Norrbotten County

Understand

Lapland is the homeland of the Sami: Sápmi. While Swedish settlers arrived to the coast in the 14th century, and Sweden claimed the land in the 16th century, the communities remained isolated, speaking either Sami, Meänkieli (close to Finnish), or bondska, a Nordic dialect group very different from standard Swedish. The demand for iron and wood induced a wave of colonization in the late 19th century with enormous investment in railways, mines and hydroelectric plants, which are today indispensable to the Swedish economy. In the late 20th century, the industries were automated, and the countryside was again depopulated, though tourism and space science have emerged as new businesses – and many of the Sami are still there. Seasonal variations of temperature and daylight are dramatic, and the Midnight Sun can be seen in much of the country. See winter in the Nordic countries.

Getting there

Resrobot is a search engine for all public transport in Sweden.

By plane Domestic airports are located at Arvidsjaur, Luleå, Gällivare, Kiruna, and Pajala. Most planes arrive from Stockholm-Arlanda airport (ARN IATA).

By train SJ has sleeper trains from Stockholm and Gothenburg to Luleå and Kiruna. The Inlandsbanan railway leads through the more sparsely populated inland via Östersund and Arvidsjaur to Gällivare. This is more or less a tourist line, In Finland there are overnight trains to Kolari via Tornio (sparsely off season), and via Kemi to Rovaniemi. Some of them take cars to Oulu and Kolari. Continue by car via Haparanda or Pajala, or by coach via Haparanda. From Norway there is the Malmbanan railway Narvik–Luleå.

By bus Matkahuolto has schedules for buses coming from Finland (f.ex. from Oulu and Rovaniemi) to Haparanda/Tornio travel centre. Tapanis Buss has a route between Tornio, Finland and Stockholm serving coastal region along road E4

By car From south Sweden to Kiruna or Gällivare: E4 and E10. For Pajala use road 392. From south Sweden to Arvidsjaur: E4 until Skellefteå and then road 95. From Finland there are several border crossings. E8 runs along the border. From Norway there are two roads: E10 leads from Narvik to Luleå and 77/95 from E6 between Bodø and Mo i Rana via Arjeplog to Skellefteå. In the north there are routes through Finland.

Getting around

By plane There are flights Luleå-Kiruna and Luleå-Pajala.

By train SJ has trains Luleå–Gällivare–Kiruna. This Malmbanan rail line carries iron ore from the mines in Kiruna and Gällivare to the ports of Narvik and Luleå, but also has passenger trains and is regarded Sweden's most scenic railway. There are trains also onward from Luleå, to Haparanda at the Finnish border. Inlandsbanan can be used to reach many smaller inland towns and villages.

By bus Länstrafiken i Norrbotten has local and regional buses.

See

Arctic Sweden contains enormous areas of pristine nature. The Northern Lights can be seen during favourable conditions. The Norrbotten Megasystem is an industrial cluster along the Iron Ore Line.

Do

As Sweden's northernmost county, with the tallest mountains, winter sport and hiking are popular. Riksgränsen is Sweden's northernmost ski resort, with snow well into June.

Itineraries Hiking along Kungsleden, Padjelantaleden or Nordkalottleden

Eat

Kalix löjrom. Reindeer Surströmming (fermented herring); see Nordic cuisine#Ingredients. Palt

Drink & nightlife

Nightlife is limited to the cities and the resorts.