Lövånger is a small locality around 50 kilometers south of Skellefteå. It has a population of around 800 people, which is not enough to put it on a map. Instead, it is the history of the locality, with its church town that is fascinating. The history shows how important the place once was for the surrounding area.
A Short History of Lövånger
Lövånger was during the Middle Ages written as “Lefanger” and means the sheltering bay. The area has been a trading spot for a long time and iron, salt, and grain were traded for furs, butter, and dried fish.
With the chapel built in the 14th century, Lövånger became a religious center and a church town was established. The church town was a way to get people from the vast area to join the compulsory religious services. How often they had to visit depended on the distance between their home and the church. The church towns offered visitors a place to stay for the night after religious services.
The church town has had other uses during the year as well. It was used to house Russian soldiers in 1808-09 during the Great Northern War. Then during the end of the Second World War in 1944-45, the town housed around 700 Finnish refugees from Finnish Lapland.
Things to Do And See
Lövånger is a small locality, but there is still something to see. Famous for its church town and with nature close by, at least a short stop is worth it.
Lövånger Church Town
Lövånger Church Town consists today of 117 houses, most of which are from the 19th century. The use of the church town declined at the beginning of the 20th century and is today partly used for short-time rentals.
Bjuröklubb
Located 25 kilometers to the North-East of Lövånger is Bjuröklubb – a lighthouse as well as the Nature Reserve. The lighthouse was built in 1859 on a cliff 52 meters above the waters of Bothnian Bay.
The peninsula on which the lighthouse stands became a nature reserve in 1976.
How to Get to Lövånger
- Flights: Skellefteå Airport (SFT) is located 37 kilometers north of Lövånger and connects the area with the Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN) for connections around the globe.
- Car: Lövånger is located along the highway E4 between Umeå and Skellefteå.
- Train: Northbound trains from Stockholm stop in Umeå, from where there are local buses.
- Bus: There are local buses from both Umeå and Skellefteå.
The driving distance from 5 major Swedish cities, according to Google Maps:
- Stockholm – 724 kilometers (7 h 42 min)
- Gothenburg – 1072 kilometers (11 h 51 min)
- Malmö – 1289 kilometers (13 h 51 min)
- Linköping – 919 kilometers (9 h 35 min)
- Kiruna – 514 kilometers (5 h 43 min)
Find out more about other destinations in Sweden by visiting our page Exploring Sweden
