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Pre-departure Guide Luleå University of Technology 2 Contents Luleå city ......

Pre-departure Guide Luleå University of Technology 2 Contents Luleå city ................................................................................................................................................ 3 Culture of Sweden ............................................................................................................................. 4 Religion .............................................................................................................................................. 4 Climate ............................................................................................................................................... 5 Shopping ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Adventure and sports ........................................................................................................................ 6 Entertainment ................................................................................................................................... 6 Entry visa ............................................................................................................................................... 7 Insurance ............................................................................................................................................... 8 Student Health Services ..................................................................................................................... 10 Expected Costs .................................................................................................................................... 11 Accommodation .................................................................................................................................. 12 Transportation .................................................................................................................................... 15 Communications ................................................................................................................................. 16 How to pay your rent and other bills ................................................................................................ 17 Going to the Supermarket.................................................................................................................. 19 LTU ....................................................................................................................................................... 22 Campuses: Luleå, kiruna, skelleftea, pitea .................................................................................... 23 Library: info, how to search ............................................................................................................ 23 Academic Year ................................................................................................................................. 24 Check list .......................................................................................................................................... 24 3 Luleå city Luleå of today is the result of the municipal amalgamation of 1969. In that year, the municipalities of Luleå City, NederLuleå and Råneå were united to form the large Municipality of Luleå, stretching over an area of 1,782 sq.km. The coat of arms of the three previous municipalities included a key, the symbol of Peter the Apostle, a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee. In the 15th century Gammelstad Church was consecrated in the honor of St Peter. The symbol is therefore unusually suitable for Luleå. Moreover, in former times, fishing was the main source of livelihood in this area. Luleå was founded in 1621 around the medieval church in Gammelstad. The city was an important commercial centre even then, with maritime trade with ports in the south, in particular Stockholm. However, the harbor in Gammelstad did not satisfy the demands made by an expanding maritime trade, and the city had to be moved 10 kilometers to its present site. Nevertheless, the citizens refused to abandon Gammelstad. The King had to resort to a decree to force them to move to the new city. In spite of this show of royal power the move to the new site went slowly, but was finally accomplished in 1649. Trading with fish, leather, wood and tar continued. The new city developed slowly, and right up to the end of the 18th century there was rather a village atmosphere to Luleå. It would take more than another half century before venture capital from the south would pave the way for industrial activity here. Several shipbuilders established great yards in different parts of the city and produced vessels of high class. When steamships put an end to the era of sailing ships, production at the shipyards gradually ceased. The shipbuilders were to be followed by others later on. Attempts to refine the Lapland ore attracted pertinacious metallurgists to the County of Norrbotten, and the traces of their toils can be seen in several places in Luleå. The "Ore Railway" changed the economic prerequisites for iron production and Luleå Ironworks was inaugurated in Karlsvik in 1906. Its history, however, became a short one. In the 1940s the Norrbotten Ironworks was built up and came to play an important role for Luleå and the whole of the County of Norrbotten. It is nowadays known as SSAB Luleå (Swedish Steel Co. Ltd, Luleå Steelworks) and is one of the most modern steelworks in Europe. Luleå is the seat of the Norrbotten County Administration and has a population of about 72,000. The city centre is on a peninsula, water plays an important part in the lives of Luleå inhabitants. The Luleå archipelago has over 500 islands. The city has developed into a technological centre in the North of Sweden. The most important corner-stones of this development are metallurgy, education and research, as well as good communications where Luleå University of Technology has played an important role. 4 Culture of Sweden One of the key characteristics of Swedish culture is that Swedes are egalitarian in nature, humble and find boasting absolutely unacceptable. In many ways, Swedes prefer to listen to others as opposed to ensuring that their own voice is heard. When speaking, Swedes speak softly and calmly. It is rare that you were witness a Swede demonstrating anger or strong emotion in public. In terms, Swedes rarely take hospitality or kindness for granted and as such, they will give often give thanks. Failing to say thank you for something is perceived negatively in Sweden. Behaviors in Sweden are strongly balanced towards ‘lagom’ or, ‘everything in moderation’. Excess, flashiness and boasting are abhorred in Sweden and individuals strive towards the middle way. As an example, work hard and play hard are not common concepts in Sweden. People work hard but not too hard, they go out and enjoy themselves, but without participating in anything extreme. Due to the strong leaning towards egalitarianism in Sweden, competition is not encouraged and children are not raised to believe that they are any more special than any other child. * Religion There are 3500 churches in this vast but sparsely populated country. Sweden has almost 9 million people, and 2009 was 71.3% of them are members of the Church of Sweden. The Church of Sweden is an Evangelical Lutheran community of faith manifested in parishes and dioceses. The Church of Sweden also has a national organization. The Church of Sweden is an open national church, which, working with a democratic organization and through the ministry of the church, covers the whole nation. In Luleå there are 5 churches close to the city center. For more information on the Church of Sweden, visit: http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/default.aspx?id=657804 There is also Catholic Church and a prayer room (as a temporary mosque) in the center of Luleå. At the University, we have a student chaplain who works close to the Student Health Centre. There is also a Muslim mosque in Luleå which is situated in Örnaset. Buses from the town center take about 15 minutes from the city and would drop you at Örnaskolan. For more information please visit: http://www.islamicfinder.org/getitWorld.php?id=51926 * http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/sweden.html 5 Climate The warm Gulf Stream in the Atlantic gives Sweden a milder climate than other areas equally far north. Stockholm is at almost the same latitude as southern Greenland but has an average temperature of about +18C (64 F) in July. The difference between the southern and northern regions of Sweden is not so noticeable in the summer, except for the sun never setting in June and July in the northernmost part, a phenomenon called the midnight sun. In the winter, however, northern Sweden is always covered by snow (at least between December and March) while the winter climate in much of southern Sweden may vary from year to year, as does the amount of snow. Winters in Luleå are rather cold, with lots of snow. Summers are usually relatively warm. In autumn and spring there is occasional rain. Average temperature in Luleå in winter is about -15C and in summer is about +18C. The short but spectacular spring and autumn helps to counterbalance the effect of winter. During the summer, it never gets dark and the sun does not set at all for some time. During the darkest weeks of winter, there are 4 hours of full day-light. Since the weather in winter is very cold, you should bring supplies of warm clothing such as coats, sweaters, warm socks, long underwear and etc or you can buy from Sweden shops if you’d like. You will also need at least one pair of comfortable and warm boots or walking shoes as well as casual shoes. There are good opportunities for winter sports such as ice-skating, ice hockey, cross-country skiing and down-hill skiing. Information about the weather: http://www.smhi.se/en Local temperature at campus in Luleå: http://marge.campus.ltu.se/temp/ Shopping You'll find what you are looking for in Luleå. There are 525 shops. The shopping thoroughfare is 10 kilometers long. It stretches from the centre of Luleå, via Luleå Home Center to Storheden and Gammelstad. The town centre features shopping centres and stores, as well as many specialized shops that you cannot find in other towns. Storheden has been ranked one of Sweden's five most popular retail parks. There is a vast range of merchandise and there is plenty of parking. The stores include food giants and other retail chains. In Gammelstad Church Town, designated a World Heritage Site by Unesco, there are cozy small shops selling local products and some excellent craftsmanship. On the road between the centre of Luleå and Storheden lies Luleå Home Center, a long string of stores and shops specializing among other things in building, furnishing, gardening and cars. 6 Adventure and sports There are many different sports that you can experience in Luleå, such as: Skating, Cycling, Jogging, Skiing, Golf, Fishing, Hiking, and many interesting adventures such as The Gammelstad Church Village, Snowmobile, and etc. To look for sports and adventures in Luleå visit: http://lulea.se/forinvanare/fritidochidrott.4.cafb35109cec643ab80003611.html There is a Gym at LTU that is called Stil [http://www.mittlivsstil.se/], to get information about Student Sports go to the LTU website. By registering in Stil with specified prices, you can take advantage of different kinds of sports such as Arm-wrestling, Basketball, Body pump, Box, Budo, Canoeing, Climbing, Core, Cross country skiing, Dance, Downhill skiing, Fishing, Football(Soccer), Golf, Handball, Hockey, Massage / Thai massage, Multisport, Orienteering, Pilates, Power Yoga, uploads/Geographie/ pre-departure-guide.pdf