Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [244]
There’s a tourist office (202 05; www.karesuando.com) on the bridge to Finland, with regional information, souvenirs and a coffeeshop. There are no banks in the village, but there is a convenience shop and fuel station; eating options are very limited.
Karesuando boasts the northernmost church (7am-4pm) in Sweden, built in 1816; the wooden altar was made by Swedish artist Bror Hjorth. There’s also Vita Huset (201 70; guided tours Skr20; 9am-5pm Mon-Tue & Fri, noon-8pm Wed), a folk museum in a former policemen’s residence with mainly Norwegian items from WWII; a simple log cabin (24hr) that was home to preacher-botanist Lars Levi Laestadius; and Sámiid Viessu, a Sami art and handicraft exhibition and museum.
Treriksröset, 100km northwest of the village, marks the point where Norway, Sweden and Finland meet; it’s about 10m out into lake Goldajärvi. Ask the tourist office about boats leaving from the Finnish village Kilpisjärvi (three daily mid-June to mid-August) to visit this hard-to-access area. You can also reach it via a hiking trail through Malla National Park, or by snowmobile in winter.
Karesuando has a small STF Vandrarhem (203 30; dm Skr140; Apr–mid-Sep), about a kilometre before you reach the bridge and tourist office. It’s operated jointly with the Hotel Karesuando (203 30; s/d Skr600/700), across the road.
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KIRUNA
0980 / pop 23,407
The citizens of Kiruna (Giron) live up to their nickname – ‘the No-problem People’ – by remaining unperturbed at the news that their city is on the verge of collapsing into a mine pit. A few years back, it became clear that years of iron-ore extraction was sucking the stability out of the bedrock underneath the town. In 2007 the town voted to shift itself a couple of miles northwest; plans are to move the railway and about 450 homes by 2013, with the rest of the town centre to follow gradually.
It’s probably worth the trouble: Kiruna is home to the world’s largest iron-ore deposit, going 4km deep. The government-run mining company LKAB originally mined via open pits, but switched in the 1960s to tunnelling underground; the action now happens 914m below the surface.
The tourist office (188 80; www.lappland.se; Folkets Hus, Lars Janssonsgatan 17; 8.30am-9pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-6pm Sat & Sun Jun-Aug, Mon-Sat Sep-May), on the main square, has internet access and can book mine tours and accommodation as well as various activities, including rafting, dogsledding and snow-scooter trips. There’s a cafe upstairs.
Held in the last week of January, the Kiruna Snow Festival (www.kiruna.com/snowfestival) is based around a snow-sculpting competition. The tradition started in 1985 as a space-themed snow-sculpture contest to celebrate the launching of a rocket (Viking) from nearby space base Esrange.
Sights & Activities
A visit to the depths of the LKAB iron-ore mine, 540m underground, is recommended; some of the stats you’ll hear on a tour are mind-blowing. Tours leave daily from the tourist office, and more frequently from mid-June to mid-August (adult/student/child Skr280/180/50). Tours in English happen only a few times a week; make bookings through the tourist office.
Kiruna kyrka (Gruvvägen; 10am-9pm summer) looks like a huge Sami kåta (hut); it’s particularly pretty against a snowy backdrop. Another landmark, at the opposite end of the aesthetics spectrum, is the Stadshus (town hall; 705 21; Hjalmar Lundbohmsvägen; 9am-6pm), which, despite its grim facade, is actually very nice inside and has a free slide show on the hour, and free guided tours.
Samegården (170 29; Brytaregatan 14; adult/child Skr20/free; 7am-4pm Mon-Fri Jun-Aug) has displays about Sami culture and a handicrafts shop attached to a hotel-restaurant.
The district surrounding Kiruna includes Sweden’s highest peak, Kebnekaise (2111m), and some of Sweden’s best national parks and hiking routes; Click here for suggestions on tackling them.
Around Kiruna
JUKKASJÄRVI
As well as the famous Ice Hotel, tiny Jukk-asjärvi, 18km east of Kiruna, is home