History

Haparanda, with Stadshotellet at its centre, at periods has been the European town with the fastest pulse rate.

This was especially true at the time when Haparanda was the only point of contact between the

West and the large empires in the East – Russia, Persia and China.

 

Panorama of Haparanda in the 1920s, with Finland in the background.

 

 

Here, revolutionaries, anarchists, spies, military personnel, counts and sawmill owners have made their mark on history.

The scent, the mystery and excitement of this age are forever etched

into the exterior of the hotel, and indeed in the interior, where the

decor has now regained the sparkle of its golden age

 

 

 

 

 

Haparanda Stadshotell was opened amidst pomp and solemnity on 5 December, 1900. The building was designed by the architects Fritz Ullrich and Eduard Hallqvist from Stockholm. The hotel was built in the classical style, the master builder and the carpenters coming from Sundsvall, Sweden, the stucco workers came from Italy, much of the building material was from Silesia, etc.