The central void
Open timber the full height, with balconies wrapping around.
Jan Ainali — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arild Vågen — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arild Vågen — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arild Vågen — CC BY-SA 4.0
The first major building completed in the **new town of Kiruna**, opened in 2018 as the nucleus the relocated town is being built around. Its name is **Kristallen**, "the crystal": a circular mass clad outside in a lattice of golden metal panels, and inside a central timber void open the full height of the building, with balconies and offices wrapping around it. The idea was that it should be **the town's living room** rather than a closed administrative seat: the ground floor is open to everyone with no security barrier, holding a library, a café and exhibitions. More telling is that the **clock tower** in front of it is not new. It is the tower of the old town hall of 1963, dismantled and carried here. So too were artworks, furniture and stained glass taken from the old building before it was demolished — a deliberate material continuity between the two towns. Note: **this is a working government building**; the public parts are open during office hours and free.
Open timber the full height, with balconies wrapping around.
A metal lattice that catches the low northern light.
Art, furniture and glass from the old building before demolition.
Stadshustorget 1, Kiruna
Yes, but **only on an organised tour** — independent entry is not possible at all. Tours are booked through the Kiruna tourist office and descend by bus to a permanent visitor centre at **540 metres** underground — not to the working faces, which now reach 1,365 metres. The tour explains how the ore is extracted and moved, and why the town is being relocated. ⚠ **Book ahead; tours fill in season** and can be cancelled without notice for operational reasons — the mine is a working industrial site, not a visitor attraction. ⚠ It stays at about 18 degrees underground regardless of the weather above.
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