There is an old Swedish saying that a favourite child has many names. And so it is with Kiruna. Mining City, Grouse Town, Wilderness Village, Tourist City, Winter City, Space City - these are some of the names applied to Kiruna over the years!

Kiruna before 1890

Before the city of Kiruna was founded there were two people in the area-the Samis (which you also have in the Kolaregion) and the Finns who lived in the fertile river valleys where they could farm and fish and hunt.

The Samis

Here is some facts about them. The Sami people is classified in two groups. One west group and one east group. In the west group is the Swedish and Norwegian Sami. And in the east group is the Russian and Finnish Sami. The Sami was the first people here in the north. The Finnish Sami have theirs reindeers in woods and the Norwegian Sami have their reindeers in the mountains beside the coast. The Swedish Sami have their reindeers in the mountains in the summer and in the winter in the woods. And the Sami wants to keep their nomadism. The Samis lived here first as told before. The villages here grew up from villages like Siggevare and Tingevare. They are two disappeared villages at the Vittangi River were Sami people lived long ago. From them the villages Saarivuoma, Talma, Rautasvuoma, Kaalasvuoma and northern Kaitum villages arose.  It was the Samis that baptised the lakes, the rivers, the springs, the hills and the mountains.  They were a boundless and peaceful In the seventeenth century Swedish and Norwegian-Danish sheriffs came to collect taxes from the Samis. They became ”Taxsamis” and payed tax in the form of skins from bears, living reindeers and fish to the Swedish crone.

The Finnish people

Other people than the Samis lived here. They mostly came from Finnish people and they lived for example in Jukkasjärvi which is a little village 18 km east from Kiruna. The village has been inhabited for a long time and it was from the beginning a place for meeting and trade. In 1608 the church of Jukkasjärvi was built and it is still preserved. It was built for the Samis who were walking around so that they should have a Christian funeral place. Under the altar floor there is an old funeral place, which probably is from the 17th century. On the 19th century there was a priest here and his name was Lars Levi Laestadius. He tried to get the peoples in Jukkasjärvi to believe in God and to live in a ”clean” way. They should not drink and they should follow the Ten commandments. Svappavaara is also an old village, where they dug for copper. Those who began the work here on the 17th century was named Abraham and Jakob Momma. They tried to get people come here from the south of Sweden to dig for copper. It went very well and even Walloons from Holland and Belgium came here. Jakob and Abraham got nobilited and got the name Reenstierna instead of Momma. Another mine village which is outside Kiruna is Masugnsbyn. A settler which was called”Lasun Lassi” from Junosuando discovered the rock when he failed to his prey with an arrow. The arrow fell down on a hillock with black stones. He took the stones to Torneå, where they got a big interest from other peoples. The Momma (Reenstierna)-brothers took care of the mine on the 17th century and the mine has continued under more than hundred years.
Written by Tove, Helena and Joakim

Assumptions for the mining in Kiruna

The discovery of the iron ore

It all started in the 18th century when Amund Amundsson Mangi, a reindeersami, lifted some heavy, black stones. The stones were found on the mountains Kirunavaara and Luossavaara. Mangi didn't want anyone to know about the strange stones. He know that if the lords of the country heard about it, trouble would come. But they heard it anyway. Mangi was then called to meet the lord lieutenant in Jukkasjärvi. He was forced to tell them about the stones and where he had found them. The rich men in Sweden were interested. But the first time they blasted was 150 years later. In 1882 docktor Alrik Ljunggren owned the two mountains Luossavaara and Kirunavaara. Ljunggren got a job in a hospital in Stockholm. There he created contacts with Robert Schoug. Together they planned to build a railway between Haparanda in Sweden and Ofoten in Norway. The railway was planned to go straight through the northern Sweden and to the coast in Norway. But the Swedish government didn't allow them to build a railway. They are considered as the pioneers of the construction of the railway ”Malmbanan”. When Luossavara Kirunavaara Aktie Bolag (LKAB) was started Robert Schoug became the first governor of the company.

Mining claims in Norrbotten

Norrbotten has been of interest for those who wanted to dig out ore of different kinds. But the big problem was the transportations. They discovered ore in Norrbotten in the 17th century. After that mining claims started to drop in to the authorities in thousands. In the 19th century people here started to dig out iron ore here in Kiruna. In the year of 1898 there was written in a text from Kiruna ”iron ore has been dug out but it holds no value because it's lying in the middle of nothing”. There was no way that they could transport the iron ore away from Kiruna to a harbour somewhere. But there was hope that a railway would be built not to far in the future. Later a railway was built from Gällivare to Kiruna further on to Riksgränsen and all the way to a harbour in Norway. From that point iron ore could seriously be dug out I Kiruna and transported away.

Hjalmar Lundbohm - the founder of Kiruna

Some facts about him:

The town of Kiruna was established by LKAB:s first head Hjalmar Lundbohm. He was born 1855 and died 1926. He was born in Da lsland and he studied chemistry and geology. Kiruna was from the beginning a well organised town. When he started in Kiruna there was nothing at all more than a mountain and a lake. He come up to the ore mountains in 1896 to make a thorough investigation of the possibilities of the ore. The first miner came in 1899. In 1900 the city plan were ready. He understood the value of education for young people and for the company. He helped many Laplander with their problems. 1902 the railway to Narvik was taken in use. 1903 the miner union (Gruv 12:an) was founded. 1907 a tramsystem was introduced to solve the problems of transportation of the miners from their homes to the mine. He was buried close to the church which he initiated.

Some of his achievements:

The church

The church in Kiruna was built in 1907. The church has a strange appearance, it looks like a Laplander's house. The man who made the drawings was called Gustaf Wickman. Hjalmar Lundbohm was the man who said that the church should look like a Laplander's house. If you walk into the church , you can see a beautiful altar, it's made by the Swedish prince Eugen. The alter show us a group of trees and a big yellow sun. You can also see a beautiful pulpit which has a special appearance. When it's service you can hear the tones from the orgel, it's very solemnly. If you walk around the church, can you see 12 sculptures. Some of them symbolize: piety, despair, devoutness, sadness and shyness. Over the entrance is a picture which symbolize a group of Laplanders and the first priest who was called Julieböö. A visit in the church is something you never forget.

The tram

LKAB, the big mine in Kiruna had lots of workers in the early century. Many of the workers had a long way to the mine so Hjalmar Lundbohm introduced trams. The trams came to Kiruna in 1907, during 51 years you could go by trams. In 1958 the busses took over to transport the workers to the mine. The trams were a big pride in Kiruna because they were the most northern in the world. The inhabitants in Kiruna also went by the trams and it was very cheap and sometimes it was also free. It's a pity, you can't find trams in Kiruna anymore.

The House of the People

The first trade-union of Kiruna, ”Loussavare-Kiirunavare Workers-union”, was established in the 10th of June 1900 by 70 mine- and rail workers. In the beginning they held all their meetings in the home of a member, so they decided to build a house where they could be instead. In the 23rd of November 1900 the union bought a ground plot for 600 Swedish crowns (SEK). This was the spot for the house. The money for the building came from different organizations that bought shares in the union, each share for 10 SEK. Lars Johan Jansson, that took the initiative to the building in the first place, bought a lot of shares. The drawings of the house probably came from Malmberget where an almost identical building stood. The house of the people got its roof in April the 3rd 1901 and the total cost was about 16000 SEK. Some of these money were loaned by Hjalmar Lundbohm.
Written by: Mattias Johansson Linnéa Häggroth Mikael Snällfot

Short information about kiruna

1900- A house called ”Folkets hus” (cinema and theatre) and the Kiruna railway station are built up 1901- The building of Kirunas first schoolhouse began 1902- People got the possibility to go to a hospital 1903- The population of Kiruna were 2198 people 1904- The first police station was built. A drugstore was opened 1906- The founding of the Mission Convenant Church. Population- 5525 1907- Tram way is opened. The bell frame is consecrated 1909- Generalstrike at LKAB, the big mining company. (1475 of 1529 workers at strike) 1910- The fire station starts to be used. Emigration to Brazil (about 500 people emigrates) 1911- The church of kiruna is consecrated

The City Plan

In the year 19oo, the community structuring was seriously initiated. Hjalmar Lundbohm had at an earlier visit in Kiruna, brought two architects. It was Per-Olof Hallman and Gustav Wikman. Gustav Wikman worked mostly as the head architect for LKAB, but he designed also a lot of other buildings in Kiruna. For example, the church of Kiruna. Per-Olof Hallmans main work was the town plan. Kiruna had been devised into three parts; the town plan, the LKAB area and the state railroad area. It was the Royal Railroad counsil in Stockholm which took care of the buildings along the railroad. Hallmna got he’s ideas for the town plan from Austria and Germany. Hallman was the first to introduce these ideas in Sweden. The city is adjusted to the nature with no straight roads with right angels. It makes the microclimate better.

The city of Kiruna

In 1948 Kiruna became the largest city in the world relating to the surface. It was the pre-model to the big commune that exists today in Sweden. Kiruna got a town hall, which in 1964 got a price from the Swedish architects, ”the most beautiful public building” in Sweden. Kirunas first finnish sauna ended as a public bath in 1948 at the age of 44. During this time the tramways was in full use.

THE MOST KNOWN ASSOCIATION AND PERSONS IN KIRUNA

Kiruna AIF is one of many sport associations in Kiruna and a lot af famous Swedes like hockey players and other peoples involved in the world of sport has been discovered by them. Kiruna AIF is one of the biggest sport associations in Kiruna and have had a big success in alot of different sport like football, handball and of course icehockey. Kiruna AIF started in 1927 and have raised a lot of world famous hockey players. One of them is Börje Salming. Börje Salming was born in Kiruna 1951 and began to play hockey when he was a little boy. When Salming was 22 years old he began to play in the NHL in Toronto Maple Leafs. After 16 seasons Salming quit playing hockey in Toronto and went back to Sweden to play in AIK a famous Swedish hockey team. 1996 he was chosen to be a member in the hockey hall of fame. Lars Johan Jansson was born in 1868 in Värmland. He worked in Malmberget in 1890. There he earned his living by different jobs. 1895 he became a cashier for the new started worker union. 1896 he became a representative for the Malmberget workers in the second parliament of the people, fighting for the right to vote. He came to Kiruna as a railway foreman in connection with the building of the Ofotenline. He built his own house and started a firm in the wood branch. The most of his time he worked for the workers movement and the co-operative system. He initiated the building of Kiruna Folkets Hus (House of the people) and organised the workers of the railway. His reports of the life of the worker and the community in Kiruna was published in the newspaper Social- Demokraterna. Hjalmar Lundbohm was born in April 25th in 1855 in Dalsland. He studied at Vänersborgs secondary school and on Chalmers in Göteborg. 1888 he became a city geologist. In1889 he investigated the lappish minefields. He came to Kiruna in 1890 and dedicated his work for public education. He got money from LKAB to rebuild elementary school that was developed to trade- and housewife school and it was the first and the most exclusive school in Sweden. The gymnasium got the name Hjalmar Lundbohms school. He quite his job in LKAB as manager in 1920 because of his health. He died April 4th in 1926.

Written by Marlen, Andreas, Gabriella and Ann-Jeanette.