Piteå
Encyclopedia
Piteå is a locality
and the seat of Piteå Municipality
in Norrbotten County
, Sweden
. The town has 22,650 inhabitants (2005) out of a municipal total of 41,000 in 2008.
, at the shore of the Bay of Bothnia. The central part is located on an islet called Häggholmen, which due to land elevation almost has become a part of the mainland; the land in northern Sweden rises at a rate of up to 9 mm (0.354330708661417 in) per year.
Piteå has an attractive archipelago
, which is one of the reasons it is a popular place for tourism both in summer and winter. It features a beach resort area that is often labelled "The Riviera of Norrbotten
" (or Norrland
), around which there is a spa
, a long sandy beach, a restaurant and a golf course. The area is also suitable for fishing and outdoor activities. In the winter, snow activities such as skiing and winter bathing are common.
The town square, where the town hall is located, has kept its structure from the 17th century. It is one of only two squares in Sweden with closed corners; the other one is in Uppsala
.
Piteå's population has increased rapidly since the 19th century. In the years 1870-1920, Piteå had a population of only 2,500 people. Part of the early population increase is attributed to the 1911 opening of the Älvsbyn
-Piteå railway branch, as well as industrial establishments and the harbour.
Piteå has traditionally had a strong forestry industry; papermills, sawmill
s, and its harbour are of some importance.
, a food dish consisting of potato dumplings with chopped pork filling. The area is also known for its dialect
, called Pitemål.
Piteå has a fast food drive-thru commonly used by snowmobile
rs. The restaurant was a McDonald's
from February 2002 to November 2007. Several McDonald's restaurants in Norrbotten
closed at the time, in the face of competition from Max Hamburgers
. The restaurant was later scheduled to become part of the Frasses hamburger chain. The drive-thru has received international converage, including on The Travel Channel in an episode called "Most Unique McDonald's".
Pitea has a sister city in the Caribbean
: Gustavia, capital of Saint Barthélemy
, the formerly Swedish possession that is now part of France.
byproducts. Chemrec
operates a black liquor
gasifier and the world's first BioDME production facility, SunPine has pioneered a renewable diesel process technology using crude tall oil
as feedstock, and ETC (Energy Technology Centre in Piteå) is a research and development center for renewable fuels with focus on combustion, gasification and biorefining processes.
The Piteå IF
football team is playing in the fourth highest Swedish division, Division 2 for men; and the Piteå IF ladies team
is for their first time playing in the highest league in football, Damallsvenskan
.
Ice hockey
is the big sport in town, even though Piteå HC only plays in the third-highest league (Division I) in Sweden. The club has provided many good players to the NHL
and national team: examples are Tomas Holmström
, Mikael Renberg
, Mattias Öhlund
, Lars Lindgren
, Stefan Persson, Jan Sandström and Mats Lavander
. Munksund-Skuthamns SK ladies team is, for their first time, playing in the highest league in Hockey, Riksserien
. Rebecka Stenberg is the first women from town playing for the national team.
In cross country skiing the town has a successful club called Piteå Elit
, with skiers like Lina Andersson
and Magdalena Pajala
.
Other sports clubs located in Piteå include Storfors AIK
and MSSK .
with: Kandalaksha
, Russia
Grindavík
, Iceland
Saint Barthélemy
, France
Urban areas in Sweden
Urban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort. The official term in English, used by Statistics Sweden, is, however, locality. There are 1,940 localities in Sweden . They could be compared with census-designated places in the United States.A tätort in Sweden has a minimum of...
and the seat of Piteå Municipality
Piteå Municipality
Piteå Municipality is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Piteå.-Localities:There are 14 localities in Piteå Municipality:The municipal seat in bold-Sister cities:...
in Norrbotten County
Norrbotten County
Norrbotten County is the northernmost county or län of Sweden. It borders Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf of Bothnia to the southeast. It also borders the counties of Nordland and Troms in Norway to the northwest, and Lapland Province in Finland to the northeast.The name...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The town has 22,650 inhabitants (2005) out of a municipal total of 41,000 in 2008.
Geography
Piteå is located at the mouth of the Pite RiverPite River
The Pite River is a river in northern Sweden, flowing through the Norrbotten County. It is one of the four major rivers in Norrland that have been left mostly untouched by water power plants, the river has a single dam at Sikfors approximately 15 km upstream from the sea.It starts in the large...
, at the shore of the Bay of Bothnia. The central part is located on an islet called Häggholmen, which due to land elevation almost has become a part of the mainland; the land in northern Sweden rises at a rate of up to 9 mm (0.354330708661417 in) per year.
Piteå has an attractive archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
, which is one of the reasons it is a popular place for tourism both in summer and winter. It features a beach resort area that is often labelled "The Riviera of Norrbotten
Norrbotten
Norrbotten is a Swedish province in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland.- Administration :...
" (or Norrland
Norrland
Norrland is one of the three lands of Sweden , the northern part, consisting of nine provinces. The term Norrland is not used for any administrative purpose, but it is common in everyday language, e.g...
), around which there is a spa
Day spa
A day spa is a business establishment which people visit for professionally administered personal care treatments such as massages and facials. It is similar to a beauty salon in that it is only visited for the duration of the treatment. Day spas sited in airport terminals are often called airport...
, a long sandy beach, a restaurant and a golf course. The area is also suitable for fishing and outdoor activities. In the winter, snow activities such as skiing and winter bathing are common.
History
Piteå received its city privileges on May 12, 1621. The town was originally situated slightly north of its current location, in present-day Öjebyn. In July, 1666, the entire town burnt down, and over the following few years it was rebuilt on Häggholmen, a small island which forms the nucleus of present-day Piteå. In 1721, the new town was burnt down by Russian troops, and the only building that remained was the church, which is still standing.The town square, where the town hall is located, has kept its structure from the 17th century. It is one of only two squares in Sweden with closed corners; the other one is in Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
.
Piteå's population has increased rapidly since the 19th century. In the years 1870-1920, Piteå had a population of only 2,500 people. Part of the early population increase is attributed to the 1911 opening of the Älvsbyn
Älvsbyn
Älvsbyn is a locality and the seat of Älvsbyn Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 5,042 inhabitants in 2005.Älvsbyn has a railway station that is served by trains running between Boden and Stockholm along the Swedish east coast. It also features a Youth Hostel with a small recreational...
-Piteå railway branch, as well as industrial establishments and the harbour.
Piteå has traditionally had a strong forestry industry; papermills, sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s, and its harbour are of some importance.
Culture
Piteå is known for its pitepaltPitepalt
Pitepalt is a palt, a dish related to kroppkakor, and the specialty of the city of Piteå, though it is not eaten only in Piteå. This Swedish dish has almost as many variants as households in Piteå. Pitepalt are mostly made out of raw potatoes and barley flour, which is not the case with kroppkakor....
, a food dish consisting of potato dumplings with chopped pork filling. The area is also known for its dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
, called Pitemål.
Piteå has a fast food drive-thru commonly used by snowmobile
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
rs. The restaurant was a McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
from February 2002 to November 2007. Several McDonald's restaurants in Norrbotten
Norrbotten
Norrbotten is a Swedish province in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland.- Administration :...
closed at the time, in the face of competition from Max Hamburgers
Max Hamburgers
Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB is a fast food corporation which was founded by Curt Bergfors in Gällivare, Sweden in 1968...
. The restaurant was later scheduled to become part of the Frasses hamburger chain. The drive-thru has received international converage, including on The Travel Channel in an episode called "Most Unique McDonald's".
Pitea has a sister city in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
: Gustavia, capital of Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy , officially the Territorial collectivity of Saint Barthélemy , is an overseas collectivity of France. Often abbreviated to Saint-Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the indigenous people called the island Ouanalao...
, the formerly Swedish possession that is now part of France.
Cleantech
Piteå has emerged as an important center of cleantech production and research based on celluloseCellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β linked D-glucose units....
byproducts. Chemrec
Chemrec
Chemrec is a Stockholm, Sweden corporation that develops technology for entrained flow gasification of black liquor and certain types brown liquor for production of biofuels from the resulting syngas....
operates a black liquor
Black liquor
Black liquor is the spent cooking liquor from the kraft process when digesting pulpwood into paper pulp removing lignin, hemicelluloses and other extractives from the wood to free the cellulose fibers....
gasifier and the world's first BioDME production facility, SunPine has pioneered a renewable diesel process technology using crude tall oil
Tall oil
Tall oil, also called "liquid rosin" or tallol, is a viscous yellow-black odorous liquid obtained as a by-product of the Kraft process of wood pulp manufacture when pulping mainly coniferous trees. The name originated as an anglicization of the Swedish "tallolja"...
as feedstock, and ETC (Energy Technology Centre in Piteå) is a research and development center for renewable fuels with focus on combustion, gasification and biorefining processes.
Sport
Piteå IF
Piteå IF is a Swedish football club located in Piteå.-Background:The club was formed 24 May 1918 but did not take up football until 1920 when they merged with their local rivaling club IFK Piteå, which then was dissolved...
football team is playing in the fourth highest Swedish division, Division 2 for men; and the Piteå IF ladies team
Piteå IF ladies team
Piteå IF is a Swedish football club located in Piteå. The club was formed 24 May 1918 but didn't take up football until 1920 when they united with their local rivaling club IFK Piteå, which then was dissolved.The ladies team was founded 1985...
is for their first time playing in the highest league in football, Damallsvenskan
Damallsvenskan
The Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ladies' all-Swedish, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is also referred as to the women's Allsvenskan, this term being used alone to refer to the men's division....
.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
is the big sport in town, even though Piteå HC only plays in the third-highest league (Division I) in Sweden. The club has provided many good players to the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
and national team: examples are Tomas Holmström
Tomas Holmström
Tomas Holmström is a Swedish professional ice hockey left winger currently playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League , where he has won four Stanley Cup championships...
, Mikael Renberg
Mikael Renberg
Mikael Renberg is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey player, last playing for Skellefteå AIK in Elitserien. He spent ten seasons in the National Hockey League and eight in the Swedish Elitserien.-Playing career:...
, Mattias Öhlund
Mattias Öhlund
Mattias Öhlund is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and an alternate captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League . Prior to joining the Lightning, he played eleven seasons with the Vancouver Canucks...
, Lars Lindgren
Lars Lindgren
Lars Sune Lindgren is a retired Swedish ice hockey defenceman and a professional scout with the Vancouver Canucks....
, Stefan Persson, Jan Sandström and Mats Lavander
Mats Lavander
Mats Lavander is a Swedish professional ice hockey player currently with the Luleå HF team in the Swedish Elitserien league. He is the brother of ice hockey player Björn Lavander.-References:...
. Munksund-Skuthamns SK ladies team is, for their first time, playing in the highest league in Hockey, Riksserien
Riksserien
Riksserien is the elite league of women's ice hockey in Sweden. It was started in 2008, contains 8 teams and is organized by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association.- Information :...
. Rebecka Stenberg is the first women from town playing for the national team.
In cross country skiing the town has a successful club called Piteå Elit
Piteå Elit
Piteå Elit is a cross-country skiing club from Piteå in the north of Sweden. In the 2009-10 season three skiers are representing Sweden internationally...
, with skiers like Lina Andersson
Lina Andersson
Lina Andersson is a Swedish cross country skier who has competed since 1998. She won a gold medal in the Team sprint at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and also finished 11th in the Individual sprint in those same games.Andersson also won three medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships...
and Magdalena Pajala
Magdalena Pajala
Emma Magdalena Sven-Eriksdotter Pajala is a Swedish cross country skier. She has competed in the World Cup since 2008. In January 2010, Pajala participated in the 2009-10 Tour de Ski and won the sprint event in the Swedish National Championship...
.
Other sports clubs located in Piteå include Storfors AIK
Storfors AIK
Storfors AIK is a Swedish football club located in Piteå.-Background:Since their foundation in 1931 Storfors AIK has participated mainly in the middle and lower divisions of the Swedish football league system. The club's best season was in 1966 when they won Division 3 Norra Norrland Övre which...
and MSSK .
People from Piteå
- Christopher Jacob BoströmChristopher Jacob BoströmChristopher Jacob Boström was a Swedish philosopher, regarded by some as Sweden's greatest. His ideas dominated Swedish philosophy until the beginning of the twentieth century...
- Nils EdénNils EdénNils Edén was a Swedish historian and liberal politician, Prime Minister of Sweden 1917–1920, and along with Hjalmar Branting acknowledged as co-architect of Sweden's transition from quasi-absolute monarchy to a parliamentary democracy with equal male and female suffrage.Edén was born in...
- Tomas HolmströmTomas HolmströmTomas Holmström is a Swedish professional ice hockey left winger currently playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League , where he has won four Stanley Cup championships...
— NHL player with the Detroit Red WingsDetroit Red WingsThe Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York... - Lars LindgrenLars LindgrenLars Sune Lindgren is a retired Swedish ice hockey defenceman and a professional scout with the Vancouver Canucks....
— retired former NHL player - Liza MarklundLiza MarklundEva Elisabeth "Liza" Marklund is a Swedish journalist and crime writer. She was born in Pålmark near Piteå, Norrbotten. Her novels, most of which feature the fictional character Annika Bengtzon, a newspaper journalist, have been published in thirty languages...
- Peter MatteiPeter MatteiPeter Mattei is a Swedish operatic baritone, particularly known for his performances in Mozart's baritone roles.- Biography :...
, Swedish baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer - Mattias ÖhlundMattias ÖhlundMattias Öhlund is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and an alternate captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League . Prior to joining the Lightning, he played eleven seasons with the Vancouver Canucks...
— NHL player with the Tampa Bay LightningTampa Bay LightningThe Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the... - Stefan Persson — but born in UmeåUmeå- Transport :The road infrastructure in Umeå is well-developed, with two European highways passing through the city. About 4 km from the city centre is the Umeå City Airport...
- Mikael RenbergMikael RenbergMikael Renberg is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey player, last playing for Skellefteå AIK in Elitserien. He spent ten seasons in the National Hockey League and eight in the Swedish Elitserien.-Playing career:...
— retired former NHL player - Daniel SolanderDaniel SolanderDaniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Solander was the first university educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil.-Biography:...
Twin towns — Sister cities
Piteå is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Kandalaksha
Kandalaksha
Kandalaksha is a town in Kandalakshsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the head of Kandalaksha Gulf on the White Sea, beyond the Arctic Circle. Population: 40,564 ; -History:The settlement has existed since the 11th century...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
Grindavík
Grindavík
Grindavík is a fishing town at the peninsula of Reykjanes at the south-western coast of Iceland.It is one of the few cities with a harbour at this coast. Most of the 2,800 inhabitants work in the fishing industry...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy , officially the Territorial collectivity of Saint Barthélemy , is an overseas collectivity of France. Often abbreviated to Saint-Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the indigenous people called the island Ouanalao...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
External links
- Official website of Piteå Piteå in the 1915 Nordisk familjebokNordisk familjebokNordisk familjebok is a Swedish encyclopedia, published between 1876 and 1957.- History :The first edition was published in 20 volumes between 1876 and 1899. The first edition is known as the "Iðunn edition" because of the picture of Iðunn on the cover...
, with images on following page