This was especially true at the time when Haparanda was the only point of contact between the West and the large empires in the East – Russia, Persia and China.
Haparanda Stadshotell was opened amidst pomp and solemnity on 5 December, 1900.
The building was designed by the architects Fritz Ullrich and Eduard Hallqvist from Stockholm. The hotel was built in the classical style, the master builder and the carpenters coming from Sundsvall, Sweden, the stucco workers came from Italy, much of the building material was from Silesia, etc.