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 km2. 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 honour 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 harbour in Gammelstad did not satisfy the demands made by an expanding maritime trade, and the city had to be moved ten kilometres 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 sailingships, 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 the Luleå area. The "Ore Railway" changed the economic prerequisites for iron production and Luleå Ironworks was inaugurated in Karlsvik in 1906. Its history, however, was 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 Norrbotten County and has a population of about 70,000. 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. Luleå University of Technology has played an important role.