Kiruna Municipality
Encyclopedia
Kiruna Municipality is a municipality
in Norrbotten County
in northernmost Sweden
. Its seat
is located in Kiruna
. It is the northernmost municipality in Sweden, and at 20715 square kilometres (7,998.1 sq mi) is Sweden's geographically largest covering roughly 4.604% of its total area.
Finnish
, Meänkieli
and Sami
have the official status of being minority language
s in the municipality.
During the 20th century the mining
settlement Kiruna
was built in the parish
of Jukkasjärvi
, at that time a rural
municipality in very remote territory. A so called municipalsamhälle (which was a kind of borough
established within a rural municipality to take care of some matters of urban
character) was instituted in 1908. The settlement grew (it even had a tram
way system) and it was decided to make it a city. On January 1, 1948 the whole parish of Jukkasjärvi was transformed into the City of Kiruna. As the vast wilderness
around the town itself was included, Kiruna was at that time regarded as the largest city municipality in the world. Only a few more cities were instituted in Sweden, the last one in 1951. Instead the differences between the three types of municipalities were diminished and finally abolished all together. In 1971 Kiruna, as all others, became a unitary municipality and at the same time merged with Karesuando
.
is Sweden's and Sápmi's highest mountain
at 2,104 metres above mean sea level
. There are more than 6,000 lake
s in Kiruna municipality, Lake Torneträsk
being the largest. Seven river
s run through the municipality, named Kalix River
, Torne River
, Lainio River
, Rautas River
and Vittangi River, as well as Könkämä River and Muonio River
which mark the border
to Finland
. The untouched geography has also been noted with the establishment of Abisko National Park
, by the Norwegian
border, established as early as 1909.
(or urban areas) in Kiruna Municipality:
The municipal seat in bold
:
Municipalities of Sweden
The municipalities of Sweden are the local government entities of Sweden. The current 290 municipalities are organized into 21 counties...
in Norrbotten County
Norrbotten County
Norrbotten County is the northernmost county or län of Sweden. It borders Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf of Bothnia to the southeast. It also borders the counties of Nordland and Troms in Norway to the northwest, and Lapland Province in Finland to the northeast.The name...
in northernmost Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Its seat
Administrative centre
An administrative centre is a term often used in several countries to refer to a county town, or other seat of regional or local government, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located....
is located in Kiruna
Kiruna
Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality Kiruna (Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is...
. It is the northernmost municipality in Sweden, and at 20715 square kilometres (7,998.1 sq mi) is Sweden's geographically largest covering roughly 4.604% of its total area.
Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, Meänkieli
Meänkieli
Meänkieli is the name used in Sweden for Finnish dialects spoken in the northernmost parts of the country, around the valley of the Torne River....
and Sami
Sami languages
Sami or Saami is a general name for a group of Uralic languages spoken by the Sami people in parts of northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and extreme northwestern Russia, in Northern Europe. Sami is frequently and erroneously believed to be a single language. Several names are used for the Sami...
have the official status of being minority language
Minority language
A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities.-International politics:...
s in the municipality.
During the 20th century the mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
settlement Kiruna
Kiruna
Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality Kiruna (Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is...
was built in the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Jukkasjärvi
Jukkasjärvi
Jukkasjärvi is a locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 519 inhabitants in 2005. It is situated at 321 meters elevation....
, at that time a rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
municipality in very remote territory. A so called municipalsamhälle (which was a kind of borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
established within a rural municipality to take care of some matters of urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
character) was instituted in 1908. The settlement grew (it even had a tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
way system) and it was decided to make it a city. On January 1, 1948 the whole parish of Jukkasjärvi was transformed into the City of Kiruna. As the vast wilderness
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
around the town itself was included, Kiruna was at that time regarded as the largest city municipality in the world. Only a few more cities were instituted in Sweden, the last one in 1951. Instead the differences between the three types of municipalities were diminished and finally abolished all together. In 1971 Kiruna, as all others, became a unitary municipality and at the same time merged with Karesuando
Karesuando
Karesuando is the northernmost locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 313 inhabitants in 2005....
.
Geography
KebnekaiseKebnekaise
Kebnekaise is the highest mountain in Sweden and Sápmi. The Kebnekaise massif, which is part of the Scandinavian Mountains, has two peaks, of which the southern, glaciated one is highest at above sea level at the latest time of measurement. The north top is free of ice...
is Sweden's and Sápmi's highest mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
at 2,104 metres above mean sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
. There are more than 6,000 lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s in Kiruna municipality, Lake Torneträsk
Torneträsk
Torneträsk or Torne träsk is a lake in Kiruna Municipality, Lapland, Norrbotten County in Sweden, in the Scandinavian mountain range. Träsk is the local word for lake . It is the seventh largest lake in Sweden, with a total area of and a length of...
being the largest. Seven river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s run through the municipality, named Kalix River
Kalix River
The Kalix River is one of the four major rivers of Norrland, northern Sweden, that are untouched by water power...
, Torne River
Torne River
The Torne River , is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. Approximately half of the river's length is a part of the border between these two countries. It rises at Lake Torne near the border with Norway and flows generally southeast for a distance of into the Gulf of Bothnia...
, Lainio River
Lainio River
The Lainio River is a river in Kiruna Municipality in the far north of Swedish Lapland. Its source is a mountain lake, Råstojaure , which lies along the border with Norway. 200 km from its source, the Lainio River flows into the Torne River, which eventually flows into the Gulf of Bothnia...
, Rautas River
Rautas River
The Rautas River is an early contributary to the Torne River in Swedish Lapland.It originates in Rautasjaure in the mountains of northwestern Lapland, at an elevation of 560 m above mean sea level.A footpath leads to Rautasjaure from Rensjön.In winter the lake can be reached by snowmobile.From...
and Vittangi River, as well as Könkämä River and Muonio River
Muonio River
The Muonio River is a river of northern Finland and Sweden. It is a tributary of the Torne River. Together the two rivers form the national border between Finland and Sweden. The river is 230 kilometres long....
which mark the border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
to Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. The untouched geography has also been noted with the establishment of Abisko National Park
Abisko National Park
Abisko National Park is a National Park in Sweden.Geographically, Abisko is situated in the Swedish province of Lapland near the Norwegian border , and belongs to Kiruna Municipality, Sweden's northernmost and largest municipality...
, by the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
border, established as early as 1909.
Localities
There are seven localitiesUrban areas in Sweden
Urban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort. The official term in English, used by Statistics Sweden, is, however, locality. There are 1,940 localities in Sweden . They could be compared with census-designated places in the United States.A tätort in Sweden has a minimum of...
(or urban areas) in Kiruna Municipality:
| # | Locality | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiruna Kiruna Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality Kiruna (Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is... |
18,154 |
| 2 | Vittangi Vittangi Vittangi is a locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 789 inhabitants in 2005.The locality is very notable because it houses a cluster of people suffering from congenital analgesia, an otherwise extremely rare illness.... |
789 |
| 3 | Jukkasjärvi Jukkasjärvi Jukkasjärvi is a locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 519 inhabitants in 2005. It is situated at 321 meters elevation.... |
519 |
| 4 | Svappavaara Svappavaara Svappavaara is a locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 394 inhabitants in 2005. It is a mining village and the mine was closed in 1983, but enrichment of iron ore from the mine at Kiruna is still going on... |
394 |
| 5 | Kuttainen Kuttainen Kuttainen is a locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 364 inhabitants in 2005.Kuttainen Homepage: http://hem.passagen.se/netpain/... |
364 |
| 6 | Karesuando Karesuando Karesuando is the northernmost locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 313 inhabitants in 2005.... |
313 |
| 7 | Övre Soppero Övre Soppero Övre Soppero is a locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 220 inhabitants in 2005.- References :... |
220 |
The municipal seat in bold
Emphasis (typography)
In typography, emphasis is the exaggeration of words in a text with a font in a different style from the rest of the text—to emphasize them.- Methods and use :...
Sister city
Kiruna Municipality has one sister cityTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
:
ArkhangelskArkhangelskArkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...