Åre () is a locality and one of the leading

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

s situated in

Åre Municipality Åre Municipality (, ) is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Jämtland County in northern Sweden. Its administrative centre, seat is located in Järpen. The present municipality was formed in 1974 through the amalgamation of "old" Åre M ...

Jämtland County Jämtland County (, ) is a county or '' län'' in Sweden. It consists of the provinces of Jämtland and Härjedalen, along with minor parts of Hälsingland and Ångermanland, plus two small strips of Lapland and Dalarna. It borders the countie ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

with 3,200 inhabitants in 2018. It is, however, not the seat of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, which is Järpen. 25% of the local economy is based on tourism, most notably the downhill skiing and

biking Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

resorts in Åre, Duved and Storlien. The growth in tourism has resulted in the development of hotels, recreational and shopping opportunities in the area.

History

In the 12th century the Åre Old Church was built. Saint Olaf the Holy is a historical figure who has influenced the village and for centuries pilgrims passed through the village on their way to

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

Sami people Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

settled in the mid-17th century to take advantage of good reindeer pasture. In the 18th and 19th century the copper mines in Fröå were important industries. Tourism started to grow with the establishment of a railroad in 1882, and Åre's first ''Grand Hotel'' was erected in 1896. The kings of Sweden and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

came to stay in Åre and Storlien for recreational purposes since the 19th century.

Geography

Åre is situated in Åredalen (Åre Valley), approximately

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level v ...

at the coastline of Åresjön lake. The European route E14 and the Mittbanan railway pass through Åre, connecting the larger towns

Östersund Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...

and

Climate

Åre has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

( Dfc).

Tourism

Tourism in Åre started as King Oscar II in 1882 supervised construction of the Östersund–Trondheim railway. With this new railway, many people came to Åre to breathe the fresh air and to walk to the top of

Åreskutan Åreskutan is a mountain at Åre in Jämtland in central Sweden. It is one of the better-known mountains in Sweden, with a history of winter sport tourism dating back to the 1800s. The mountain (and the village of Åre itself) is easily accessi ...

. They were soon known as "air-guests" (Sw. ''luftgäster''). There was no hotel, but in 1888 Albin Wettergren opened a restaurant by the railway station. In 1891, Åre Tourist Station opened and even more guests were attracted to the village. A lady from

saw this increasing tourism as a great opportunity to open a hotel and did so in 1895. It was called "Hotell Åreskutan". Albin Wettergren opened a hotel ("Grand Hotell") as well. These were only a few of all the hotels that were going to be founded in Åre. In 1910, the funicular

Åre Bergbana Åre Bergbana is a funicular railway located in Åre, Jämtland County, Sweden. It is long and runs between the town square at amsl and the hotel ''Fjällgården'' at amsl. The funicular was built as the first fixed link up to the fell by V ...

was built and was the third one in Sweden after Skansens Bergbana in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

(1898) and the one in

Kiruna (; ; ; ) is the northernmost Stad (Sweden), city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland, Sweden, Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norrbotten County. The c ...

(1907). This was a more convenient way for the air-guests to reach the top of Åreskutan. In 2008, the hotel '' Copperhill Mountain Lodge'' opened on the top of the Förberget hill. Designed by American architect Peter Bohlin, it is the only mountain hotel in Scandinavia referred to as a "Design Hotel".

Winter events

Taking advantage of the

fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or Moorland, moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of M ...

, Åre Ski Area has become the major center for

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

in Sweden, sporting more than 30 modern ski-lifts. It hosted the Alpine World Championships in

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, and has hosted more than 100

FIS Alpine Ski World Cup The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang (skiing), Serge Lang and the alpine ski team d ...

events throughout the years. On 9–10 March 2012, the Freestyle FIS World Cup was held at the ''Slalombacken'' slalom course close to the village centre, and on 18 Feb 2020 a sprint race in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup was held at the same place.

2021 Special Olympics World Winter Games

Åre along with

were initially selected to host the 2021 Special Olympics World Winter Games. It would have marked the first time that Sweden has ever hosted the Special Olympics. However, due to a variety of issues including lack of funding, on 19 December 2019, the event will not take place in Sweden. Instead it will take place in

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and was delayed to 2022.

Winter Olympics

Åre has also been the site for the alpine events in Sweden's eight failed bids to host the

Olympic Winter Games The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...

, including for the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, 1988,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and 2026. This is because Åre has the only piste in Sweden suitable for top-level downhill races.

Notable people

* Henrik Lundqvist –

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

goaltender, gold medalist in 2006, 2012 Vezina trophy winner and twin brother of Joel Lundqvist * Joel Lundqvist –

Frölunda HC Frölunda Hockey Club, previously known as the Frölunda Indians, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Gothenburg. They currently play in the highest Swedish league, the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), formerly the Elitserien, where th ...

captain and checking forward, two-time world champion, former Dallas Star and twin brother of Henrik Lundqvist * Jon Olsson - Professional freestyle skier, X-Games Champion and social media influencer * Henrik Windstedt – winner of the 2008 '' Freeride World Tour'' * Lars-Börje Eriksson – Olympic alpine skiing bronze medalist * Henrik Harlaut – Professional freestyle skier

Outdoor attractions

Åre has since the 1990s become the largest

mountainbike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

resort in Sweden. In 1999 it was the host for the

UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships are the world championship events for mountain bike racing in the disciplines of cross country, downhill, and four-cross. They are organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the governing ...

and it hosted the Nordic Championships 2007. There are numerous graded downhill cycling trails. The Åre Bikepark is open from 1 May until 15 October and is the host for the Mayhem Festival. During summer Åre can also sport

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended be ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

, and a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

about 15 minutes from the village. In July every year there is a multisport competition in Åre – ''Åre Extreme Challenge''. It counts as the Scandinavian championship in multisport. In 2008 Åre was appointed as one of the ten best ski-resorts in the world at the list from the magazine '' Condé Nast Traveller''

Åre kabinbana.JPG, Åre cable car Åre torg.jpg, Åre central square

Transport

The nearest airport is situated 99 kilometres (62 mi) eastward, on the island of

Frösön Frösön (, ; " Frey's island") is the largest island in the lake Storsjön, Jämtland, Sweden. Part of the city Östersund is located on the island. During most of recorded history Frösön was the regional centre of Jämtland, and it is the loc ...

in Östersund.

Åre Östersund Airport Åre Östersund Airport , previously known as Östersund– Frösön Airport is located about 11 km (6.8 mi) west of Östersund, Sweden and 94 km (58 mi) east of Åre, Sweden. The airport opened in 1958. Åre Östersund airpor ...

is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

and the ninth biggest in Sweden with roughly 390 000 passengers (2005). The European route E14 runs through Åre from

via Östersund to

Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. Old town i ...

, where it merges with the

European route E45 European route E45 connects Norway and Italy, through Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Austria. With a length of about , it is the longest north–south European route (some east–west routes are longer). The route passes through Alta ...

. Åre also has a train station. Norrtåg operates the Mittbanan railway from Storlien (where Trondheim-bound diesel trains connect), via Åre and Östersund to Sundsvall. Åre is connected to Stockholm,

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

and

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

through long distance SJ 3000 ( higher-speed trains) and

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

. Åre is also served by seasonal overnight trains.

Station åre.jpg, Åre railway station Åre östersund flygplats.jpg,

terminal

References

External links

VisitAre.com
Official resort website
Resort magazineSkiStar ÅreAre Sweden
– Details and information on Åre {{DEFAULTSORT:Are Populated places in Åre Municipality Jämtland Former Norwegian populated places