Editing Kiruna (section)

=== Origins ===
Archaeological findings have shown that the region around Kiruna has been inhabited for at least 6,000 years.  

Centuries before Kiruna was founded in 1900, the presence of iron ore at [[Kiirunavaara]] and [[Luossavaara]] had been known by the local [[Sámi people|Sámi]] population. In 1696, Samuel Mört, a bookkeeper of the [[Kengis]] works, wrote on rumours about the presence of iron in the two hills.<ref name="Kummu96">Kummu 1997, p. 96.</ref> The ore became better known after it was reported by Mangi, a Sámi man, in 1736 to Swedish authorities that had gathered in [[Jukkasjärvi|Jukkasjärvi Church]].<ref name="Kummu96" /> Soon after the reported finding Swedish senior enforcement officer and cartographer [[Anders Hackzell]] mapped the Kiruna area in 1736. He named the mountains ''Fredriks berg'' and ''Berget Ulrika Eleonora'', after the King of Sweden [[Frederick I of Sweden|Fredrik I]] and his wife [[Ulrika Eleonora]],<ref name="Kummu96" /> though today the mountains are known only by the names Kirunavaara and Luossavaara which come from Meänkieli.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Min Karta |url=https://minkarta.lantmateriet.se/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=minkarta.lantmateriet.se}}</ref>

Despite the findings of large amounts of ore, no mining was initiated because of the remote location and the harsh climate. Some ore was extracted in the 19th century. It was extracted in summer and transported in winter, using sleds drawn by [[reindeer]] and [[horse]]s. However, the costs were high and the quality of the [[phosphorus]] ore poor, until, in 1878, the [[Gilchrist–Thomas process]], invented by [[Sidney Gilchrist Thomas]] and [[Percy Gilchrist]], allowed for the separation of phosphorus from the ore.<ref name="kirunakommun">{{cite web|url=http://www.kommun.kiruna.se/Om-kommunen/Allmant-om-kommunen/Historia/|title=Historia – Kiruna kommun|access-date=2009-02-09|language=sv |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080625030922/http://www.kommun.kiruna.se/Om-kommunen/Allmant-om-kommunen/Historia/ |archive-date = June 25, 2008}}</ref><ref name="lkab">{{cite web|url=http://lkab.com/?openform&id=77DE|title=Press room/History/1696–1919@lkab.com|access-date=2009-02-09}}</ref>

[[File:IORE Vassijaure.jpg|thumb|left|An [[Iore]]-hauled train passing Vassijaure]]

In 1884, a concession for a railway from [[Luleå]] to [[Narvik]] was granted to ''The Northern Europe Railway Company''. The provisional railway between Luleå and [[Malmberget]] was finished in 1888 and the first train left Malmberget in March. Around the same time, the English company went bankrupt and had to sell the line to the Swedish state for 8 million [[Swedish crown]]s, around half the amount initially invested. After a significant rebuild, the railway to Gällivare could be used again and iron ore was extracted at [[Malmberget]] by Aktiebolaget Gellivare Malmfält (AGM).<ref name="lkab" /><ref name="kiruna100gruv">{{cite book |title=Kiruna 100-årsboken |chapter=Gruvstaden – Gruvorna |last=Barck |first=Åke |date=27 April 2000|publisher=[[Kiruna municipality|Kiruna kommun]] |location=Kiruna |isbn=91-630-9371-5 |pages=60–74 |language=sv}}</ref>

At the initiative of Robert Schoug, the [[LKAB|Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag]] (LKAB) was founded in 1890. In 1893, Gustaf Broms became CEO of both LKAB and AGM. LKAB pressed for continuing [[Malmbanan]] via Luossavaara and Kiirunavaara to the ice-free coast of Norway. The continuation of the railway line to [[Narvik]] was controversial, because opponents feared the influence of [[Russia]] (then controlling [[Finland]] and already connected to Sweden at [[Haparanda]]–[[Tornio]]) on an international railway line.
[[File:Kiruna stadshus 1.JPG|thumb|right|The old Kiruna City Hall in summer]]

The decision to build was finally taken in 1898. The railway came to Kiruna 15 October 1899 and the Swedish and Norwegian sections were joined 15 November 1902. For LKAB, the great expense almost led to bankruptcy in 1901, just after the ore mining at Kiirunavaara had started. [[King Oscar II]] only opened the railway line 14 July 1903, preferring summer over winter to travel north.<ref name="lkab" /><ref name="kiruna100gruv" /><ref name="kiruna100komm">{{cite book |title=Kiruna 100-årsboken |chapter=Komunikationer – Från hästskuts till e-post |last1=Theander |first1=Agge |last2=Aidenpää |first2=Elis |last3=Bergström  |first3=Rolf  |date=27 April 2000|publisher=[[Kiruna municipality|Kiruna kommun]] |location=Kiruna |isbn=91-630-9371-5 |pages=132–147 |language=sv}}</ref>

The architects Per Olof Hallman and Gustaf Wickman were appointed to design the city, to be built at Haukivaara, near both iron ore mines, with then-revolutionary consideration of geographical and climatological circumstances; being built on a hill, winter temperatures are much milder than in other towns, and due to the street plan and the positioning, wind is limited. On 27 April 1900, Hallman's plan was officially accepted.

Gustaf Broms proposed to name the settlements ''Kiruna'', a short and practical name that could also be pronounced by Swedish-speaking inhabitants. The name means [[rock ptarmigan]] in Sámi and Finnish. LKAB appointed [[Hjalmar Lundbohm]], who had finished neither high school nor his geology studies, as local manager in Kiruna.<ref name="kiruna100early">{{cite book |title=Kiruna 100-årsboken |chapter=Kiruna – Från ödemark till stad |last=Persson |first=Curt |author2=Jan-Erik Johansson  |date=27 April 2000|publisher=[[Kiruna municipality|Kiruna kommun]] |location=Kiruna |isbn=91-630-9371-5 |pages=27&ndash;43 |language=sv}}</ref><ref name="kiruna100hl">{{cite book|title=Kiruna 100-årsboken |chapter=Kiruna – Hjalmar Lundbohm |last=Persson |first=Curt |date=27 April 2000|publisher=[[Kiruna municipality|Kiruna kommun]] |location=Kiruna |isbn=91-630-9371-5 |pages=50&ndash;57 |language=sv}}</ref><ref name="wintercity">{{cite web|url=http://www.wintercities.kiruna.se/nytt/technicaltours.htm|title=Kiruna – technical visits|access-date=2009-02-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220084615/http://www.wintercities.kiruna.se/nytt/technicaltours.htm|archive-date=2012-02-20}}</ref>