Lycksele

History

Until the 1600s there were no settled communities in southern Lapland. The area was used as grazing land by the forest Sami but had no permanent population. As the Swedish government sought to strengthen its position, the need for permanent meeting places arose. Churches and marketplaces were established at these locations, where Sami, traders, and settlers could meet. Additionally, taxes were also collected there.

This took place on a peninsula in the Ume River, upstream from the present city center, at Öhn (now known as Gammplatsen, which had previously served as a major winter settlement for the Sami in the area). Öhn was designated as a church and marketplace in southern Lapland by Charles IX in 1607, and Lycksele thus celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2007.

As the settlement expanded around the church, it became clear that the relatively small peninsula was no longer suitable for further growth. In 1785, the parish assembly decided to build a new church and moved the marketplace to a location known as Heden a bit downstream. In 1926, Lycksele was granted municipal status (Lycksele köping), two years after the section of the railway line between Hällnäs and Storuman was completed. The remaining section to Storuman was finished in 1930. Lycksele was granted city rights in 1946, becoming the first city in Lapland. The town is often referred to as "Lappstockholm" and markets itself as "the city in Lapland," highlighting both its status as Lapland's first city and its early importance as a meeting place.

After the arrival of the railway, Lycksele developed into a typical small town with smaller industries and important public institutions such as a hospital, a high school, and a district court. The first Swedish Sami school, Skytteanska skolan, was built here already in 1634.

After a population peak in the 1970s, the town's population declined, but this trend has recently slowed due to the expanding mining industry. However, the town still faces depopulation, although perhaps to a slightly lesser extent than comparable towns in the interior of Norrland. In the year 2000, Lycksele had 8,692 residents. Five years later, the number had decreased to 8,597.

Sports

The following sports clubs are based in Lycksele:

• Betsele IF
• Lycksele IF
• Lycksele SK
• Öråns SK

Notable people

• Eva Björklund, politician
• Elisabeth Svantesson, Minister for finance
• Levi Borgstrom, carver
• Melker Karlsson, ice hockey player
• John Lindgren, cross-country skier
• Figge Norling, actor
• David Rundblad, ice hockey player and Stanley Cup winner
• Maic Sema, football player
• Linn Svahn, cross-country skier
• Andreas Wingerli, ice hockey player

Climate

Lycksele has a subarctic climate (Dfc) with short mild summers and long cold and snowy winters. Despite its extremely northern latitude, the climate is relatively mild compared to other places at similar latitude because of the Gulf Stream.

|Jan record high C = 9.5 |Feb record high C = 9.9 |Mar record high C = 14.7 |Apr record high C = 20.4 |May record high C = 29.0 |Jun record high C = 31.9 |Jul record high C = 33.2 |Aug record high C = 30.9 |Sep record high C = 26.2 |Oct record high C = 21.6 |Nov record high C = 13.0 |Dec record high C = 9.2 |year record high C = 33.2 |Jan avg record high C = 3.9 |Feb avg record high C = 5.1 |Mar avg record high C = 8.9 |Apr avg record high C = 15.2 |May avg record high C = 23.9 |Jun avg record high C = 26.8 |Jul avg record high C = 28.4 |Aug avg record high C = 26.4 |Sep avg record high C = 20.5 |Oct avg record high C = 13.1 |Nov avg record high C = 7.2 |Dec avg record high C = 4.9 |year avg record high C = 29.5 |Jan avg record low C = -31.5 |Feb avg record low C = -30.7 |Mar avg record low C = -25.7 |Apr avg record low C = -13.3 |May avg record low C = -5.7 |Jun avg record low C = -1.0 |Jul avg record low C = 1.9 |Aug avg record low C = -0.2 |Sep avg record low C = -3.8 |Oct avg record low C = -13.2 |Nov avg record low C = -20.1 |Dec avg record low C = -26.7 |year avg record low C = -34.5 |Jan record low C = -43.0 |Feb record low C = -41.0 |Mar record low C = -37.2 |Apr record low C = -25.6 |May record low C = -12.3 |Jun record low C = -4.2 |Jul record low C = -1.1 |Aug record low C = -4.6 |Sep record low C = -8.9 |Oct record low C = -25.0 |Nov record low C = -33.2 |Dec record low C = -39.1 |year record low C = -43.0

References

References

1. (14 December 2011). "Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km² 2005 och 2010". [[Statistics Sweden]].
2. (1979). "Svenska ortnamn med uttalsuppgifter".
3. (April 2016)