Skellefteå (, locally ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Västerbotten County Västerbotten County (), sometimes called Westrobothnia, is a county or '' län'' in the north of Sweden. It shares the borders with the counties of Västernorrland, Jämtland, and Norrbotten, as well as the Norwegian county of Nordland and the ...

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 a population of 36,388. It is the seat of

Skellefteå Municipality Skellefteå Municipality () is a municipality in Västerbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Skellefteå. History Most of the amalgamations leading to the present municipality took place in 1967 when the then "City of Skel ...

, which had 77,322 inhabitants in 2024. The city is historically industrial, with mining being a large part of that industry, especially for gold, leading to the city being nicknamed ''Guldstaden'' ("gold town"). Politically, Skellefteå is a

Social Democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

stronghold. The city is a well-known ice hockey town, with its main team Skellefteå AIK playing in the Swedish top division: the SHL, which they have won on several occasions; most recently in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. The city was incorporated in 1845 and grew to its current population size in the 1950s and 1960s, growing only slowly since. It is the second largest city in Västerbotten after

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; ; ; ; ) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Norrland and the t ...

and is located roughly halfway between it and

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...

. The Skellefte River passes through the city and it is located around from the

Bothnian Bay The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and ...

open sea. Skellefteå is served by Skellefteå Airport, IATA airport code SFT but locally known as ''Falmark'' because of the village nearby, also around from the city centre to the south.

History

The name Skellefteå is recorded to having been spelled as ''Skelepht'' in 1327. On Carta marina the name is spelt ''Skellitta''. The origin of the name remains unknown, but is assumed to be of Sami origin. From the 14th century on, attempts were made to Christianize Skellefteå. A parish was formed and a church built. However, for the most part, the entire large Northern Swedish territory of

Norrland Norrland (, , originally ''Norrlanden'', meaning 'the Northlands') is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden, consisting of nine provinces. Although Norrland does not serve any administrative p ...

was not Christianized until several hundred years after the rest of Sweden, and many northern areas such as Skellefteå remained unexplored well past the Middle Ages. Not before the very end of the 17th century did the indigenous

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 ...

of Northern Sweden begin turning to Christianity, much due to the efforts by the Northern Swedish superintendent Mathias Steuchius, who worked hard to accomplish this. Several Sami shamans were killed for this reason. Eventually, the reason for the sudden awakened interest towards Skellefteälven and the surrounding areas was the great northern fishing grounds of

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

. The actual city of Skellefteå is one of the youngest cities of Norrland. It was founded in 1845 by the vicar Nils Nordlander.

Economy

Major industries include: * Boliden AB, a big mining and smelting company * Skellefteå Kraft, largest power company in Skellefteå * Northvolt, lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing company The city will become the home of a massive battery plant made by Northvolt by circa 2023. The largest private employer in Skellefteå is the mining company Boliden AB, with about 1,200 employees. The mine's copper ore contains particles of gold, silver and platinum. Skellefteå is still referred to as the ''"Goldtown"''. During the 1990s, the computer industry flourished, subsidiaries of

Ericsson (), commonly known as Ericsson (), is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson has been a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one ...

and Tieto Enator becoming important employers.

Climate

Skellefteå 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) with mild summers and cold, long and snowy winters. The climate is somewhat moderated by the Bothnia Bay, although maritime effects are limited, ensuring warm summer temperatures for a coastal area so far north. In the last century, as part of global climate warming, an increase in summer temperatures as well as an earlier arrival of spring and a later onset of winter have been observed. Precipitation is moderate, the maximum precipitation is in the second half of summer. The difference in average hours of sunshine between months is large: December has very little due to both very short days and high cloud cover, while June has a lot due to long days and relatively clear weather.

Transportation

The

European route E4 European route E4 passes from north to south through Sweden from the border with Finland, with a total length of . The Finnish part lies entirely within Tornio in northern Finland, and is only long. The Swedish part traverses most of Sweden e ...

highway provides the main road connection to the city, providing direct connections to cities like

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 ...

and

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 ...

going south and

going north. Riksväg 95 also serves the city. There is a railway

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

running through Skellefteå, although with no passenger traffic, making it the largest city in Sweden without it. The line is still served by Freight traffic. There were plans to start night trains going from

to Skellefteå, with service being expected to commence in April 2022. Due to a decision from

Trafikverket The Swedish Transport Administration () is a government agency in Sweden, government agency in Sweden, controlled by the Riksdag and the Government of Sweden. It is responsible for long-term infrastructure planning for transport: road, rail, ship ...

, the planned night trains were cancelled before they started running. The closest

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

in use is located in Bastuträsk, from which trains heading to several cities including

and

depart, operated by Norrtåg and Vy. There goes a bus to Skellefteå from Bastuträsk, intended for transfers to and from the trains. The High-speed rail line Norrbotniabanan is planned to go through the city, providing it with rail service for the first time since 1990. As a part of this, a new station will be constructed close to the city centre. Service is expected to begin in 2030.

Sports

* Skellefteå AIK, an ice hockey team in the highest Swedish league, Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and

Swedish Champions. * Morön BK, football club playing in

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series broadcast by the Nine Network and created by Crawford Productions airing between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first to follow up on the enor ...

Norra Västerbotten * Skellefteå FF, football club playing in Division 2 Norrland * Sunnanå SK, football club with the women's team playing in Elitettan and men's team playing in Division 3 Norrland * Skellefteå IBK, floorball club * Skellefteå Innebandy IF, floorball club *The Skellefteå Kraft Grandmaster Chess Cup 1999, one of the strongest all Swedish chess tournaments was won by IGM

Ulf Andersson Ulf Andersson (born 27 June 1951) is a leading Swedish chess player. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1970 and the Grandmaster title in 1972. Chess career At his peak, Andersson reached number four on the FIDE rating list. ...

. The event took place from March 26 – April 4, 1999. An international chess tournament, the final of the two-year World Cup series was held in Skellefteå from August 12 to September 3, 1989. The final sixteen grandmasters participating included three former World Chess Champions

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...

Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (, ; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, ⁣and politician. He was the 12th World Chess Champion from 1975 ...

and

Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal (9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Soviet and Latvian chess player and the eighth World Chess Champion. He is considered a creative genius and is widely regarded as Comparison of top chess players throughout history, one ...

. The activities organized around the World Cup final included two performances in Skellefteå of ''Chess'', with music by

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, composer and producer best known as a member of the pop group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duvemåla'', and ''Mamm ...

and

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish musician, singer, songwriter, and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA. He is also the co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duve ...

of the pop group

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

Notable people

Sportspeople

* Anders Andersson, ice hockey player * Johan Alm, ice hockey player *

Viktor Arvidsson Johan Viktor Arvidsson (born 8 April 1993) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round, 112th overall, at the 2014 NHL e ...

, ice hockey player for the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

* Johan Backlund, ice hockey player * Evy Berggren, Gymnast, Olympic and World Champion * Filip Berglund, ice hockey player * Niclas Burström, ice hockey player *

Robert Dahlgren Björn Thomas Robert Dahlgren (born 1 December 1979 in Skellefteå) is a Sweden, Swedish auto racing driver who currently competes for the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. He previously competed in Australia and New Zealand for a single se ...

, racing driver * Jimmie Ericsson, ice hockey player * Jan Erixon, ice hockey player * Tim Erixon, ice hockey player * Toini Gustafsson-Rönnlund, skier * Filip Gustavsson, ice hockey goaltender * Doris Hedberg, gymnast, Olympic silver medalist * Jonathan Hedström, ice hockey player * Adam Larsson, ice hockey player for the

Seattle Kraken The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The t ...

* Oscar Lindberg, ice hockey player for the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

* Mats Lindgren, ice hockey player * Joakim Lindström, ice hockey player * Gustaf Lindvall, ice hockey player * Arvid Lundberg, ice hockey player * Hanna Marklund, football player * Hardy Nilsson, ice hockey player and later coach * Joakim Nyström, tennis player * Marcus Pettersson, ice hockey player for the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

* David Rundblad, ice hockey player * Patrik Wallón, ice hockey player * Adam Wilsby, ice hockey player

Bands

* Moon Safari, a symphonic rock band * The Wannadies, an alternative rock band formed in 1988 * Vintersorg, a metal band * Amber Oak, a pop-rock band *Black Bonzo (2003–2011) and Gin Lady (2012-present), progressive-rock bands

Other

* Per Olov Enquist, writer * Ardalan Esmaili, actor * Tore Frängsmyr, historian * Ingrid García-Jonsson, Spanish-Swedish actress * Peter Haber, actor * Andreas "Vintersorg" Hedlund, musician * Varg2™ (Jonas Rönnberg), electronic musician and producer * Helena Helmersson, CEO of H&M since 2020 * Thomas Idergard, political commentator *

Stieg Larsson Karl Stig-Erland "Stieg" Larsson (, ; 15 August 1954 – 9 November 2004) was a Swedish writer, journalist, and far-left activist. He is best known for writing the ''Millennium'' trilogy of crime novels, which were published posthumously, sta ...

, writer * Stig Larsson, writer * David Lindgren, musician * Anna Nordlander, painter * Victoria Silvstedt, supermodel * Henning Sjöström, lawyer * Margot Wallström, former first Vice President of the European Commission and current Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict with the UN. Foreign Secretary of Sweden 2014–2019 * Stina Jackson, Writer

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20050802111949/http://lokalhistoria.skelleftea.org/ *''Some material has been translated and incorporated from :sv:Skellefteå''

External links

Skellefteå
– Official site
Tourist in Skellefteå
– Tourist information in Swedish, English and German languages {{DEFAULTSORT:Skelleftea Populated places in Skellefteå Municipality Municipal seats of Västerbotten County Swedish municipal seats Coastal cities and towns in Sweden