Page 274 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sweden

272  SWEDEN AREA B Y AREA

centre and are a designated
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The 15th-century granite
building with its perimeter
wall is upper Norrland’s largest
medieval church. The white
steeple towers over a group
of 408 small red cabins. This
is where churchgoers from
remote villages would
stay overnight and stable
their horses. The church’s star
vaulting is decorated with
Piteå’s sandy beach, and Sweden’s best chance of sun paintings from the Albert Pictor
school of the 1480s. The
7 Piteå course created Döda Fallet (Dead magnificent altar-screen from
Falls), where giant basins can be Antwerp dates from 1520.
Norrbotten. E4. * 42,000. £
~ Luleå. @  n Bryggargatan seen. Log floating has ceased, The cathedral in the new Luleå
14, 0911-933 90. _ Piteå Summer but a visit to the Skogs- och was built in 1893. Norrbottens
Games/International Midnight Sun Flottningsmuseet will reveal how Museum concentrates on the
Football Tournament (late Jun/early things looked when Storforsen’s history of Luleå and Norrbotten.
Jul), Piteå Dances and Smiles Festival huge log jams were formed. The ore-loading harbour and
(Jul). ∑ visitpitea.se SSAB’s steelworks are the
E Skogs- och Flottningsmuseet cornerstones of Luleå. They also
Originally located next to Öjebyn, Storforsen. Tel 070-296 68 88. influence the science museum,
Piteå was moved after a fire to Open May–Aug: daily. & 8 Teknikens Hus, where technical
the mouth of the Piteälven river. obligatory. - 0 experiments can be attempted,
The new town was burned by such as drilling in a mine and
the Russians in 1721 and rebuilt. launching a space rocket.
Picturesque wooden buildings
from the 19th century, such as Environs
the town hall, can be found on Luleå archipelago, comprising
the square of Rådhus torget. But more than 1,300 islands and
it is the coast that is the main islets, is a favourite place for
draw. The “Nordic Riviera” offers boat owners. Ferries provide
sandy beaches and Sweden’s access to places of interest,
best chance of sun. There’s also such as the fishing villages on
an indoor fun pool. Kluntarna and Brändöskär.
Öjebyn has a well-preserved
15th-century church and village. R Gammelstads Kyrkstad
10 km (6 miles) NW of the centre.
Environs Storforsen in the Piteälven river, a vast @ Tel 0920-45 70 10. Open 2nd
Jävre, off the E4 south of Piteå, expanse of whitewater rapids week in Jun–mid-Aug: daily; other
has traces of Norrbotten’s first times: Tue–Thu. & 8 0 = 7
settlers from the Bronze Age. The 9 Luleå E Norrbottens Museum
archaeology trail takes in graves, Norrbotten. E4. * 45,000. ~ £ @ Storgatan 2. Tel 0920-24 35 02.
sacrificial stones and labyrinths. Open Tue–Sun (Jun–Aug: daily).
 n Kulturens Hus, 0920-45 70 00.
_ Luleå Harbour Festival (mid-Jul). Closed some public holidays.
- = 7
8 Storforsen ∑ visitlulea.se E Teknikens Hus
The county town of Luleå is
Norrbotten. 80 km (50 miles ) NW of University district, 5 km (3 miles)
Piteå, road 374. @ n Älvsbyn Tourist surrounded by water as the N of the centre. Tel 0920-49 22 01.
Office, 0929-108 60. Open Jun–Aug: Luleälven river flows into Open Tue–Sun. & - 0 = 7
daily. 0 ∑ alvsbyn.se/visit glittering bays with a lush
archipelago beyond. A good
Europe’s mightiest untamed harbour was the reason for
stretch of whitewater can be the town’s location here in the
found on the Piteälven river, 40 mid-17th century, when the
km (25 miles) north of Älvsbyn. original site upstream became
The rapids drop 82 m (270 ft) too shallow.
over 5 km (3 miles), at speeds of The church village, Gammel-
over 800 cubic metres (176,000 stads Kyrkstad, and its church,
gallons) per second. Efforts to Nederluleå Kyrka, form a unique Norrbottens Museum with a Sami summer
channel the rapids into a single monument to the old trading tent and hut
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p289 and p301

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
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Date 5th December 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm