page_title: Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve
section_title: Swedish colonization
hierarchical_section_title: Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve / History / Swedish colonization
caption_attribution_description: English: Viktoriakyrkan by lake Överstjuktan. Svenska: Viktoriakyrkan vid Överstjuktan.
context_page_description: The Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve is a nature reserve located in the municipalities of Sorsele and Storuman in Västerbotten County of Swedish Lapland. It is the largest natural reserve in Sweden and one of the largest protected areas in Europe, totaling 562,772 ha.
  Most of the reserve is made up of several Scandinavian Mountains, the main ones being Artfjället, Norra Storfjället, Ammarfjället and Björkfjället. Most of the landscapes of the Swedish mountains are represented. This ranges from the pronounced alpine character of Norra Storfjället, which includes the highlight of the reserve, the Norra Sytertoppen, to the plateau and plains near the base of the mountains. The differences in elevation highlight the diversity of rocks in the mountains. Among the mountains are the valleys and waterways of the Ume River drainage basin. This includes a portion of the Vindel River, after which the reserve is named. Towards the east, the elevation decreases and the mountains give way to the Lapland Plains.
  This landscape diversity also includes biodiversity. The reserve covers the primary forests of the Nordic taiga in the eastern plains to alpine tundra and birch forests in the west.
context_section_description: Since the early eighteenth century, Swedes began to arrive in the area and settle in the valleys. There were however no villages until the nineteenth century. E.g. villages were created in the area around the lake Stor-Laisan Ammarnäs in 1830. The first house was built in 1826, and in 1850 the village was already well formed. This colonization was encouraged by the kingdom via an exemption from taxes or other privileges. Most current villages date back to this period. Several churches were built, sometimes even before the installation of the Swedes, to serve as a place of worship for the recently evangelized Sami. For example, the chapel of Jillesnåle, near the reserve, on the banks of Storvindeln, was originally built in 1750, and the chapel of Vila was built in 1723 near Lake Överuman but was abandoned after the change of Norwegian border in 1751 and caught fire four years later. Within the reserve, south of Lake Överst-Juktan, also lies a church, Viktoriakyrkan, built in 1938 when there was no road leading to it: wood construction was cut on site. A road was built in the mid-1970s to join the church. Several small properties are located in the vicinity of the church, with small areas of cultivated land. These areas are now abandoned or used seasonally for hunting or fishing.
  Many paths now used as hiking trails were originally communication paths for mountain dwellers. For example, the priest who officiated at the Jillesnåle chapel also had to travel to Tärnaby chapel, 70 km away, and officiate there. Due to the lack of road, a path was created between the two churches. This path through the south of the reserve still exists today. Another example is a path that starts at Ammarnäs and follows the Vindel River valley then joins Vindelkroken and then crosses the Norwegian border to Mo i Rana. This path was used during the mid-nineteenth century, to buy relatively cheap groceries in Norway, during an economically difficult time for the Swedish. This journey of a hundred kilometers, with loads approaching 50 kg, was very challenging, and some of these Norgefarare, such as Josef Berglund of Ammarnäs,became local legends. From 1892 a particularly difficult year, people began to use horses to transport resources, and had to build barns and cottages along these roads, such as Vitnjul and Dalavardo. This trade continued until the First World War.
caption: The Viktoriakyrkan church within the reserve.
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