Gellivaara

Gällivare lies in the northern forests and fells of Swedish Lapland. Its name derives from the Lule Sámi Jiellovárre, referring to a cleft in the mountain landscape. Iron ore was discovered in the nearby mountain in the 1690s. When trial mining began in 1735, the inhabitants of the district were chiefly Sámi of the Kaitum community.

Sweden's parliament arranged for a church to be built, with households across the kingdom contributing a small silver coin towards its cost, giving the building its familiar name of the One-Öre Church. The wooden church was completed in 1754 beside the Vassara River. Mining and the church brought a new settlement into the region, though the transport of ore from this remote inland district remained a formidable task.