Piteå

Piteå
The city square
Piteå
Coordinates: 65°20′N 21°30′E
Country	Sweden
Province	Norrbotten
County	Norrbotten County
Municipality	Piteå Municipality
Area
• Total	24.74 km2 (9.6 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2010)
• Total	22,913
• Density	926/km2 (2,398.3/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Piteå is a locality and the seat of Piteå Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The town has 22,913 inhabitants (2010), out of a municipal total of 41,000 in 2008.

Geography

Piteå is located at the mouth of the Pite River (Swedish: Piteälven), 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 (0.35 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.

History

The new town of Piteå, engraving made sometime between 1690-1710

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.

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, sawmills, and its harbour are of some importance.

Culture

Piteå is known for its pitepalt, 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 snowmobilers. 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 coverage, 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.

Cleantech

Piteå has emerged as an important center of cleantech production and research based on cellulose 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.

Sport

Lina Andersson (left) and Emelie Öhrstig celebrate in Piteå following the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2005.

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 .

People from Piteå

• Christopher Jacob Boström
• Nils Edén
• Tomas Holmström — NHL player with the Detroit Red Wings
• Lars Lindgren — retired former NHL player
• Liza Marklund
• Peter Mattei, Swedish baritone opera singer
• Mattias Öhlund — NHL player with the Tampa Bay Lightning
• Stefan Persson — but born in Umeå
• Mikael Renberg — retired former NHL player
• Daniel Solander

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Sweden

Twin towns — Sister cities

Piteå is twinned with:

• Kandalaksha, Russia
• Grindavík, Iceland
• Saint Barthélemy, France

External links

• Official website of Piteå
• (Swedish) Piteå in the 1915 Nordisk familjebok, with images on following page

Piteå is one of 133 places with the historical city status in Sweden.