Posts tagged with "province"

The Swedish provinces: Götaland

Posted by jennie No Comments
Jun 29 2010

After a Midsummer’s weekend filled with “Helan går”, herring and homesickness, let’s get back to business and end our journey through the Swedish provinces. The third and final region is Götaland, known as the south part and consists of the provinces Blekinge, Bohuslän, Dalsland, Halland, Skåne, Småland, Västergötland, Östergötland, Gotland och Öland.

16. Östergötland is the home of several famous canals, amongst them the popular Göta kanal, a heavily trafficked tourist boat route that starts in Västergötland and holds 58 sea locks. Another popular tourist attraction is Kolmårdens djurpark, a big zoo with a famous tiger safari and dolphinarium.
Province animal: Knölsvan (swan)
Province flower: Blåklint (blue bottle)

17. Dalsland is a small province, often called “A miniature Sweden” because of its varied scenery with lakes, flats and even a mountain (Kopplefjäll). The province has one city, Åmål, a place made famous from the movie “Fucking Åmål” (Lukas Modysson) from 1999.
Province animal: Korp (raven)
Province flower: Förgätmigej (forget-me-not)

18. Bohuslän – my beloved home in Sweden – is famous for its amazing rocky scenery, its many small sea side resorts and its fishing industry. Göteborg partly belongs to Bohuslän, other cities are my old hometown of Kungälv and the coastal town of Uddevalla. Marstrand is popular place for tourists, read about Tibor’s visit here.
Province animal: Knubbsäl (seal) Province flower: Kaprifol (honeysuckle)

19. Västergötland is home to Göteborg, the second biggest city in Sweden, the famous knight Arn, the popular amusement park Skara sommarland and the amazing crane’s mating dance at the lake Hornborgarsjön. Once evey year, thousands of cranes meet here to mate, a spectacular event that attracts tourists from all over.
Province animal: Trana (crane)
Province flower: Ljung (heather)

20. Småland has nurtured many worldwide known Swedes, such as Carl von Linné, Ingvar Kamprad – the founder of IKEA, Astrid Lindgren, the tennis player Stefan Edberg and the ABBA member Agnetha Fältskog.  The head office of IKEA is still located Ingvar’s hometown of Älmhult and Astrid Lindgrens värld (The world of Astrid Lindgren) is a very popular tourist attraction for Astrid-lovers, both young and old. Småland is also worldwide famous for its many glassworks, such as Kosta Boda.
Province animal: Utter (otter)
Province flower: Linnea (twin flower)

21. Gotland is the place to visit if you are after sunshine; Gotland is the most sunny place in all of Sweden. Because of that – and it’s amazing beaches and rich history – Gotland is a hugely popular place for tourists, both Swedish and foreign. Gotland was the home of the late director Ingmar Bergman and several movies has been filmed on the little island. Ferrys to Gotland leave from Nynäshamn (Södermanland) and Oskarshamn (Småland), although Visby has an airport.
Province animal: Igelkott (hedgehog)
Province flower: Murgröna (ivy)

22. Öland is Sweden’s second biggest island but its smallest province. Like Gotland, it’s a famous destination for tourists and the retreat for the Swedish royal family, who has a place called Solliden on Öland. Öland is linked to the mainland since 1972 via Ölandsbron and Kalmar.
Province animal: Näktergal (nightingale)
Province flower: Solvända (sun rose)

23. Halland’s beautiful coastline and beaches has made it a popular tourist destination – especially the seaside resorts Varberg and Falkenberg. Halland is also known as a surfing province due to its beaches and waves. The biggest city is Halmstad, the hometown of Roxette’s Per Gessle.
Province animal: Lax (salmon)
Province flower: Hårginst (hairy greenweed) 

24. Blekinge is often called “The garden of Sweden” and its many picturesque fishing villages are popular tourist destinations. Fishing is a  big thing  in Blekinge and the town and river Mörrum is the place to be if you want to catch a salmon or five. The biggest city in Blekinge is Karlskrona
Province animal: Ekoxe (stag beetle)
Province flower: Ek (oak)

25. Skåne, the most southern place in Scandinavia, is since 2001 linked together with Denmark by Öresundsbron. The biggest city is Malmö, Sweden’s third biggest city, known as youthful, cultural and continental place. Lund is a very popular student town and lately Ystad has become a big tourist destination, mainly due to the books and movies about Kurt Wallander.
Province animal: Kronhjort (red deer)
Province flower: Prästkrage (marguerite)

Can you guess the provinces??

Right, there we have it. All the way through Sweden, from Happaranda to Ystad in three blog posts. I know, I have probably missed out on several equally important facts, places, persons or tourist attractions (although I have used “popular” and “famous” about a million times), but feel free to add whatever you think is important. Or, let us know if there’s anything particular you want to know more about. Your wish – our command, as always.

Photo: Peter Grant, Kjell Holmér/Sweden.se

The Swedish provinces: Svealand

Posted by jennie 2 Comments
Jun 23 2010

A few last and final words before we leave the huge royal wedding success behind: My god, wasn’t it absolutely brilliant? I know, I have gone on and on about it so I will stop right now and move on to the slightly broader subject of geography and provinces. Today: Svealand – the middle part of our lovely country.

  Svealand consists of the six provinces Dalarna, Närke, Södermanland, Uppland, Värmland and Västmanland, covers an area of 90 000 square kilometres and habits 3, 5 million Swedes.

9. Dalarna means “the valleys” and if you ever come across a picture perfect photo of Swedish summer, there is a strong possibility it is taken in Dalarna. The province attracts loads of tourists - both Swedish and foreign and is famous for its amazing scenery - mostly around the big lake Siljan - its delicacy falukorv from the city of Falun and of course, the ultra Swedish symbol the Dala horse!
Province animal: Berguv (Eurasian eagle owl)
Province flower: Blåklocka (bluebell)

10. Värmland is a province with endless forests, the beautiful river Klarälven and the proud birthplace of world famous fotball coach Sven-Göran Ericsson. The biggest city is Karlstad, located by Swedens biggest lake, Vänern.
Province animal: Varg (wolf)
Province flower: Skogsstjärna ( chickweed wintergreen) 

12. Uppland is also a placed packed with history and ancient monuments, around 150 000 to be a bit more exact. It is also packed with people, since this is where Sweden’s capital Stockholm is located – partly.  Other famous cities in Uppland are the univeristy town of Uppsala.
Province animal: Havsörn (eagle) Province flower: Kungsängslilja (fritillary)

13. Västmanland is a province nicely tucked in between where north meets south and gives it an interesting mix of scenery, flora, fauna and cultural life. The biggest city in Västmanland is Västerås and the biggest celebrities are the famous rockband the Hives.
Province animal: Rådjur (roe deer)
Province flower: Mistel (mistletoe)

14. Närke’s history dates back to the late days of the ice age, signs show that people lived in the already then. The province has a rich history and over 5 000 ancient monuments to be proud of.
Province animal: Hasselmus (dormouse)
Province flower: Gullviva

Södermanland is often called “Sörmland” and is a flat province, the highest point is no more than 100 meters above sea level. The southern part of Stockholm “belongs” to Södermanland, making it a very populated province.
Province animal: Fiskgjuse (osprey)
Province flower: Vit näckros (white water lily)

Last but not least, Götland coming up! But before that, it’s the all important Midsummer’s Eve on Friday! Will you celebrate this hugely important day in any special way? If you want to brush up on our Midsummer traditions, make sure to check back on Friday for our Midsummer’s special!

The Swedish provinces (landskap)

Posted by jennie 7 Comments
Jun 16 2010

Before getting on with all the fun stuff regarding the World Cup and the exciting royal wedding (three days to go now!), let’s spend some time studying the geography of Sweden. Quite often we seem to mention a few different provinces  and I figured it was about time to go through them quickly and what they are most famous for.

First of all, Sweden are divided into three big parts, Götaland, the south, Svealand, the middle and Norrland, the north. The country is then divided into 25 provinces, which purely have a cultural and a historical meaning and no political importance what so ever. That is taken care of by the 21 counties that the 25 provinces then are divided into. But let’s forget about the counties today. A Swedish person is much more likely to mention wich province he or she is from rather than the county.

Anyway, every province has its own province bird, province flower and province coat of arms. On a good day, I might know five of these, and I think it’s safe to say that that goes for many Swedes. But it’s definitely good knowledge if you ever plan to play Trivial Pursuit or go pub quizing in Sweden. Or simply just want to impress Swedish family and friends.

Today I give you the eight provinces of Norrland!

 1. Lappland is our biggest province and covers almost 25 percent of the whole country. Here you can find Sweden’s highest mountain Kebnekaise (2111 m), the native Lapps, the famous ice hotel in Jukasjärvi, the biggest mosquitoes and the most amazing nature scenery in the world.
Province flower: Fjällsippa (mountain aven)
Province animal: Fjällräv (mountain fox)

2. Norrbotten is known for being our coldest province with -40 degrees Celsius during the winter. But Norrbotten is also our warmest province and holds the highest temperature ever measured in Sweden, +37 degrees Celsuis. Talk about difference!
Province flower: Åkerbär (arctic bramble)
Province animal: Lavskrika (Sibirian Jay)

3.Västerbotten is a culinary province and is the proud maker of the famous Västerbotten cheese. The scenery is in Västerbotten is amazing with a spectacular mix of mountains, forests, lakes and streams. Our blogger Katja comes from the big University city Umeå, she has written about it here!
Province flower: Kung Karls spira (no translation found) Province animal: Storspov (Eurasian curlew)

4. Ångermanland is the home of surströmming – the fermented fish that smells like… well, I can’t even begin describe it. Anyone?
Province flower: Styvmorsviol (wild pansy)
Province animal: Bäver (beaver)

5. In Jämtland, you can find Sweden’s fifth biggest but most exciting lake, Storsjön. Storsjön is the home of Sweden’s Nessie, Storsjöodjuret, a large sea serpent who is said to be living in Storsjön. This has never been confirmed, but it definitely keeps the tourists coming!
Province flower: Brunkulla (no translation found)
Province animal: Älg (elk)

6. Medelpad has a rich animal life and if you travel there you might bump into deer, elk, bear, wolf, beaver and much much more. Sundsvall is the only city in the province.
Province flower: Gran (Norway spruce)
Province animal: Skogshare (wild hare)

7. Härjedalen is filled with ski resorts, hiking trails and rivers. The province has been home to people since the stone age and has a rich history and over 2000 ancient monuments.
Province flower: Mosippa (spring pasque flower)
Province animal: Brunbjörn (brown bear)

8. Lot of Swedish folk music and folk dancing origins from Hälsingland. If you don’t like cursing but still want to tell someone to go to h**l, you can without guilt shout “Dra åt Hälsingland”", since this province’s name has become a euphemism for “hell”. Last but not least, the Swedish princess Madeleine is the Duchess of Hälsingland.
Province flower: Lin (flax)
Province animal: Lodjur (lynx)

11. Gästrikland  – and especially the small town of Ockelbo – has become known world wide lately, since this is where our new Prince, Daniel, is born and raised.  More royal connections:  the Swedish princess Madeleine is the Duchess of Gästrikland, together with Hälsingland as well.
Province flower: Liljekonvalj (Lily of the valley)
Province animal: Tjäder (grouse)

And speaking of Princess Madeleine, the coming weekend is all about a certain wedding in Sweden and I am pretty sure there will be one or two blogs about that. But then, a trip through Svealand and Götaland!

(Foto: Ove Källström, Sweden.se)

A Little Bit About Skåne

Posted by Transparent Language 13 Comments
Jul 8 2008

I promised you that we would talk about Skåne today. And depending on how we do, we may have to spread it over several posts. Why? There’s much to talk about!

Skåne is a very odd part of Sweden. And some may argue that it’s not even Sweden at all. Well, once upon a time it was called Skåneland (Scania in English) and was one of the three lands of Denmark. The city of Lund was its center. So those who say that if you scratch a skåning, you’ll see a Dane underneath, are kind of sort of right. And those skåningar may even say that as far as the historical details go, the province is a quite recent Swedish acquisition.

In order to learn more about the event that gave Skåne to Sweden, I started to read about the Northern Wars (1655-1661) and the Treaty of Roskilde (February 26, 1658) but the overload of war-mongering kings, conquests, and who did what to whom was slowly putting me to sleep.

Roskilde is in Denmark, by the way, and today is more known for its music festival than for some old historical treaties.

And why am I telling you all this boring stuff? Because it’s hard to understand what Skåne is all about without a little bit of background research. It’s closer, much closer in fact, to Copenhagen than to Stockholm, people talk funny there, and even the climate and nature are different from the rest of Sweden.

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