The first time it is mentioned in writing is in an indulgence letter written on June 29, 1472 by archbishop Jakob Ulfsson Örnfot of Uppsala. The letter of indulgence was written on the same day that the archbishop inaugurated the polyptych. The church also has a very interesting history, with a remarkably well preserved girl buried under the entrance dressed like a bride, and the fact that the church was used as a stable for the horses of the Russian army in 1808. History About 4500 years ago the climate in the north of the Nordic countries started to warm up after the last ice age. The warmth together with isostasy made it possible to inhabit the area around Kalix. Already around year 1000 Kalix had Goods from the forest and river which would cause people from the south to sail all the way up to Kalix. The tradition of trading seems to have continued across the centuries because when Carl von Linné and his apprentice Lars Montin visited the Kalix marketplace in 1732 and 1749 he complained about the haggling with the Kalix' traders which allowed the people of Kalix a good price On butter and tar but drove up the inflation in Stockholm. Kalix as a socken (Nordic name for Local geographic area with its own administration) was First mentioned in 1482. Before this point the area had been referred to with many different names: Caliss, Kaliss, Calixe, Calix and Neder Kalix. To confuse things further, a current municipality called Överkalix (Upper Kalix) was a part of the Kalix municipality until 1644, when it became its own municipality, with the result that people started referring to Kalix as "Nederkalix (Lower Kalix). During the 18th century each village in the Kalix area had its own part of the river to fish Salmon and Common whitefish. The villages along the coast line caught Common bleak and Herring. Part of the catch was transported down south, along with Seal blubber and tar. Around 1660 a copper mine was opened south of Bodträsk by Moån village. At the end of the 18th century Björkfors village also opened a mine, and in Törefors village an iron mine opened in 1801. On March 25, 1809, Kalix was the location of the capitulation of the Swedish Army in the Finnish war. In effect it surrendered Finland to Russia. Peace talks were initiated in the Finnish