Bollnäs () is a Swedish locality and the seat of Bollnäs Municipality, in

Gävleborg County Gävleborg County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders the counties of Uppsala County, Uppsala, Västmanland County, Västmanland, Dalarna County, Dalarna, Jämtland County, Jämtland and V� ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. It has about 14,000 inhabitants.https://bollnas.se/kommun-och-politik/kommunfakta

History

The first recording of Bollnäs in writing is from 1312 when a vicar named Ingemund referred to it as ''Baldenaes'', meaning "the large

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

," referring to the isthmus into a nearby lake. Before becoming known as Bollnäs, its name was ''Bro By'' (lit. Bridge Village). Bollnäs has a station along the Northern Railline ('' Norra Stambanan''), which it was connected to in 1878. The town became a main base for further northern expansion of the railroad. In 1884, it became a primary maintenance and repair workshop for the railroad. The railroad was the largest employer in Bollnäs for the greater part of the 20th century, until the 1990s when it was closed due to its location being no longer optimal. Bollnäs became a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in 1942, nowadays an honorary title without administrative significance. Bollnäs is twinned with Shepton Mallet,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Sports

Bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

is the locality's most popular sport. Bollnäs GIF play in the highest division Elitserien. In 2010, they reached the Swedish final for the first time since 1956. In 2011, they reached the finals and lost in overtime after a controversial offside penalty. In 2017, the team, once again, reached the finals and lost against their rivals Edsbyn IF. Rehns BK started as a bandy club, but now it focuses on

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

and

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

Points of interest

The Bollnäs church was built in the 14th and 15th centuries. An opening ceremony took place on November 3, 1468, probably for the church tower. Later alterations include the addition of the north and south transepts, built 1753-1755.Svenska kyrkan Bollnäs-Rengsjö - "Bollnäs kyrka invändigt"
/ref> The church hosts a collection of wooden medieval sculptures larger than any other parish church in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

. Three of the

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

s are major works of art from the late 15th century or early 16th century, including an altarpiece dedicated to

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

made by Haaken Gulleson c. 1520. The church's

eucharistic The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...

, with its

paten A paten or diskos is a small plate used for the celebration of the Eucharist (as in a mass). It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Wes ...

, is another valuable piece dating from the same period.

Notable people

* Bengt Åberg (1944–2021), professional motorcycle racer and two-time motocross world champion (1969–

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

) * Bloodbound, Heavy metal band was founded in Bollnäs in 2004. * Jan Boklöv (b.1966), professional

ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fin ...

lived in Bollnäs during the 1990s. * Emma Broomé (b.1985), professional actress * Erik Byléhn (1898–1986), middle-distance runner who competed at the 1924 and

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

. * Emma Engstrand (b.1977),

Orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

competitor. * Anna Eriksdotter (1624–1704), last person to be executed for witchcraft in Sweden. * Albin Eriksson (b.2000), professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. * Anders Eriksson (b.1975), professional ice hockey player. * Ole Fahlin (1901–1992), Aviator, designer and manufacturer of aviation equipment * Åke "Stan" Hasselgård (1922–1948),

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

clarinetist The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodw ...

grew up in Bollnäs, where his grave can be found. *

Lina Hedlund Lina Maria Hedlund (born 28 March 1978) is a Swedish singer and member of the pop group Alcazar. She also has a solo career. Career Hedlund was born in Bollnäs. She has participated in Melodifestivalen a number of times, in Melodifestival ...

(b.1978), professional musician * C.-H. Hermansson (1917–2016),

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, member of the Swedish

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and chairman of the Communist Party of Sweden. * Tobias Jonsson (b.1996), Paralympic athlete * Anna-Karin Kammerling (b.1980), Olympic swimmer who competed at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

. * Fritz Kiölling (1896–1976), middle-distance runner who competed in the men's 1500 metres at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

* Pernilla Lindberg (b.1986), professional golfer. * Yngve Lundh (1924–2017),

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

who competed in the

individual An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...

and team road race events at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

* Timo K. Mukka (1944–1973), Finnish author was born in Bollnäs, where his family had been evacuated to during the Lapland War. * Ulf Norinder (1934–1978), racing driver * Charles Rytkönen (b. 1968), professional musician * Thomas von Scheele (b.1969)

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

player and coach, competed in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. * Victoria Silvstedt (b.1974), professional model, actress, singer, and television personality. * Johan Söderberg (b.1962), film director and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

Peter Stormare Rolf Peter Ingvar Stormare (; Birth name, né Storm, 27 August 1953) is a Swedish actor. He played Prince Hamlet, Hamlet for Ingmar Bergman, Gaear Grimsrud in the film ''Fargo (1996 film), Fargo'' (1996) and List of Prison Break characters#John ...

(b.1953), professional actor. * Per-Inge Tällberg (b.1967), professional ski jumper. * Staffan Tällberg (b.1970), professional ski jumper. * Göran Unger (1899–1982), athlete who competed in the men's pentathlon at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

* Alexander Petersson (b.1997), professional artist. * Walter Wallberg (b.2000), professional freestyle skier who competed in the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bollnas Populated places in Bollnäs Municipality Hälsingland Municipal seats of Gävleborg County Swedish municipal seats fi:Bollnäsin kunta