Lappstaden

Lappstaden is the oldest preserved Sami church town in Sweden. It consists of around eighty small timber cabins (kåtor) clustered on a slight rise in the middle of Arvidsjaur, beside the now-vanished church for which it was built. Most of the buildings date from the 18th and early 19th centuries; some have been continuously used by the same Sami families for two hundred years.

In summer a guided tour runs from the small information hut at the entrance, and a handful of the cabins are open to look inside. In winter the site is largely closed but the snowy huts make a striking sight. Lappstaden remains in active use by Sami families during the annual Storstämningshelgen (Great Assembly Weekend) at the end of August — the only time of year when it really comes back to life.

things to do sight historic house
A story
The 18th-century Swedish church wanted to bring Sami reindeer herders into closer contact with Lutheran services and obliged them to attend church on fixed days of the year. Lappstaden was the result — a settlement of small cabins where Sami families stayed during the great church feasts. Nearly all other church towns in northern Scandinavia have been demolished or burned; this is the most complete survivor.