About
Kiruna is a mining town in northern Sweden, lying about 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. It sits in Swedish Lapland, where the landscape opens into wide, quiet wilderness, and it makes a practical base for anyone wanting to see the far north of the country.
What draws visitors
- The Northern Lights. The town's latitude puts it under the aurora for much of the winter, and the dark, clear skies around it are a natural setting for watching the display.
- The Ice Hotel. Kiruna is the setting for the famous Ice Hotel, a stay built largely of ice and snow, which many visitors come specifically to experience.
- Wild northern scenery. The surrounding area offers vast tracts of open land, forest and mountain, suited to travellers who value space and silence over busy attractions.
A town in transition
Kiruna is unusual because it is being moved. Iron ore mining beneath and around the town has made relocation necessary, so the community is gradually rebuilding in a new location. For visitors, this gives the place a sense of change that few towns in Europe can offer. It is worth going with an open mind about what the town looks like today and what it is becoming.
Is it right for you?
Kiruna suits travellers who want to combine a northern winter experience with the wider Lapland wilderness, and who are happy to plan around the long cold and the long nights. It is less a place of dense sightseeing than a base from which to see the sky, the snow and the open country that surrounds it.