Jokkmokk, originally a Sami village, is now the chief town of the commune of the same name, the second largest in Sweden with an area of 19,500sq.km/7,530sq.mi (half of it above the tree-line) and a population of 3,400. The village, on Lake Talvatis, was established by Charles IX as a winter meeting place for the Lapps, where a Lapp assembly, a
church festival and a fair were held every February. Some of the old traditions, including the fair, have been preserved. The old church (1753) was burned down in 1972 and replaced by a new one in 1974-75. The modern Ajtte Museum has an interesting collection of material on the culture of the Sami and of the Swedish settlers; displays of Sami handicrafts for sale. There is a Sami secondary school, established in 1942, as well as a school for nomad children.
The Great Sami Winter Fair has been an annual event in Jokkmokk for hundreds of years and celebrates the history of the Sami people.
Jokkmokk experiences the midnight sun during June and July, and the aurora borealis from November to March.