Discover Akkavare: History and Landscape

Akkavare is a hillside village on the southeastern slope of Mount Akkavara, six kilometres north of Arvidsjaur on Route 45. If you are considering Akkavare as a place to stay, distinguishing between the village, the mountain and the surrounding area can help you get your bearings. Hedvallen Nature Reserve is five kilometres northeast of Akkavare. The village’s history and its landscape are therefore two distinct topics to consider when choosing a destination.

Village history and buildings

Pehr Christjersson Brännare was Akkavare’s first settler; he came to Akkavare in 1801. Brännar-Pehr’s Storstuga was completed in 1835. The village’s original schoolhouse was used as a school from 1910 to 1936. A later building with a religious function is the prayer house: it was built in 1957–1958 and is now a modernised community centre. These dates mark different stages in the village’s history, from early settlement to the former prayer house’s current function.

A connection to film history is also part of Akkavare: scenes for Kay Pollack’s 2004 film “Såsom i Himmelen” were filmed in the village. The village’s history thus encompasses not only buildings and their former uses, but also a specific connection to a Swedish film.

Work, transport and infrastructure

A mill was built in Akkavare in 1868 and decommissioned in 1928. It was later moved to Lake Dyras, where it now stands as a hunting and fishing hut. The development of the sawmills was a separate matter: a mobile sawmill began operating in Akkavare in 1939. A permanent Lundbergs sawmill facility was completed beside the railway station in 1947.

The history of transport can also be divided into distinct periods. Akkavare’s road connection was established during construction of the road between Arvidsjaur and Moskosel from 1903 to 1907. The village gained a railway connection during construction of the Inlandsbanan in the 1930s. On 28 March 1956, a railcar and a train collided; 16 people lost their lives. This event is part of local railway history, not one of the village’s present-day attractions.

An earlier piece of infrastructure was a water pipeline built in Akkavare in 1934. It was two kilometres long and ran from a cold spring on the mountain. The pipeline remained in operation until 1980. Together with the information about the road and railway, it offers insight into different forms of infrastructure development in the village.

Hedvallen and the cultural landscape

Hedvallen Nature Reserve contains old-growth natural forest, small pools and wetlands. Hedvallen is also a summer residence and a calf-marking site for the Östra Kikkejaur Sámi community. These functions are part of the area’s significance, as are its described landscape features. Its location is clear: the nature reserve is five kilometres northeast of Akkavare, not in the village itself.

A long stone wall in Akkavare bears witness to work carried out to create usable farmland. It reflects the shaping of the cultural landscape, while Hedvallen’s wetlands and pools represent other landscape features. Thus, traces of human labour in the village differ from the natural features of the nearby reserve.

The air observation tower

A wartime air observation tower still stands on the mountain above Akkavare. It has been altered and extended. There is a weather shelter and a fire pit at the tower.

Discover more destinations: Arvidsjaur, Moskosel, Abborrträsk, Glommersträsk.

Return to the main travel overview: Arvidsjaur.