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 Avesta Municipality (''Avesta kommun'') is one of 290 municipalities of Sweden. It is in Dalarna County, in the central part of the country, and its seat is in the town of Avesta. The municipality in its present size was created in 1967 when th ...

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 Hedmar ...

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 The Dal River ( sv, Dalälven, Elfdalian: ''Dalövę'') is a river in central Sweden that flows from the north of Dalarna and runs into the sea in northern Uppland; it is commonly considered to be the southern border of Norrland, however only th ...

. ''Stadhum'' was dative plural of a word of similar origin as stead, 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 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 Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabitan ...

, and in 1644 a copper mint was built. However, the privileges were withdrawn in 1688 due to complaints of competition from its neighbour, mainly

. Copper coins were continued to be minted until 1831, and the copper works was in function until 1869. Full city rights 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 ...

(''Dalälven''). The

railway junction A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge. This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes (assuming they are of the same gauge), provided by ''points'' ( ...

Krylbo Krylbo () is a part of the town 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 Rail transport (also known as train t ...

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

.
Avesta Visentpark
(Avesta Bison Park) has about 25

European bison The European bison (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bison, along ...

. 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 De ...

* 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 Scar Symmetry is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Avesta, formed in 2004. The band has released six albums, with seven released singles. They are signed to Nuclear Blast Records. History Formation and ''Symmetric in Design'' (2004−200 ...

References

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