Kirun is the northernmost town in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality in Norrbotten County. The city was originally built in the 1890s to serve the Kiruna Mine.
Esrange Space Center was established in Kiruna in the 1960s. Also in Kiruna are the Institute of Space Physics and Luleå University of Technology‘s Department of Space Science.
Economy
Space research
Space research started in the late 1940s.
The ESTRACK Kiruna Station of ESA, the European Space Agency, is located in the municipality. So is Esrange, the European Space and Sounding Rocket Range, as well as an EISCAT station and EISCAT scientific headquarters.
Also in Kiruna are the Institute of Space Physics and the Department of Space Science belonging to Luleå University of Technology.
In 2007, the Swedish government announced that Kiruna would be the host of Spaceport Sweden, signing an agreement with Virgin Galactic.
Mining
Mining plays a major role as a source of national income and employment for Kiruna and the surrounding region. As with most of Northern Sweden the area is rich with Magnetite which is mined to produce various Iron ore products which are then transported by rail to Narvik port in Norway to be shipped to customers around the world. Large-scale mining in Kiruna started in the 19th century right around the time the major Swedish mining company LKAB was founded in 1890.
Tourism
Dog sledding is a popular activity in the countryside surrounding Kiruna.
In winter, the Icehotel and northern lights attract tourists. The long and certain snow cover, which generally lasts from October to May, and frozen lakes and rivers facilitate cross-country and alpine skiing, dog sledding and snowmobiling. There are ice climbing in the mountains and ice skating on lakes or rivers. The annual Snow festival is held over the last weekend of January and includes scooter jumping, reindeer racing and an ice sculpture contest.
Sports
- Kiruna FF is a Swedish football club located in Kiruna. The club currently competes in Division 3 Norra Norrland, the fifth tier of the Swedish football league system.
- Kiruna IF is a Swedish ice hockey club located in Kiruna. The club currently competes in Hockeyettan, the third tier of the Swedish ice hockey league system.
- Kebnekaise BTK is a table-tennis club located in Kiruna. The club competes in Div 1 Norra, the third tier of the Swedish table-tennis league system. Kebnekaise BTK has consistently been one of Northern Sweden’s most successful table-tennis clubs. Practice takes place in Sporthallen, the sports center located in central Kiruna.
Transportation
Kiruna is on the E10 road, connecting Luleå with Norway and passing near Gällivare (south of Kiruna) and Narvik (on the Norwegian coast). A short road connects to Kurravaara at the Torne river and ends there. Another road connects Kiruna with Nikkaluokta close to Kebnekaise and is used by tourists to get to the mountains. It passes by or nearby several villages in the Kalix river valley.
Buses connect Kiruna with major towns in Norrbotten province and villages nearby and in the wider region. The railway connects Luleå with Gällivare, Kiruna and Narvik. Although built to serve the mine, Swedish Rail runs daily passenger traffic on the line: a night train from Narvik to Stockholm, a day train from Narvik to Luleå (connecting with a second night train to Stockholm and Gothenburg), and trains to Luleå and Narvik that start and finish in Kiruna. The latter is known as Karven and popular for day trips to the mountains near Abisko, Björkliden and Riksgränsen, particularly in winter. Additional long-distance trains are run by Transdev in summer. In 2013, the railway station was moved 2 km away from the city centre, so walking is possible but not recommended. There is a free shuttlebus for every departure and arrival which starts from Kiruna bus station in the city centre.
Kiruna Airport is southeast of the city, 8 km by road. A few daily flights connect Kiruna with Stockholm, either directly or via Luleå or Umeå. An airport bus is available for all flights to and from Stockholm-Arlanda Airport.
