Arvidsjaur Webcam – Watch Daily Life in Swedish Lapland

The Arvidsjaur Webcam looks over a roundabout in the center of Arvidsjaur, a town of about 4,400 people in Swedish Lapland. A Coop supermarket and its car park fill the right side of the frame, a brick block with balconies and blue shop awnings stands in the middle, and a forested hill rises behind the rooftops. On the left, a pale blue wooden house carries outdoor and sport shop signs. Cars, vans and the odd pedestrian cross the zebra crossings through the day. The seasons do most of the work here: snow buries the roundabout and the roofs in winter, while on a mid-October morning the grass verge is white with frost and the birches along the street have turned yellow.

About Arvidsjaur

Arvidsjaur is the seat of Arvidsjaur Municipality in Norrbotten County, in the historical province of Lapland. It is often filed with the Arctic towns of the far north, but at about 65.6 degrees north it lies roughly 108 kilometers (67 miles) south of the Arctic Circle. The local weather station stands at 382 meters (1,253 feet), and the town counted 4,448 residents in 2023. Arvidsjaur grew up around a church built in 1607 on the initiative of King Charles IX, beside a Forest Sami village.

That church explains the town’s best-known sight. Sami families who traveled long distances to the required church gatherings built timber huts near the church to stay in, and the result, Lappstaden, survives with around 30 log huts and some 50 storehouses. It became a listed building in 1948, after Karin Stenberg led the campaign to save it from a planned road. The present church, a neo-Gothic wooden building at the north end of the main street, went up between 1900 and 1902 and seats about 750 people.

Modern Arvidsjaur also has an unusual winter trade. During the winter months, major car manufacturers run arctic trials across the municipality, and the airport, about 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) east of the center, has daily flights to Stockholm and seasonal routes to Germany. The Inland Line railway, Inlandsbanan, still passes through, though only tourist trains run on it, in summer. The camera has broadcast on YouTube as one continuous stream since March 2023. Three overlays sit along the top of the picture: an AccuWeather panel in the top-left corner with the local time, temperature and conditions, a “Welcome to Arvidsjaur” banner, and a coat of arms with a reindeer head in the top-right corner.

Weather and Climate in Arvidsjaur

Arvidsjaur has a subarctic climate, with long winters and short, mild summers. January averages minus 10.3 C (13.5 F), with typical highs around minus 6 C (21 F) and lows near minus 15 C (5 F), and the station has recorded minus 41.3 C (minus 42.3 F). In winter, snow covers the roundabout, the car park and every roof in the frame. Around the winter solstice the sun is up for only about three hours, so for weeks the camera shows the town mostly under street lights. April hovers near freezing at an average of 0 C (32 F), and May brings daytime highs of about 11 C (52 F) as the snow melts.

Summer is brief but bright. July averages 14.6 C (58.3 F), with highs around 19 C (67 F), and the record stands at 32.5 C (90.5 F). July is also the wettest month, with about 83 millimeters (3.25 inches) of rain out of a yearly 549 millimeters (21.6 inches). At midsummer the sun dips below the horizon for less than an hour and the sky stays light all night. Autumn turns quickly: September highs average 11.5 C (52.7 F) and October’s mean is just 0.7 C (33.3 F), so on a clear mid-October morning the camera’s weather panel can read minus 5 C (23 F). These are SMHI’s 1991 to 2020 averages.

Things to Do Near Arvidsjaur

Lappstaden is the first stop, and it is close: the church town sits beside Arvidsjaur Church, well under a kilometer from the town center. The huts still have owners who use them, most visibly on the last weekend of August, when the town holds its Storstamning festival and the owners move in for the weekend. The church itself, painted a pale yellowish brown with white trim, stands at the north end of the main street. About 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) west of it, the site of the 1607 and 1704 churches is now a local heritage area.

In summer, the Inlandsbanan tourist trains call at Arvidsjaur, and the local railway society runs steam train trips between Arvidsjaur and Slagnas. In winter, skiers head for the Vittjakk ski area just outside the town.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

For more of the far north of Sweden and Finland, these cameras are a good next step.

• Abisko Webcam
• Riksgransen Webcam
• Santa Claus Village Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Arvidsjaur located?

Arvidsjaur is in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden, in the historical province of Lapland. It lies about 108 kilometers (67 miles) south of the Arctic Circle and about 137 kilometers (85 miles) west of the coastal city of Lulea in a straight line.

What can you see on the Arvidsjaur Webcam?

The camera looks across a roundabout in the town center. The Coop supermarket and its car park are on the right, a brick block with blue shop awnings is in the middle, a yellow wooden house stands beyond it, and a forested hill closes off the view. A weather panel, a welcome banner and a coat of arms run along the top edge of the picture.

Does the Arvidsjaur Webcam show the airport?

No. Arvidsjaur Airport is about 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) east of the town center, well out of sight of this street-level camera. The view stays on the roundabout, the shops around it and the hill behind the town.

Is Arvidsjaur above the Arctic Circle?

No. At about 65.6 degrees north, Arvidsjaur is roughly 108 kilometers (67 miles) south of the Arctic Circle, so it has no true midnight sun or polar night. Even so, the sun sets for less than an hour at midsummer and is up for only about three hours around the winter solstice.

Is Arvidsjaur in Swedish Lapland?

Yes. Arvidsjaur is in Lapland, the historical province that covers the northwest of Sweden, and in Norrbotten County. Finnish Lapland, home of Rovaniemi, is a separate region across the border to the east.

What is the population of Arvidsjaur?

The town of Arvidsjaur had 4,448 residents in 2023. It is the seat of Arvidsjaur Municipality, which also takes in the villages and forest around it.

What is the weather like in Arvidsjaur in December?

December is cold and dark. Average highs are about minus 4.6 C (23.7 F) and lows about minus 12.5 C (9.5 F), and the sun is up for only around three hours a day near the solstice. The weather panel in the top-left corner of the camera shows the current temperature and conditions.

Source: Live Arvidsjaur