Pajala
Pajala is a locality and the seat of Pajala Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden, with 1,958 inhabitants in 2010. It is located in Swedish Lapland. In part of the Torne Valley region and was in past times unilingually Meänkieli-speaking.
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In this article
Overview
Overview
While it is still spoken by many, after the Swedification policies of the 18- and 1900s Swedish has become the dominant language.
Key facts
Key facts
• Official Name — Pajala • Subdivision Type3 — Municipality • Subdivision Name3 — Pajala Municipality • Subdivision Type2 — County • Subdivision Name2 — Norrbotten County • Subdivision Type1 — Province • Subdivision Name1 — Norrbotten • Area Total Km2 — 3.78 • Population As Of — 31 December 2010 • Population Total — 1,958 • Population Density Km2 — 518 • Timezone — CET • Utc Offset — +1 • Timezone Dst — CEST • Utc Offset Dst — +2
History
History
Lars Levi Laestadius, a botanist, Lutheran minister, and founder of the revivalist movement Laestadianism, lived and worked in Pajala municipality in the mid-19th century. He lived in Kengis, but in 1869 his house and grave and the whole church of Kengis were moved to Pajala. The town was mistakenly bombed by Soviet airplanes during the Finnish/Soviet Winter War, in spring 1940. Seven Soviet planes dropped 134 bombs, a mix of explosive and firebombs, which destroyed six buildings, badly damaging telephone wires, and making the streets impossible to drive on due to 43 big craters. No human deaths were recorded, although two persons were slightly injured. Soviet officers later inspected the destruction and the Soviet Union paid damages to Sweden in 1940.
Climate
Climate
Pajala has a harsh subarctic climate that is somewhat moderated by the influence of the North Atlantic. Its inland position and lower elevation cause warmer summers, and winters are a bit less cold than most areas on similar latitudes.
Literature about Pajala
The events in Mikael Niemi's book "Populärmusik från Vittula" (Popular Music from Vittula) occur mainly in Pajala. Vittula, or more properly Vittulajänkkä, is a colloquial name (roughly translating from Meänkieli as "the pussy swamp") for a certain garden suburb in Pajala. The book was also adapted into a film in 2004. In another portrait of Pajala by Niemi, the crime novel "Mannen som dog som en lax" ("The Man who Died like a Salmon"), the author discusses the state of the minority language Meänkieli in Pajala today.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Pajala, revision 1353693996 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Makers, houses and production
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Makers, houses and production
The people, houses and objects recorded in connection with this place.
Born at
1- Bengt PohjanenPerson
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 27 September 2026.
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