Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Haparanda and around
Right by the Finnish border, at the very northern end of the Gulf of Bothnia,
HAPARANDA
is hard to like. The signpost near the bus station reinforces the fact that
the town is a very long way from anywhere: Stockholm, 1100km away; the North
Cape in Norway, 800km; and Timbuktu 8386km. Viewed from the south, Haparanda
is at the end of a very long road to nowhere. However, turn the map upside down, look
a little wider and it's easy to see why IKEA took a strategic risk in late 2006 and opened
its most northerly store in the world in Haparanda - a town of barely 10,000 people.
The gamble paid of and shoppers from the whole of northern Scandinavia, even from
as far afield as Murmansk in Russia, now travel here to get their hands on those famous
flat-packs. Other companies have followed the retailer's lead and set up business here
giving the local economy a long overdue kickstart.
Brief history
The key to Haparanda's late coming of age is the neighbouring Finnish town of
Tornio
.
Finland was part of Sweden from 1105 until 1809, with Tornio an important trading
centre, serving markets across northern Scandinavia. Things began to unravel when
Russia attacked and occupied Finland in 1807; the Treaty of Hamina followed, forcing
Sweden to cede Finland to Russia in 1809 - thereby losing Tornio. It was decided that
Tornio had to be replaced, and so in 1821, the trading centre of Haparanda was
founded on the Swedish side of the new border, which ran along the Torne River.
However, the new town was never more than a minor upstart compared to its
neighbour across the water. With both Sweden and Finland now members of the
European Union, Haparanda and Tornio have declared themselves a
Eurocity
- one city
made up of two towns from different countries. The inhabitants of Haparanda and
Tornio are bilingual and use both the euro and the Swedish
krona
; roughly half of the
children in Haparanda have either a Finnish mother or father. Services are also shared
between the two: everything from central heating to post delivery is centrally
coordinated. If a fire breaks out in Tornio, for example, Swedish fire crews from
Haparanda will cross the border to help put out the flames.
7
The train station
Other than the IKEA store, there are only two real sights in town. The
train station
, a
grand-looking structure built in 1918, was the result of the town's aspirations to be a
major trading centre after World War I and still dominates the suburban streets of
southern Haparanda from its location at the junction of Stationsgatan and
Järnvägsgatan. Constructed from red brick and complete with stone tower and lantern,
it provided Sweden's only rail link to Finland until 1992 when it became another
victim of SJ closures. From the platforms, you'll be able to discern two widths of track
- Finnish trains run on the wider, Russian, gauge. The track between Haparanda and
Luleå has now been upgraded and electrified which, in theory at least, will make it
possible to once again operate trains via this route to Tornio in Finland, though it's
likely to be some time yet before services resume. Until then, the empty sidings,
overgrown with weeds and bushes, give the place a strangely forlorn air.
Haparanda kyrka
Smedjegatan 5 • Mid-June to mid-Aug daily 7am-7pm
After the train station, the only other place worthy of some attention is the copper-
coloured
Haparanda kyrka
, a monstrous construction that looks like a cross between an
aircraft hangar and an apartment building. When the church was finished in 1963, its
design caused a public outcry: it won the prize for being the ugliest church in Sweden.
