Juoksengi, Norrbotten | Exploring Sweden
Right at the Arctic Circle lies the small locality of Juoksengi. Here in the province of Norrbotten, at the border with Finland in Northern Sweden, is a place that many would probably miss. That is unless this invisible line would have been found at its southern boundaries. Here the midnight sun and the polar night are annual occurrences. The village uses the nickname Polcircelbyn in marketing, translated as the “Arctic Circle Village”. Around 280 inhabitants live on the western banks of the Torne River, and the sister village of Juoksenki is just across the river in Finland. Swedish is not the only language spoken in this part of Sweden. Swedish is spoken, but there are also Meänkieli and Finnish, which is rather common in the region of Meänmaa or Tornedalen in Swedish.
A Short History of Juoksengi
Juoksengi has had ongoing settlements for thousands of years. Originally the Swedish village of Juoksengi and Juoksenki across the Torne River in Finland, was considered to be the same village. That changed in 1809 when Sweden lost Finland to Russia. The new border split the village into two parts that still exist today.
Things to Do and See
The main tourist attraction in Juoksengi is the monument on the Arctic Circle. The monument is just at the southern boundary of the village and includes the flags of all the countries along the Arctic Circle. Well, with one flag pole left empty after the aggressions by Russia in recent years.
Right next to the monument stands the building known as Polcirkelhuset. This building was moved here in 2001 and has been located at one of the local farmsteads. The house is today used as a café and restaurant. Other smaller sights in the village include the church from 1963 and the old school building from 1888. There is also a smaller convenience store.
Annual events include the swimming competition Swim the Arctic Circle, where participants swim either 2000 or 3000 meters in the Torne River. Even more noteworthy is the New Year celebrations. Under the name We Do It Twice, locals and visitors take advantage of the border with Finland and the two time zones. The first celebration takes place in Juoksenki on the Finnish side and then an hour later they celebrate it again on the Swedish side.
How to Get to Juoksengi
- Flights: The nearest airports are Pajala Airport (PJA) in the north and Kemi-Tornio Airport (KEM) in the south.
- Car: Juoksengi is along Road 99, north of Övertorneå and south of Pajala.
The driving distance from 5 major Swedish cities, according to Google Maps:
- Stockholm – 1065 kilometers (11 h 30 min)
- Gothenburg – 1412 kilometers (15 h 20 min)
- Malmö – 1675 kilometers (17 h 10 min)
- Linköping – 1263 kilometers (13 h 20 min)
- Kiruna – 267 kilometers (3 h 20 min)
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