Background
Jokkmokk market has a long history and is considered an unbroken tradition for more than 400 years. Permanent marketplaces near the Sami winter residences were established by the Swedish monarchy in the early 1600th century in all of the Lapplands on both sides of the Gulf of Bothnia. The purpose was to strengthen the state's grip on the population in the north and to collect taxes, keep laws and spread the word of God. A market in Lapplands during the coldest time of the year had many advantages. The Sami were gathered in their winter residences in forest areas with winter grazing for their reindeer, and the frozen waterways became excellent shipping routes for traders, civil servants and churchmen.
A royal decision
During the Middle Ages, the Sami had built up an economic prosperity, based on trade in skins and leather goods. The Sami were integrated into a network of trade contacts, dominated by the German Hanseatic League and with links to merchants in Novgorod and Moscow, and their leather goods were highly sought after in trade. Towards the end of the 1400th century, the trading states weakened and the expanding kingdoms of Sweden-Finland and Denmark-Norway came to fight with Russia for dominance of the Arctic Ocean in the 1500th century. It became important to strengthen the grip on the Lapp lands, both to secure the country's borders in the north and to tax a resource-rich area. The Swedish monarchy's trade policy aimed at ensuring that all trade would go through Stockholm's customs, the so-called Bothnian trade obligation, which was in force until 1765.
In letters written around the turn of the century 1600, King Charles IX expressed concern about the welfare of the population of the Lapplands and in 1602 he himself undertook a journey around the Gulf of Bothnia. As early as 1599, King Charles had commissioned his bailiff Daniel Hjort to find places that could be suitable as church and market places, at least one in each Lappland. The Sami were not only considered to be subject to the abuses of the Birkarlar, they also lived in spiritual darkness. In addition, they were difficult to keep in order – they were not settled! The state wanted to have control over both the Sami and the Birkarlar.
By establishing permanent marketplaces and building churches in the Lapplands during the first years of the 1600th century, the northern parts of the country were to be secured and the population was to be tied more closely to the Swedish monarchy. The Birkarlar, the traders from the coast, lost their right to free Lappland trade and were now only allowed to operate a regulated trade during the announced market hours. The tax was to be collected directly by the crown's own officials. In the beginning, these were in many cases Birkarlar, as they were the ones who knew the language, knew the conditions and had previous contacts with the Sámi. Only after the crown took its place was the actual market trade allowed to take place. By attaching a priest to the church at the marketplace, the word of God would be heard at least a couple of times a year.
Lule Lapland
The land in the north was divided into five Lapplands since the time of Gustav Vasa: Ume, Pite, Lule, Torne and Kemi Lapplands. In Lule Lappland, the population belonged to one of four villages, namely Sjocksjock, Jockmock, Sirkas and Tuorpon. The Sami lived mainly by hunting and fishing and moved between different fishing lakes. Reindeer were used as transport animals and as decoy animals in wild reindeer hunting.
The population of Lule Lappland was small. According to tax lists from the first decades of the 1600th century, it consisted of 150-200 households. The Birkarlar, the merchants from the coastal region of Norrbotten, traded with the Sami and, until the mid-1500th century, also had the right to collect taxes, for which they paid a rent to the crown. The Birkarlar sought out the Sami wherever they were during the winter, but there were also marketplaces for Lule Lappland further down the river valley, in the areas around Harads and Bredåker. People probably gathered for the market even then in midwinter.
Tax and trade goods that were taken out of the area were skins and leather goods from both game and reindeer, dried fish and, for the needs of the crown, live reindeer. Both reindeer and reindeer herders, preferably women, were taken south for a period. Goods that were brought in included salt, butter, flour, silver, millet, clothing and iron goods.
When permanent market and church sites were to be established, places were sought that were accessible in winter and that were close to areas where the Sami grazed their reindeer. The village of Jockmocks had long had winter pastures in the forest areas by the Lilla and Stora Luleälv rivers. The ridge, which extends in an east-west direction above a marshland (now Lake Talvatissjön), was chosen as the site for the first church in Jokkmokk. The Sami name was Dálvvadis, which means winter residence. A simple rectory, customs house and market stalls were also built here. But it was a while before any parish priest lived permanently in the church town of Jokkmokk. The priests traveled up from the coast to the markets and gave sermons, conducted house inquiries, ordained and baptized people and registered the population.
Church attendance was compulsory in the country and also applied to the Sami. But the duty could only be fulfilled during market time and there was a lot to do. One of the priests in the 1600th century complained about the hustle and bustle during market days. There was so much to do that people did not have time to go to church, even if they were supposed to preach at night.
Traditional religious rites and ceremonies survived for a long time alongside, and probably stronger than, the church order. Children who were to be baptized by a priest had already received their Sami name in a baptismal ceremony shortly after birth. The parents chose a name for the child after a deceased relative whose good qualities they wanted to see in the newborn. After the church baptism, a purification rite was carried out to “wash away” the Christian name, which could actually be harmful to the child. Weddings in church were not considered particularly important; the main thing was that the courtship went well and that the families agreed. But as church records were established in the Lapp lands, Christian customs also gained ground. According to the Sami view, the dead lived on in a shadow world, alongside the living. At that time, burial was not so important either. The dead body was often left, protected from animals, in, for example, a crevice in a rock. Burial according to Christian custom posed problems, since such a burial could only take place during the frost-free period of the year. The body had to be transported to the churchyard and placed in a morgue next to the church while awaiting burial.
During the 1700th century, the church's mission among the Sami became more severe. Under the influence of Pietism, personal conversion and an unequivocal denial of the old faith were required. The church and state confiscated Sami drums and persecuted Nájds and others who wanted to retain their traditional beliefs.
A winter market in the early 1600th century
What might a winter market in Jokkmokk have been like in the early 1600th century? How many people came? How did people dress, what did they eat? What language did people speak? We don't know much from this time, but some of it can be gleaned from contemporary reports, and we have to guess and fantasize about the rest.
In a report from April 1606, the king's envoy, Daniel Hjort, tells about the situation in Jokkmokk. On February 11, 12 and 13, he had held a meeting in Jokkmokk with Sami and birkarlar in Lule Lappmark. An order had been created for the market and church town. It is easy to see that there were many obstacles on the way. The priest, Mr. Lars, who had been appointed to Jokkmokk turned out to be sickly, did not know Sami and was also "very weak in the Doctrine", and the congregation wanted a priest who could better cope with the conditions in Lappmark. Mr. Laurentius Olai, chaplain in Luleå, was considered better suited and was appointed as his replacement.
The assembly promised that the timber for the church building would be in place by Easter and that the church would be completed during the summer. Suitable times for markets and events had also been discussed. The Sami said that they could come to Thomas Fair and stay until Candlemas, i.e. from Christmas time and a few days into February. The bailiff was ordered to come no later than Epiphany to collect taxes for the crown. At the Easter Fair on January 25, the Birkarlars would be free to trade with the Sami, “… not stealing…”. For this trading privilege, the Birkarlars would pay a tenth of the customs duty to the crown.
After the Candlemas, the Sami were to be free to leave the churchyard in Jokkmokk, but by the Feast of the Assumption at the end of March they had to return to a new gathering for two weeks, "there the bailiff and the Birkarlerne would meet them". First the bailiff would buy up game for the needs of the crown and then it was free for the Birkarlerne to buy. The priest was urged to be as diligent as he could in his calling and office.
Holding legal proceedings during the market was an important task for the bailiff. Already during the first documented Thing in Jokkmokk in 1606, the jurors consisted of both Sami and Birkarlar. After a while, all the jurors were Sami. The Thing mainly dealt with issues that affected the local population, issues such as the right to fishing marshes, grazing areas and economic disputes. During the 1600th century, mountain reindeer herding developed in Lule Lappland and the mountain Sami villages took on the elongated shape that we know today. The right to grazing lands and boundary disputes became increasingly common matters in the courtroom.
The church town of Jokkmokk
During archaeological excavations in the 1930s, prior to the construction of the Health Centre, remains of the foundation of a small, simple timber ring were found, which were interpreted as remains of the first church, completed in 1607. Remains of graves were also found in the area. Later excavations have shown that there are other possible locations for the church on or near the ridge between the heritage area and the Ájtte Museum. The market stalls and individual cottages that were built were also located along the ridge. Traces of house and hut foundations can be found in the heritage area, right where today's Historical Market takes place.
From about 1690 to the end of the 1700th century, the vicar was located in Hyttan, today's Kvikkjokk, with a chaplain in Jokkmokk. Silver ore had been discovered in the Kvikkjokksfjällen mountains and in the early 1660s the crown built a smelter with a smelting furnace in Kvikkjokk. The silver ore was transported from the deposits in Sarek and Bádjelandda to the smelter and on to the coast. Sami with reindeer drovers were ordered to carry out the difficult and heavy transports. Soldiers worked in the smelter for soldiers' wages. The smelter did not last long, barely 40 years, as the deposits did not yield the economic profit that had been expected, but the company led to some new buildings, with a duty to haul, being bought in after the Lule River flows from Luleå up towards Kvikkjokk.
For a long time, Jokkmokk's settlement consisted only of a church, a rectory, church cottages and market stalls. In 1732, a state school for Sami children was opened and the resident population was expanded by a schoolmaster. During the 1700th century, there was an increase in population, both among Sami and among settlers. The oldest church became too small and a new church was inaugurated in 1753. In a fire in 1972, this was completely destroyed, but after a few years, a replica of the old one was built on the same site and externally according to the original drawing from the 1700th century. It is this church that is today called the Old Church.
As a parish church, the Old Church had already been replaced by the New Church, which was completed in 1888. The church village, or “Plass'n” in popular parlance, had grown further. It was a large and stately church, completely in keeping with the style of the time, and befitting a place that was developing into the administrative center of the entire parish. The irregular and temporary character that had characterized Jokkmokk's previous settlement was at this time replaced by a modern city plan with rectangular blocks and straight streets. The New Church was located entirely in line with this grid plan. The old market stalls and church cottages were demolished or moved as new housing was built.
In 1943, loans for own homes were also available to reindeer herders, despite fierce resistance from the Lapp bailiffs and the Norrbotten County Administrative Board, and permanent winter homes could be built. In the early 1950s, an investment was made in reindeer herders' housing in Jokkmokk with specially designed houses, which were built in Lappstaden. The area was previously called Gielas (Sami for pine moor). There had previously been a number of church cottages there, which were now demolished.
Background
Settlers, loggers and water carriers
During the 1700th century, intensive reindeer herding was established with seasonal migrations. The Sami villages of Sirkas, Tuorpon and the newly formed Kaitumbyn moved to the mountains in the summer, while the villages of Jockmock and Sjocksjock moved into the forest area. The state encouraged settlement. The Lappland Placard of 1695 regulated the relationship between the Sami and settlers. The settlers were to engage in agriculture and livestock farming and thus not encroach on the Sami's livelihoods. In reality, agriculture in the Lappland was negligible; at best, barley could be grown and later potatoes. In order to survive, the settlers, as well as the Sami, had to engage in hunting and fishing.
But it was not until intensive forestry, which supplied the growing sawmill industry with raw materials, towards the end of the 1800th century and the beginning of the 1900th century that colonization led to a noticeable increase in population. Now many workers were needed in the forests, as woodcutters and rafters. Many villages were established with homes for woodcutters and their families. In the winter, the men worked with logging and hauling logs by horse, in the spring, when the ice had melted, they rafted in streams and rivers. In the summer and autumn, they took care of the farm and mowed. The women managed the home and farm on their own for most of the year.
Sweden's growing industries needed electric power. Despite the distance and difficult conditions with long winters, it became economically advantageous at the beginning of the 1900th century to exploit the hydroelectric power in the large rivers in the north. The first plant in the Lule River, the Pionjärverket in Porjus, produced electricity from the autumn of 1914 and became the starting point for an expansion of the Lule River that continued until the 1970s.
The exploitation of hydroelectric power brought about major upheavals in Jokkmokk. For the Sami, it meant that pastures, calving grounds, dwellings and sacred places disappeared in large dams. Many, both reindeer herders and small farmers, left their occupations for jobs in the hydroelectric expansion. Temporary villages, such as Harsprånget and Messaure, lived for a few intense years while the expansion was underway. When the work was completed, the houses were dismantled, sold or moved to a new facility.
The Freedom of Trade Act of 1846 allowed trade to be free in time and space, but the winter market continued to bring people together from all over the parish. The number of market days was reduced from several weeks to one week and the market became a more pure opportunity for trade and exchange of goods. Church services and Laestadian gatherings still had great importance. Weddings and baptisms were often held at the market, as were the Lapp bailiff's meetings with the Sami villages on reindeer husbandry issues. But the king's tax bailiffs had left the scene.
Anniversary market in 1955
During the 1900th century, trade took on many new forms, with mail order, department stores and supermarkets. Railways and road networks were expanded and after World War II, private motoring grew. Many traditional markets ceased altogether. Jokkmokk's last spring market was held in the early 1930s. Jokkmokk's winter market nevertheless continued, but under strong competition from retail trade, which increased with the increasing population, both in the central town and in villages and development communities. The leather trade in particular survived. The Sami brought both game and reindeer skins and sold them to buyers from the coast. The church held church services and Laestadian meetings, weddings and baptisms. Modern market goods, such as sweets for children, knick-knacks and funfairs, had been added to the range, but the winter market was also an opportunity to stock up on something new and exclusive that the usual village shop did not stock. Not least important was meeting old and new friends in the bustling market.
The municipality of Jokkmokk had begun to see the value for tourism and other businesses of maintaining and also developing the market tradition. The municipal tourist board was given the responsibility and its chairman for many years, Gösta Åkerlund (1911-2001) was an enterprising and creative man. Gösta Åkerlund was a restaurateur at Hotell Gästis and theatre director for Bio Norden, both central establishments in the market celebrations. The market was then still a so-called free market, anyone who wanted could come and sell their goods. Many rented space on the sidewalk from private property owners in the center. The tourist board booked a funfair and other entertainment, and coordinated activities during the two market days, Thursday and Friday.
At the suggestion of the tourist board, it was decided that in 1955 the market would celebrate its 350th anniversary. A special committee was formed to plan the anniversary, headed by Gösta Åkerlund and the municipal councillor, David Hedqvist. The committee commissioned, among others, the artist Runo Johansson Lette to design a market symbol. It became the symbol that is still used today, with a woman dressed in Lule Sami costume and holding a piece of clothing over her arm. Behind her stands a reindeer with its head raised. Lette made a meter-high sculpture in brushed steel, which is now part of the Ájtte museum's collections. Uno Fransson, director of the Employment Service, made a graphic version of the figure, which was used for printing advertising material, such as posters and lapel pins.
The actress Ingrid Bergman, who happened to be in Stockholm at the time, was invited to the market by Gösta Åkerlund, but she kindly declined due to other commitments. However, both a theater company and a circus were present. Just over a hundred vendors came to the 1955 market, compared to the usual 30-40 at that time, and about 10.000 visitors. The market area was moved to the area between Borgarplatsen and Hembygdsgården, thus not the central shopping streets, which was otherwise usual. The ice on the recently drained Talvatissjön was used, where a herd of reindeer could be seen. The local merchants were encouraged to attract customers by dressing in turn-of-the-century clothing and lighting marshals outside their stores. The market was now extended by one day and held from Thursday to Saturday.
A commemorative book: Jokkmokk Market 1605-1955 was compiled and just in time for the anniversary, a film about the market, produced by Gösta Åkerlund, was also ready for screening, a film that is still being shown. The 350th anniversary was a turning point for Jokkmokk Market and has since grown from year to year. The guidelines for today's market were drawn up with the aim of increasing the quality of the product range and a cultural program with exhibitions and lectures. The now traditional reindeer ride through the community was carried out for the first time, with Amul Länta in the lead. There were also ideas that were never implemented then, but were implemented later, such as ice and snow sculptures. On the initiative of Gösta Åkerlund, the market symbol was made in frozen snow for the first time in 1961 by teacher Albert Falck. It was placed outside Svenssons Järnhandel on Storgatan. Then it was not until the early 1990s before Albert Falck was asked about snow sculpture again. Now the market symbol in snow has become a recurring feature at every market.
400th anniversary in 2005
In 2005, the winter market celebrated its 400th anniversary. In the fifty years since the first anniversary market, it has grown into the North Calotte's major winter festival and tourist attraction. Art and culture have become as important a feature as commerce. A program sheet, which has developed into a full-fledged catalog with all program items, has been printed and distributed since 1962. In the 1970s, Jokkmokk Municipality, through the tourist office, took control of the market by issuing permits for sales. In this way, it has been possible to maintain a certain level of quality in the range of goods. In the 1990s, the number of visitors had increased to around 25.000.
Ahead of the 400th anniversary, a project organization was created within the municipality that was responsible for coordination and overall planning. The cultural administration and institutions such as the Ájtte Museum, the Sami Education Center and the Church of Sweden formed the backbone of a large program. Permanent and temporary restaurants provided food and entertainment. Hotels, holiday villages and private homes were filled to capacity with market revelers from all over the world. The market had become newsworthy and was covered by both local and international media.
The number of visitors was around 80.000 during the market week. The King and Queen inaugurated the jubilee from a large ice stage, built on Lake Talvatissjön, and a festive cantata was premiered by the Norrbotten Chamber Orchestra. The whole community held a party, decorated with snow and ice sculptures and burning marshals.
In 2005, the Historical Market was also held for the first time, and the traditional three market days were thus extended to six days. The week began on Sunday with a church service in the Old Church that followed a church service order from the 1600th century. The Historical Market aims to recreate the experience of a market 400 years ago and is held on the original market area. Here, goods such as hand-milled barley flour, homemade ointments, sorghum flour, clothing, and warm bällingskors are traded and exchanged.
Digital markets 2021 and 2022
In 2021 and 2022, the Covid pandemic put an end to events with many participants, and the markets these years were therefore held in digital form only. Digital elements will certainly be part of the markets in the coming years, as a complement to the physical market.
Jokkmokk market now and in the future
The physical market returned in 2023, attracting 46.000 visitors. The most recent market was held from February 6th to 8th, 2025, and attracted 53.500 visitors.