Gästrikland
() is a historical
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
or ''landskap'' on the eastern coast of
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 ...
. It borders
Uppland
Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...
,
Västmanland
Västmanland ( or ), is a historical Swedish province, or ''landskap'', in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland.
Västmanland means "(The) Land of the Western Men", where the "western men" (''västerm ...
,
Dalarna
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
Värmland () also known a ...
,
Hälsingland
Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to as Helsingia in English, is a historical province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of the land of Norrland.
...
and the
Gulf of Bothnia
The Gulf of Bothnia (; fi, Pohjanlahti; sv, Bottniska viken) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the Sweden's east coast (West ...
. Gästrikland is the southernmost of the
Norrland
Norrland (, "Northland", originally ''Norrlanden'' or "the Northlands") is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden, consisting of nine provinces. Although Norrland does not serve any administr ...
provinces.
Other forms of the name used are ''Gestricia'' and ''Gastrikland''. Before 1900, the spelling was officially ''Gestrikland'' in Swedish.
Administration
The traditional
provinces of Sweden
The provinces of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges landskap) are historical, geographical and cultural regions. Sweden has 25 provinces; they have no administrative function (except for in some cases as sport districts), but remain historical legacies and ...
serve no administrative or political purposes, but are historical and cultural entities. In the case of Gästrikland the province constitutes the southern part of the administrative
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, ''län'',
Gävleborg County
Gävleborg County ( sv, Gävleborgs län) is a county or '' län'' on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders the counties of Uppsala, Västmanland, Dalarna, Jämtland and Västernorrland. The capital is Gävle.
Provinces
Gävleborg Cou ...
.
Heraldry
Arms granted in 1560. As with other provinces the arms is represented with a ducal coronet. Blazon: "Argent Hurty an Elk statant Gules attired and hoofed Or." A coat of arms for
Gävleborg County
Gävleborg County ( sv, Gävleborgs län) is a county or '' län'' on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders the counties of Uppsala, Västmanland, Dalarna, Jämtland and Västernorrland. The capital is Gävle.
Provinces
Gävleborg Cou ...
was granted in 1938, combining the arms of Gästrikland and Hälsingland.
Geography
Gästrikland is often called ''the gate to
Norrland
Norrland (, "Northland", originally ''Norrlanden'' or "the Northlands") is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden, consisting of nine provinces. Although Norrland does not serve any administr ...
'' (the northern Sweden part that is traditionally considered scarcely populated, largely unexplored until the 15th century, and with a terrain dominated by forests, mountains and lakes). Gästrikland was often called the gate to Norrland because from Gästrikland people went on to the north part of Sweden.
The province uses the slogan "the Iron Kingdom" ("Järnriket").
The main parts of Gästrikland consists of plains, which in the south and east transcends into fertile agricultural areas. To the north the west the terrain becomes hilly and forest covered, unsuitable for agrarian tasks. In the north-western corner one also finds Gästrikland's highest mountain, the ''Lustigknopp'' (literally "Funny-hood"), of 402 meters height; this mountain also constitutes the meeting point of the three provinces Gästrikland, Hälsingland and Dalarna.
Few larger water areas are found, but a multitude of small ones, and of the total area around 1/10 is water. Its largest lake is
Storsjön with an area of 72 km
2, in its central parts.
Gästrikland has one
National park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
:
Färnebofjärden.
Sub-divisions
The sub-division of
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
is done within the ''county'', not the province. But as the province coincide with the southern municipal borders in Gävleborg County, the following municipalities are in effect located in Gästrikland:
#
Gävle Municipality
Gävle Municipality (''Gävle kommun'') is a municipality in east central Sweden. The municipal seat is located in the Stad (city) of Gävle.
Geographically the municipality is situated north of the mouth of the river Dalälven and is the sout ...
#
Sandviken Municipality
Sandviken Municipality (''Sandvikens kommun'') is a municipality in Gävleborg County, in east central Sweden. The seat is the town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the c ...
#
Hofors Municipality
Hofors Municipality (''Hofors kommun'') is a municipality in Gävleborg County, east central Sweden. Its seat is in Hofors with 7,400 inhabitants, situated at .
The first municipality with the name of ''Hofors'' was broken away from ''Torsåker' ...
#
Ockelbo Municipality
Ockelbo Municipality (''Ockelbo kommun'') is a municipality in Gävleborg County, in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Ockelbo.
The present municipality was formed in 1971 through the amalgamation of "old" ''Ockelbo'' with ''Skog''. ...
For tourism purposes
Älvkarleby Municipality
Älvkarleby Municipality (''Älvkarleby kommun'') is a municipality in Uppsala County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Skutskär.
The municipality is one of few in the country which has not been amalgamated since it wa ...
is also considered a part of Gästrikland.
Historically, Gästrikland was sub-divided into
chartered cities and court districts. Its cities were:
Gävle
Gävle () is a city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 77,586 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the 13th most populated city in Sweden. It is the oldest city in the historical Norrland (Swede ...
(chartered around 1400) and
Sandviken
Sandviken is a locality and the seat of Sandviken Municipality in Gävleborg County, Sweden with 39,234 inhabitants in 2019. It is situated about 25 km west of Gävle and lies approximately 190 km north of Stockholm. The rail journey t ...
(chartered in 1943). Its two court districts were
Gestricia Eastern Court District
A thing, german: ding, ang, þing, enm, thing. (that is, "assembly" or folkmoot) was a governing assembly in early Germanic peoples, Germanic society, made up of the free people of the community presided over by a lawspeaker. Things took pl ...
and
Gestricia Western Court District
A thing, german: ding, ang, þing, enm, thing. (that is, "assembly" or folkmoot) was a governing assembly in early Germanic society, made up of the free people of the community presided over by a lawspeaker. Things took place at regular in ...
.
Elections
Riksdag
The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
History
Gästrikland was a part of
Uppland
Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...
until 14th or 15th century. Mining and iron production became important industries in the 5th century and the iron works of
Hofors
Hofors () is a locality and the seat of Hofors Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 6,681 inhabitants in 2010.
Districts
*Born
*Böle
*Bönhusberget
*Centrum
*Göklund
*Hammaren
*Lillån
*Muntebo
*Rönningen
*Silverdale ...
and
Sandviken
Sandviken is a locality and the seat of Sandviken Municipality in Gävleborg County, Sweden with 39,234 inhabitants in 2019. It is situated about 25 km west of Gävle and lies approximately 190 km north of Stockholm. The rail journey t ...
still employ about 6,500 people, producing specialized
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
and other special metals.
Sports
Football in the province is administered by
Gestriklands Fotbollförbund
The Gestriklands Fotbollförbund ''(Gestrikland Football Association)'' is one of the 24 district organisations of the Swedish Football Association. It administers lower tier football in Gästrikland in Norrland.
Background
Gestriklands Fotb ...
. Ice hockey is also popular, with
Brynäs IF
Brynäs IF is a Swedish ice hockey team from Gävle. The club currently plays in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top tier of ice hockey in Sweden. The club has played in the top-tier league since 1960, longer than any other team.
History ...
.
References
*
article ''Gästrikland''from
Nordisk familjebok
''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...
(1909). In Swedish.
External links
Gästrikland - Tourist site. In Swedish and English.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gastrikland
Provinces of Sweden