Avesta () is a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

and the seat of Avesta Municipality in

Dalarna County Dalarna County ( sv, Dalarnas län) is a county or '' län'' in central Sweden (Svealand). It borders on the counties of Uppsala, Jämtland, Gävleborg, Västmanland, Örebro and Värmland. It also borders on the Norwegian counties of Hedmark ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, with 11,949 inhabitants in 2015. The name is first found in 1303 as "Aghastadhum". ''Aghe'' is of similar origin as the word å, meaning

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

, in this case the Avestafors, a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the river Dalälven. ''Stadhum'' was

dative In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a ...

plural of a word of similar origin as

stead Stead (pronounced 'sted' as in "instead") is an English language, English surname, and may refer to: Surnames * Barry Stead (1939–1980), English cricketer * C. K. Stead (born 1932), New Zealand writer and critic * Christina Stead (1902–1983) ...

, or farm. Suecia 2-039 ; Avestadfors

History

In the Scandinavian

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

there was a

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...

at the location. In 1636 the construction of a giant

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

mine was initiated near the Avesta fors. The town Avesta received partial privileges in 1641 as a town under the city of Falun, and in 1644 a copper mint was built. However, the privileges were withdrawn in 1688 due to complaints of competition from its neighbour, mainly Falun. Copper coins were continued to be minted until 1831, and the copper works was in function until 1869. Full

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

were regranted in 1919. The designated coat of arms depict the signs for

and

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

Geography

The town is located by the

Dalecarlia River Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norway i ...

(''Dalälven''). The railway junction

Krylbo Krylbo () is a part of the town Avesta (locality), Avesta in Avesta Municipality, Dalarna County. It was a market town until it merged with the city of Avesta in 1966. Krylbo is mostly known for being an important railway hub called Avesta-Krylbo ...

is situated in Avesta.

Climate

Avesta has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

with sizeable seasonal differences, although much less than would be expected for an interior climate north of

60°N The 60th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 60 degrees north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. Although it lies approximately twice as far away from the Equator as ...

. Being situated at the foot of the higher areas to its west, summer temperatures are warm because of the relatively low elevation of around above sea level. Precipitation is quite high by standards of Sweden's areas closer to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

, which renders the possibility of heavy snowfall in winter.

Sightseeing

*The city of Avesta has the world's largest

Dalecarlian horse A Dalecarlian horse or Dala horse (; Swedish: ''Dalahäst'') is a traditional carved, painted wooden statue of a horse originating in the Swedish province of Dalarna (Dalecarlia). In the old days the Dalecarlian horse was mostly used as a t ...

. Th
horse statue
is made of concrete and located next to the city's first

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

. Avesta's Burger King opened on February 16, 2016.
Koppardalen Verket
is a popular attraction in Avesta. It is a former

ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...

that began operations in 1874. It is now a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

and hosts art exhibits.
Metropoolen
is an indoor swimming pool and adventure area in Avesta. It includes a 78-meter-long

water slide A water slide (also referred to as a flume, or water chute) is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to si ...

.
Avesta Visentpark
(Avesta Bison Park) has about 25 European bison. The park has a cafe, a historic home from the 1930s, and a children's playhouse.

Notable people

* Retired NHL defenceman

Nicklas Lidström Erik Nicklas Lidström (; born 28 April 1970) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman and current vice president of hockey operations for the Detroit Red Wings. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detr ...

* Swedish footballer

Lina Hurtig Lina Mona Andréa Hurtig (born 5 September 1995) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward for English Women's Super League club Arsenal and the Sweden women's national team. Club career After turning 15, Hurtig, who is ...

Tony Rickardsson Tony Rickardsson (born on 17 August 1970) is a Swedish former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He competed in the Speedway World Championships from 1989 to 2006. Rickardsson is notable for winning six Speedway World Championship titles in 1 ...

* Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Jesper 'JW' Wecksell

Bands

* Scar Symmetry

References

Swedish municipal seats Populated places in Dalarna County Populated places in Avesta Municipality Municipal seats of Dalarna County {{Dalarna-geo-stub