Jokkmokk () is a locality and the seat of Jokkmokk Municipality in

Norrbotten County Norrbotten County (, Meänkieli/, ) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares borders with Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf ...

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Lapland,

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 2,786 inhabitants in 2010. The Lule Sámi name of the place (composed of the individual words and ) means "River's Curve," due to the meandering river that runs through it. As in other towns in Lapland, the

Swedish language Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language from the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, spoken predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, making it the G ...

is dominant at an official level in Jokkmokk in modern times. The settlement is just north of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

. Talvatissjön is located at the southern part of Jokkmokk. Jokkmokk is an important locality for the

Sámi people The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are the traditionally Sámi languages, Sámi-speaking indigenous people inhabiting the region of Sápmi, which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Kola Peninsula ...

and the location of several institutions related to them, including an education centre, the Ájtte museum, and an office of the

Sámi Parliament of Sweden The Sámi Parliament of Sweden (, , , ) is the representative body for people of Sámi heritage in Sweden based in Kiruna. It acts as an institution of cultural autonomy for the indigenous Sámi people. History The Sami Parliament ActSametingsla ...

. Jokkmokk was a transit center for Sámi refugees from

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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in addition to the centre in Kjesäter. Jokkmokk Market has been taking place since 1605. On the first Thursday in February every year, thousands of people gather in the town for concerts, exhibitions and trade in one of the most important social events for the Sámi people in

Sápmi is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia, stretching over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Most of Sápmi lies north of the Arctic Circle, boun ...

. Temperatures during the festival can drop as low as .

Climate

Influenced by its inland and northerly position, Jokkmokk's variety of 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) is very cold by Swedish standards.

Summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

s are normally relatively mild, with

midnight sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...

, and the dark winters are long and cold, although

polar night Polar night is a phenomenon that occurs in the polar regions of Earth, northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth when the Sun remains below the horizon for more than 24 hours. This only occurs inside the polar circles. The opposite phen ...

is not quite observed with a sun angle of 0.4° at the winter solstice. Combining an elevation of with being at the foot of the

Scandinavian Mountains The Scandinavian Mountains or the Scandes is a mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula. The western sides of the mountains drop precipitously into the North Sea and Norwegian Sea, forming the fjords of Norway, whereas to th ...

, Jokkmokk is both cooled down during the day and experiences

temperature inversion In meteorology, an inversion (or temperature inversion) is a phenomenon in which a layer of warmer air overlies cooler air. Normally, air temperature gradually decreases as altitude increases, but this relationship is reversed in an inver ...

during night. This combination makes it the coldest municipal seat in Sweden in terms of winter temperatures, although some rural localities in Lapland are even colder. Jokkmokk_table

References

External links

Tourist information in Jokkmokk

Ájtte Museum of Sami people
{{Authority control Populated places in Jokkmokk Municipality Lapland (Sweden) Municipal seats of Norrbotten County Swedish municipal seats Populated places in Arctic Sweden

Climate

See also

References

External links