Arjeplog Municipality

Infobox_Kommun2
name=Arjeplog
fullname=Arjeplogs kommun
isocode=
capital=Arjeplog
governor=
county=Norrbotten County
province=Lappland
arearank=4th
area=12,804
areapercent=x.x
population_as_of=2005
populationrank=287th
population=3,224
populationpercent=x.x
populationdensity=0.25




location=66_02_N_17_57_E
locationReadable=66° 2′ N 17° 57′ E

Arjeplog Municipality ("Arjeplogs kommun") is a municipality in Norrbotten County, northern Sweden, where Arjeplog is the seat.

Arjeplog consists of only one parish ("socken") made a municipality, when the first Swedish local government acts were implemented in 1863. It has not been amalgamated with any other entity.

Arjeplog is Sweden's fourth largest municipality, but the fourth least populated. It is located by the shores of lake Hornavan, Sweden's deepest lake and one of its largest. The municipality is popular because of the scenery of lake Hornavan, but also of its other untouched nature.

Geography

Arjeplog municipality consists of a terrain dominated by the Scandinavian mountain range and many water areas. It boasts an unparalleled 8,000 lakes and streams, with three main rivers being the Pite River, Skellefte River and Lais River. The Skellefte River attaches south from lake Hornavan, and extends south-east to Skellefteå and the Gulf of Bothnia on the east coast.

About 80 kilometres north of the town Arjeplog one finds the national parks Padjelanta and Sarek, both being situated in the western parts of the municipality of Jokkmokk.

Arjeplog also has 13 nature reserves, mostly mountain moorland, where endangered plants grow. Mountain Galtispuoda, with a height of 800 metres, is both a popular place of outlook, a nature reserve, and in the winter a popular place for skiing.

History

There lived people in today's municipality as early as 10,000 years ago, following the end of the last ice age. For a long time it was only populated by a fishing and hunting people, the Sami people, who have their own language and breed reindeers in northern Sweden, and today have special rights as a Swedish minority group.

The population in Arjeplog was only a few hundred people in the 17th and 18th century, most of them Sami, and the rest of Sweden did not know much of them. Not only 1640 did the Swedish Queen Christina of Sweden order a church to be built in order to Christianize the Sami people in Arjeplog. The church was inaugurated in 1642. At first the deceased were buried under the earthen floor in the church, but eventually the stench became unbearable and the procedure had to end.

Silver

The interest in Arjeplog had been sparked when silver was found in the area in the 1620s, and a mining industry was established there 1635-1659. It has been estimated that the amount of silver mined was 36 kilograms per year.

In August 1659, the Danes and Norwegians – who were in the Denmark-Norway union – attacked and burned down the mining village. The mining industry was then stalled for 120 years.

It was once again taken up in 1719, probably as a means of supporting the war of King Charles XII of Sweden. The mining was upheld until 1810, when the low profits, harsh climate and the long distances led to its closure. There are still remains from that time in the village Adolfström.

There are also several names in the area such as "Silvervägen" ("Silver Road") and "Silversundet" ("Silver Strait") reminding of its silver history. When a Sami museum was built in the town of Arjeplog in 1965, it was appropriately named "Silvermuseet" (The Silver Museum). It is filled with Sami photos and artifacts.

ee also

*Nasa silver mine

External links

* [http://www.arjeplog.se Arjeplog] - Official site
* [http://www.arjeplogkartan.com/ The Arjeplog map]
* [http://www.silvermuseet.arjeplog.se/ The Silvermuseum] Swedish and English version