Boden (, outdatedly , Lule Sámi: ''Suttes'') is a locality and the seat of Boden Municipality in

Norrbotten County Norrbotten County (, Meänkieli/, ) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares borders with Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf ...

, Sweden, with 16,847 inhabitants in 2018. It is part of the larger area around coastal city

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...

some southeast. After

Kiruna (; ; ; ) is the northernmost Stad (Sweden), city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland, Sweden, Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norrbotten County. The c ...

, it is the second largest town in Northern Sweden's interior.

History

The town of Boden started as a railway junction where the Northern Line ('' Norra stambanan'', opened 1894) met with the Ore Line ('' Malmbanan'') from the rich iron ore fields in northern Sweden. The town experienced increased growth when the Boden Fortress was constructed in the beginning of the 20th century. The purpose of the fortress was to defend Sweden from a possible attack from the east, where Russia was considered the most dangerous threat. The first official writings mentioning Boden refer to it as "Boden Village" (Swedish: ''Bodebyn'') and come from a 1539 national tax register. In 1546, "Boden village" is mentioned as having 7 homes. Boden received the title of

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in 1919. This title became obsolete in 1971 and Boden is now the seat of Boden Municipality.

Industry

Today (2007) Boden is still a military stronghold, and houses the largest garrison of the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

. The army and the municipality are the two largest employers in Boden. As the military is continuously disarming, with the five regiments united into one garrison, the population has decreased by 2,000 people over the past ten years. In 2022, the Swedish Company Stegra began construction of a new steel mill in Boden, expected to start production in mid 2026. It will use hydrogen technology, designed to cut emissions by as much as 95%. If it succeeds, it will be the first large-scale green steel plant in Europe. The project received 314 M€ in funding from the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...

in 2024. The project includes a 700 MW electrolysis plant. In November 2024, Stegra signed a 6 TWh power purchase agreement with

Uniper Uniper SE is a German multinational energy company based in Düsseldorf, Germany, which has been a state-owned enterprise since late 2022. It is one of the biggest energy companies by revenue in Europe. The name of the company is a portmanteau o ...

for the 2027-2032 period. The famous Fällkniven knives are from Boden.

Well-known Boden citizens, former or current

* Peter Englund,

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

, Permanent secretary of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

(2009-2015) * Karl Fabricius,

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player * Stefan Gunnarsson, singer, piano player * Eyvind Johnson,

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

winner in literature 1974 * Lennart Klockare,

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

* Daniel Larsson, ice hockey player * Johanna Larsson,

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player * Elias Lindholm, ice hockey player * Jonna Löfgren,

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

with

Glasvegas Glasvegas are a Scottish indie rock band from Glasgow. The band consists of James Allan (musician), James Allan (vocals), Rab Allan (lead guitar) and Paul Donoghue (bass guitar), with Swedish drummer Jonna Löfgren joining the group in 2010 unt ...

* Stig Strömholm,

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

rector magnificus A rector (Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world, the rector is often the most senior official in a u ...

* Oskar Sundqvist, ice hockey player * Stig Sundqvist,

football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

* Stig Synnergren, former Swedish Supreme Commander * Sven Utterström,

skier Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International ...

Niclas Wallin Niclas Wallin (born 20 February 1975) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. Playing career Wallin's career began in Boden ...

, ice hockey player * Hans Wallmark, politician * Brolle, singer * Tommy Johansson,

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

of the bands Majestica (formerly ReinXeed) and

Sabaton A sabaton or solleret is part of a knight's body armour, body armor that covers the foot. History Sabatons from the 14th and 15th centuries typically end in a tapered point well past the actual toes of the wearer's foot, following poulaines, f ...

* Tejbz, video game commentator and streamer * Jessica Bäckman, racing driver

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Boden is twinned with: * Alta,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

* Hakkari,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Sports

The following sports clubs are located in Boden: * Bodens BK * Hedens IF * Skogså IF * Vittjärvs IK * Boden Hockey * Boden Handboll IF

References

{{authority control Populated places in Boden Municipality Norrbotten Municipal seats of Norrbotten County Swedish municipal seats fi:Bodenin kunta