The city is historically industrial, with mining being a large part of that industry, especially for gold, leading to the city being nicknamedGuldstaden ("gold town"). Politically, Skellefteå is aSocial Democratic stronghold. The city is a well-knownice hockey town, with its main teamSkellefteå AIK playing in the Swedish top division: theSHL, which they have won on several occasions; most recently in2024.
The city was incorporated in 1845 and grew to its current population size in the 1950s and 1960s, growing only slowly since. It is the second largest city in Västerbotten afterUmeå and is located roughly halfway between it andLuleå. TheSkellefte River passes through the city and it is located around 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from theBothnian Bay open sea. Skellefteå is served bySkellefteå Airport, IATA airport code SFT but locally known asFalmark because of the village nearby, also around 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the city centre to the south.
The name Skellefteå is recorded to having been spelled asSkelepht in 1327.[citation needed] OnCarta marina the name is speltSkellitta. The origin of the name remains unknown, but is assumed to be of Sami origin.
From the 14th century on, attempts were made to Christianize Skellefteå. A parish was formed and a church built. However, for the most part, the entire large Northern Swedish territory ofNorrland was not Christianized until several hundred years after the rest of Sweden, and many northern areas such as Skellefteå remained unexplored well past the Middle Ages.
Not before the very end of the 17th century did the indigenousSami people of Northern Sweden begin turning to Christianity, much due to the efforts by the Northern Swedish superintendentMathias Steuchius, who worked hard to accomplish this.[4] SeveralSami shamans were killed for this reason.[citation needed]
Eventually, the reason for the sudden awakened interest towards Skellefteälven and the surrounding areas was the great northern fishing grounds ofsalmon.
The actual city of Skellefteå is one of the youngest cities of Norrland. It was founded in 1845 by the vicar Nils Nordlander.
The city became home of a massive battery plant made byNorthvolt in 2021.[6] Northvolt announced layoffs in September 2024, and filed for bankruptcy in March 2025.
The largest private employer in Skellefteå is the mining companyBoliden AB, with about 1,200 employees.[citation needed] The mine's copper ore contains particles of gold, silver and platinum. Skellefteå is still referred to as the"Goldtown".[by whom?]
Skellefteå has asubarctic climate (Dfc) with mild summers and cold, long and snowy winters. The climate is somewhat moderated by theBothnia Bay, although maritime effects are limited, ensuring warm summer temperatures for a coastal area so far north. In the last century, as part of global climate warming, an increase in summer temperatures as well as an earlier arrival of spring and a later onset of winter have been observed. Precipitation is moderate, the maximum precipitation is in the second half of summer. The difference in average hours of sunshine between months is large: December has very little due to both very short days and high cloud cover, while June has a lot due to long days and relatively clear weather.
TheEuropean route E4 highway provides the main road connection to the city, providing direct connections to cities likeStockholm andSundsvall going south andLuleå going north.Riksväg 95 also serves the city.
There is a railwaybranch line running through Skellefteå, although with no passenger traffic, making it the largest city in Sweden without it. The line is still served byFreight traffic.[10] There were plans to start night trains going fromStockholm to Skellefteå, with service being expected to commence in April 2022. Due to a decision fromTrafikverket, the planned night trains were cancelled before they started running.[11][12] The closesttrain station in use is located inBastuträsk, from which trains heading to several cities includingStockholm,Umeå andLuleå depart, operated byNorrtåg andVy. There goes a bus to Skellefteå from Bastuträsk, intended for transfers to and from the trains.[13]
TheHigh-speed rail lineNorrbotniabanan is planned to go through the city, providing it with rail service for the first time since 1990.[14] As a part of this, a newstation will be constructed close to the city centre.[15] Service is expected to begin in 2030.[16]
TheSkellefteå Kraft Grandmaster Chess Cup 1999, one of the strongest all Swedish chess tournaments was won byIGMUlf Andersson. The event took place from March 26 – April 4, 1999. An international chess tournament, the final of the two-year World Cup series was held in Skellefteå from August 12 to September 3, 1989. The final sixteen grandmasters participating included three former World Chess ChampionsGarry Kasparov,Anatoly Karpov andMikhail Tal.[17] The activities organized around the World Cup final included two performances in Skellefteå ofChess, with music byBenny Andersson andBjörn Ulvaeus of the pop groupABBA.[18][19][circular reference]
Margot Wallström, former first Vice President of the European Commission and current Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict with the UN. Foreign Secretary of Sweden 2014–2019
^plats, Skellefteå se-Ge idéerna (2018-01-30)."Etablering av batterifabrik".portal.skelleftea.se (in Swedish). Archived fromthe original on 2020-10-06. Retrieved2019-11-09.
