gnificant mechanisation was achieved. The peak of Kiirunavaara, Statsr�det, was 247.7 metres (813 ft) above Luossaj�rviuntil it was spectacularly blown off in 1910.
A general strike hit Sweden in 1909 and Kiruna was no exception. Hoping for a better future, thousands of people left Kiruna, including a group of 500 inhabitants emigrating to Brazil. Most of them returned, disappointed that life in Latin America was not what they had hoped it to be, Hjalmar Lundbohm personally lent money for the trip home to some of the emigrants.
During World War I, iron ore production dropped to the lowest level in LKAB's history, and when exports increased again, a successful three-month strike in 1920 meant a 20% increase in salaries for the miners. Production dropped to a minimum in 1922 and a three-day workweek was introduced, but during the fabulous twenties it increased to a record nine million tonnes in 1927.
In 1921, mining started at the other of the two ore hills in Kiruna, Luossavaara. However, the total amount of ore that could be mined in open pit mining here was small compared to Kiirunavaara, and LKAB preferred to concentrate resources in one place. Nevertheless, mining here continued until 1974 and later it became a research mine.
During the first decades of Kiruna's existence, no road connected it to the outside world. The only connection was by railway or, as in the time before the railway, by boat (in summer) via the Torne and Kalix rivers to Jukkasj�rvi and H�moj�kk and then proceed by foot. A road from Kiruna was built to Tuolluvaara in 1901, Poikkij�rvi in 1909, Alttaj�rvi in 1913 and connected to Svappavaara in 1926, from where roads already connected via Vittangi to Pajala and via Lappesuando to G�llivare and further south.
The Great Depression led to a 70% drop in ore production, a drop that would turn into a dramatic increase on the eve of World War II.
Although some tourists already came to the area in the 19th
