers is required. The cheapest option, however, is to sit during the whole trip in a normal car without any beds, in the "sittvagn". An onboard restaurant and bar is accessible for all passengers at all night trains, but they are rather expansive prices, but bringing your own food onto the train is allowed.
The train station in Kiruna [M] is located maybe 400m from the city centre so a walk is very much possible, everything from the station is uphill all of the way.
It is possible to take long distance busses between cities in Norrbotten [S] County, such as Luleå [M], Gällivare [S], Jokkmokk [S], Happaranda [S], etc. [4]
It is by all means possible to rent a car and drive to Kiruna [M], but keep in mind that it is very far away from all major other cities, the roads are quite narrow and a little bit too often not in a good shape. Speed limits are low and speeding tickets high. Not totally without a reason, due to weather conditions and the frequency of wildlife such as hares, reindeer and moose on the road, can make the trip a little bit more interesting than bargained for.
The hazards of driving a car in the north during the winter when a car breakdown in the middle of nowhere actually can be life-threatening due to the cold should not be underestimated. The cellphone coverage can be quite sparse so warm blankets, extra clothes etc. should always be stored in the car during winter for emergencies. The road distances from Kiruna [M] are: Gällivare [S](closest city) 115km, Luleå [M] 344Km, Umeå [M] 600Km, Stockholm [M] 1240Km
Kiruna [M] Kyrka is a is one of Sweden's largest wooden buildings and is famous for its special tent like structure. It was built 1907-1912 by architect Gustaf Wickman and won the award XXX in 19xx.
Stadshuset [S] is another landmark of Kiruna [M], it houses the local goverment and often hosts various exhibitions. It also has an small but quite well renowned art collection of famous Swedish old artists.
Hjalmar Lundbohm was the first manager for the mining company LKAB that is the reason why the city of Kiruna [M] was built in the first place. This museum located in his old office and home is dedicated to the early days of Kiruna and the startup of LKAB and the building of the rail road Kiruna-Narvik.
more to come...
One of Sweden's oldest intact wooden buildings, it's oldest part dates back from 1607. The church and famous for its altar painting and exquisite handicrafted organ.
During Summers there is an ice exhibition in a large freeze house. However this exhibition is not open every year. In summer 2008 will be no exhibition.
There are many things to do around the Kiruna [M] area if you like outdoor activities and wilderness adventures. Many companies offer the same or very similiar packages, here a list of popular and common activities can be found, sorted by season. There is also some other activities available. You should be aware of that pollution of the wilderness (and the city) is not liked, it's even illegal in Sweden to do so. So be sure to not leave trash behind you in the fells etc. It also keeps the enviroment in its best condition.
This section is under construction, as all the other.
There are certain dates when special things happen in Kiruna [M]:
Don't miss any of the local specialities consisting of various forms of reindeer meat that can be found in almost any foodplace, there is everything from simple reindeer kebab, and sandwiches with reindeer meat to luxurious reindeer dishes at the fanciest restaurants. Also salmon, moose, other fish and animals "from the wild" can be seen as specialities.
!A list will be added shortly!
Ok lets face it, the night-life in Kiruna [M] is hardly award winning in any way. This is a rather small city and does not offer great variety. The crowds going out are most often the same people from time to time, and the chances are quite high that most locals going out already know each other, if not as friends then at least by name and/or rumour. This is both a blessing and a curse, depending on circumstances. People tend to drink quite heavily and most would never talk to strangers, but some would love to, don't give up! However this does not mean that going out in Kiruna is not fun. Sure after a few times it starts to feel a bit repetitive (which might not always be bad) but going out a night or two can often be quite fun, just don't expect too much, take it as it is, ignore things that bother you and enjoy the night!
The most popular place is currently the nightclub at hotel Ferrum mostly at room 208, which usually has an age restriction of 23. Babylon (formerly known as Arran) is for the younger crowd and thus often a little bit noisier. From time to time they have 30++ nights also. The two central bars O'learys and Caffreys can offer less crowd and a good enough environment for a beer or two after a long day. Friday and Saturday are the main days for going out, but Wednesdays ("little Saturday") can sometimes get lively as well.
In the mountainous areas to the west of Kiruna [M] are several national parks e.g. Abisko [S]. The railway to the port town of Narvik in Norway offers excellent views year-round.
| Routes through Kiruna |
| Narvik ← Abisko ← | W E | → Gällivare → Luleå |
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www.flexijourney.com by Philip Ze ^ 2008-2010
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