The Local Sweden

Sami market gets under way online – for the first time in four centuries

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 15:37:49 +0100

A Sami market that usually attracts almost 50,000 visitors to the small town of Jokkmokk is taking place online this year, due to coronavirus restrictions.

Santa Claus should live in Sweden, researchers calculate

Fri, 23 Dec 2016 15:39:26 +0100

Forget the North Pole or Finnish Lapland, the most strategic location for Santa's workshop is Jokkmokk in northern Sweden, according to researchers.

Woman in Sweden calls out mountain rescue helicopter because she was tired

Fri, 28 Jul 2017 10:39:36 +0200

An air ambulance and rescue personnel called out to help a mountain climber in Sweden discovered when they arrived at the scene that the only thing the woman was suffering from was tiredness.

Video: This is what it's like to race reindeer

Wed, 08 Feb 2017 17:32:10 +0100

It takes a tough kind of person to live in the cold north of Sweden, and given the sparse nature of the region, it also takes a creative one. The ultimate combination of those two traits? Jokkmokk Winter Market's reindeer race.

Countdown to Jokkmokk's Sami market under way

Thu, 19 Jan 2017 18:17:00 +0100

Fewer than 3,000 people live in Jokkmokk, north of the Arctic Circle. But in just a fortnight, more than 40,000 visitors are expected to descend on the town for the annual winter market. The Local spoke to Birgitta Nilsson, who leads the team organizing the four-century-old event.

Seven events to tick off your Sweden bucket list in 2017

Thu, 05 Jan 2017 07:59:59 +0100

Which are the don't-miss events for a real Swedish experience in 2017? We've listed seven of them.

Sami reindeer herders win mine reprieve

Sat, 04 Oct 2014 08:20:00 +0200

Authorities in Norbotten in northern Sweden have rejected plans to allow mining of iron ore in Kallak near Jokkmokk due to concerns over the impact on traditional reindeer grazing.

Swedes' anger mounts over Beowulf mine plans

Tue, 13 Aug 2013 14:28:00 +0200

Protests at the Kallak iron mining site in northern Sweden took a new turn this week as police had to dig protesters out of the ground, the latest in a standoff with the Beowulf mining company that critics say will give nothing back to the local community.

Nat Geo fights Swedish reindeer helicopter ban

Tue, 06 Aug 2013 18:30:00 +0200

National Geographic has appealed a ban on its photographers taking a helicopter into the Sarek national park, which Swedish officials said risked disturbing the indigenous Samis' grazing reindeer in the World Heritage wilderness.

Foreigners to help plug Jokkmokk brain drain

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:22:00 +0100

Jokkmokk in Sweden's far north is hoping to entice foreigners to make their home on the Arctic Circle by offering cheap housing and a helping hand, all in a drive to help repopulate the area, The Local's Ann Törnkvist discovers.

Anna, 100, 'too healthy' for nursing home spot

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 18:50:00 +0200

Swede Anna Lundvall, who turns 101 on Saturday, is incredulous that the municipality in northern Sweden where she has lived for more than a century has told her she is "too healthy" to live in a nursing home.

Police renew search for mystery Mustang driver

Thu, 17 May 2012 10:55:00 +0200

Swedish police on Wednesday launched a new search operation for a 26-year-old Czech man believed to have gone missing near Jokkmokk in northern Sweden after apparently abandoning his white Ford Mustang by the side of the road.

White Mustang mystery stumps Swedish police

Mon, 14 May 2012 10:01:00 +0200

Police remain baffled as to the whereabouts of the driver of white Ford Mustang rented in the Czech Republic and found abandoned near the side of a road in northern Sweden with the keys still inside.

Pregnant reindeer death shock: 'they all exploded'

Thu, 10 May 2012 17:22:00 +0200

The remains of an entire herd of pregnant reindeer were found on Thursday near the bottom of a 1,200 metre-high cliff in northern Sweden, having all apparently plummeted to their death.

Missing skiers found in northern Sweden

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 12:25:00 +0100

Four young men reported missing after venturing out on a skiing trek in the vicinity of Gällivare in the mountains of northern Sweden have been found, police confirmed on Sunday afternoon.

Jokkmokk celebrates world sausage record

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 11:38:00 +0200

A record breaking sausage was the star of the show at the start of the annual autumn fair in Jokkmokk, northern Sweden, on Friday.

A new life in northern Sweden - Part Two

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:29:00 +0200

Winter in a picturesque snowbound town can instil in the visitor a true appreciation for life in the far north of Sweden. But a dearth of jobs and a surplus of solitude help explain the region's growing demographic crisis, writes Alec Forss. Part two in a two-part series.

A new life in northern Sweden - Part One

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:32:00 +0200

Macho men, monotony, mosquitoes: Englishman Alec Forss heard all the clichés trotted out as he made known his plans to move to northern Sweden. But nothing could deter him from plunging headlong into the vast wilderness beyond the Arctic circle. Part one in a two-part series.

Reindeer herd drowns in icy Lapland waters

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:56:00 +0100

More than 400 reindeer have drowned in a river in Jokkmokk in northern Sweden after thin surface ice cracked while the herd were moving to their winter pastures.

Mountain rescuers locate missing boy

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:38:00 +0200

The 10-year-old boy who disappeared on Wednesday afternoon from a school outing in the mountains near Kvikkjokk in northern Sweden has been found alive.