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Gävle () is a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in
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 ...
, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of
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 ...
. 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 (Sweden's Northern Lands), having received its
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
in 1446 from Christopher of Bavaria. However, Gävle is far nearer to the greater
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
region than it is to most other major settlements in Norrland and has a much milder climate than associated with said region. In recent years, the city has received much international attention due to its large Yule Goat figure made of straw - the Gävle Goat. The goat is erected in December each year and is often subsequently vandalized, usually by being set on fire. The goat has now become a symbol for the city and is being used for various marketing purposes.


History

It is believed that the name ''Gävle'' derives from the word ''gavel'', meaning
river bank Riverbank or river bank may refer to: *Bank (geography), the bank of a river Places *Riverbank, California *Riverbank, former name of Bryte, California Enterprises and organizations *Riverbank Academy, a special school in Coventry, England * Ri ...
s in
Old Swedish Old Swedish (Swedish language, Modern Swedish: ) is the name for two distinct stages of the Swedish language that were spoken in the Middle Ages: Early Old Swedish (), spoken from about 1225 until about 1375, and Late Old Swedish (), spoken fro ...
and referring to the Gavleån (Gävle River). The oldest settlement was called ''Gävle-ägarna'', which means "Gavel-owners". This name was shortened to ''Gävle'', then ''Gefle'', and finally ''Gävle''. Gävle is first mentioned as a town in official history books in 1413 but only received its official town charters in 1446. For a long time, Gävle consisted solely of small, low, turf or
shingle Shingle may refer to: Construction *Roof shingles or wall shingles, including: **Wood shingle ***Shake (shingle), a wooden shingle that is split from a bolt, with a more rustic appearance than a sawed shingle ***Quercus imbricaria, or shingle oak ...
roofed wooden buildings. Boat-houses lined the banks of Gavleån, Lillån, and Islandsån. Until the 18th century the town was built, as was the practice then, around the three most important buildings: the church, the regional
palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
, and the
town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
. Over the last 300 years, Gävle has been ablaze on three occasions. After the fire of 1776, the town was rebuilt with straight streets and rectangular city blocks. The number of stone and brick houses also started to increase. The biggest town fire occurred 1869, when out of a population of around 10,000 approximately 8,000 inhabitants lost their homes, and about 350 farms were destroyed. Almost the whole town north of Gavleån was burnt down. All the buildings south of Gavleån were saved. An area of the old town between the museum and the library has been preserved to this day as a historic reserve, ''
Gamla Gefle Gamla, alt. sp. Gamala ( he, גַּמְלָא, The Camel) was an ancient Jewish city on the Golan Heights. It is believed to have been founded as a Seleucid fort during the Syrian Wars which was turned into a city under Hasmonean rule in 81 ...
''. After the catastrophe of the fire Gävle developed its characteristic
grid plan In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogona ...
with large esplanades and green areas. It is now a green town with wide avenues. Stopping the spread of future town fires was the main idea behind this development. An extensive redevelopment of the central town area was started during the 1950s. Around 1970 Gävle became a large urban district when it was united with the nearby municipalities of Valbo, Hamrånge,
Hedesunda Hedesunda is a locality and a parish situated in Gävle Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 1,028 inhabitants as of 2010. The area used to be a municipality in its own right before being incorporated into Gävle. The urban area in Hed ...
, and Hille. New
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
s like Stigslund, Sätra, Andersberg, and Bomhus have grown up around the central city. In the middle of the 1800s to the beginning of the 1900s, there was a bad harvest and a high unemployment rate in Sweden. At the same time, political and religious oppression occurred, and religious encounters outside the State Church were not allowed. This led many Swedes to emigrate to other countries such as the United States. During the early emigration era, Gävle was one of the cities from which people left on their journey to the US. People from parts of Gästrikland and other neighboring counties made their way to the harbor town of Gävle and then commenced their departure to America. In 1986 as a result of the
Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nuc ...
, Gävle was subjected to a severe deposition of radionuclides, exceeding 185
kBq The becquerel (; symbol: Bq) is the unit of radioactivity in the International System of Units (SI). One becquerel is defined as the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one nucleus decays per second. For applications relatin ...
per square meter. The impact was much greater than experienced by other regions of western Europe and as such, Gävle became one of the most affected areas outside of the Soviet Union. Between 1905 and 1997, the I14 Regiment was located in Gävle. Gävle was the birthplace of the botanist Erik Acharius (1757).


Geography

Gävle is situated by the Baltic Sea near the mouth of the river Dalälven. At 60 degrees north and 17 degrees east, Gävle has the same latitude as Helsinki and the same longitude as Vienna and Cape Town. Bordering municipalities are Söderhamn,
Ockelbo Ockelbo is a locality and the seat of Ockelbo Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 2,724 inhabitants in 2010. The name Ockelbo, spelled ''De oklabo'' in 1314, contains an old marine name ''*Ukle'', referring to modern-day Lake Bysjön. The ...
, Sandviken,
Heby Heby is a locality and the seat of Heby Municipality in Uppsala County, 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 Sw ...
,
Tierp Tierp () is a locality and the seat of Tierp Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 6,143 inhabitants in 2018. Communications Tierp is connected to Uppsala and Gävle by commuter train Upptåget and the new (2007) section of highway E4 pa ...
and Älvkarleby. Twenty kilometers west of Gävle lies Sandviken.


Climate

Gävle has a similar climate to the rest of central
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 winter highs just below freezing and summer highs a bit above . The average yearly precipitation is around . Under the Köppen climate classification Gävle is classified as humid continental (Dfb), in spite of the significant maritime influence. It is also one of the northernmost cities of significant size in the world with this climate type, since areas north of the 60th latitude for the most part are dominated by various subarctic climate types. Under the 1961-1990 normals, Gävle's fourth warmest month was just around the isotherm of to not be classified as subarctic, but temperatures did go up sufficiently to be clear humid continental since. While precipitation usually is moderate, in August 2021, Gävle was hit by a
Flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...
after recording of rainfall in one day. Considerable flooding occurred in multiple regions with entire neighborhoods flooded. Vehicles were submerged and landslides occurred as well. At least 10 heavy rain reports were reported.


Economy

Trade from the port of Gävle increased markedly during the 15th century when copper and iron began to be exported from the port. In order to ensure that all trade was via
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, sailing to foreign ports from Gävle and a few other ports was forbidden. During the 16th century, Gävle was one of the most important port and merchant towns with many shipping companies and
shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
s. In 1787 Gävle was awarded "free and unrestricted sailing rights" to and from foreign ports. This led to an increase in trade, which in turn led to an increase in buildings, industrial developments, trade and shipping. Today there are few shipping companies or
shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
s left, but an important port remains. It has over 1000 ships calling per year and is among the top ten common ports in Sweden.


Major companies

* BillerudKorsnäs (
pulp and paper industry The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process The pulp is fed to a paper machine where it is formed as a paper web an ...
) * Kraft General Foods Scandinavia ( Gevalia coffee) *
Cale Industri Cale may refer to: People * Cale (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Calé, an endonym used by Romani subgroups in Spain and Portugal Places * Cale, Arkansas, a town in Nevada County, Arkansas, United States ...
(
parking meter A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street par ...
s)


Demography


Culture

Gävle has, considering its size, a large and well nourished cultural life, being a cradle for many musicians such as The Deer Tracks and
The Sound of Arrows The Sound of Arrows are a Swedish electronic music duo originally from Gävle, and now based in Stockholm. The duo, consisting of Oskar Gullstrand and Stefan Storm, have remixed tracks for artists such as Lady Gaga, Alphabeat, The Naked and Fa ...
. The city applied to become the European Capital of Culture in 2014.


Arts and museums

The prison museum of Sweden, the county museum of Gävleborg, and the national railway museum are the three largest museums in the city. The prison museum is located near Gävle Castle and depicts the history of crime and punishment in Sweden. The county museum (located downtown) hosts an art collection spanning from the 1600s to present time and well as a section dedicated to cultural history. Finally, the Swedish Railway Museum (Rälsgatan 1), hosts a collection that began to accumulate in 1906 in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
and which was moved to Gävle in 1970. Gävle has a theater dating back to the 1800s. It is still used for performances today, including classic theater, opera, variety and stand-up. There is also a concert hall in Gävle which was inaugurated in 1998. It is home to the 1912 Gävle Symphony Orchestra, whose principal conductor is
Jaime Martín Jaime Martín (born 1 September 1965) is a Spanish conductor and flautist. Biography Born in Santander, Spain, Martín began his music studies on the flute at age 8, and became a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain at age 13. He was ...
.


Media

''Gefle Dagblad'' founded in 1895 and ''Arbetarbladet'' are the two leading media outlets covering Gävle in the papers. Both have a long history dating back to the early 1900s and the late 1800s, respectively. Aside from this, the Swedish national public TV broadcaster, SVT, has an editorial office in the city and the national public radio
Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...
broadcasts from the city.


Sports

Gävle has teams competing in the highest national league in
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
( Gefle IF) as well as ice hockey ( Brynäs IF) and
floorball Floorball is a type of floor hockey with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. Men and women play indoors with sticks and a plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three twenty-minute periods. The sport of bandy also played a role ...
( Gävle GIK).


Å-Draget

Each September Gävle Kommun organises a weekend where outdoor candles are lit along the banks of the Gavle River in an attempt to highlight its beauty and its importance to the city. The kommun organises different performances and activities for residents and visitors to enjoy as the walk along the river.


Education

The
University College of Gävle A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', whic ...
currently enrolls 16,000 students. It offers over 800 courses and around 50 degree programs in technology, social and natural sciences, and the humanities. Its research profiles are "Built Environment" ("Byggd miljö") and "Health in working life" ("Hälsofrämjande arbetsliv"). Some courses are offered in English and are taken by both international and Swedish students.


Miscellanea

Gävle is known for being the birthplace of the Gevalia coffee brand, which is produced by Kraft General Foods Scandinavia and exported around the globe. Gevalia is particularly popular in the Americas and produces dozens of unique flavored coffees for the United States that are not available to its customers in Europe. However, visitors who come to the factory in Gävle can sample many of the premium blends. ( Gevalia is the Latin name for Gävle). Other brands from Gävle include the throat lozenges Läkerol and the car-shaped sweets Ahlgrens Bilar. Gävle preserves the memory of the Swedish-American labor activist and martyr Joel Emmanuel Hägglund, better known as Joe Hill, who was born there in 1879. The Hägglund family home still stands in Gävle at the address Nedre Bergsgatan 28, in ''Gamla Stan'', the Old Town. it houses a museum and the ''Joe Hill-gården'', which hosts cultural events.


Gävle goat

The history of the Gävle goat began in 1966. Stig Gavlén came up with the idea of placing a giant version of the traditional Swedish Christmas goat of
straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...
in Slottstorget (Castle Square) in central Gävle. On 1 December the 13-metre tall, 7-metre long, 3 tonne goat was erected on the square. At midnight on
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
, the goat went up in flames. The goat has since had a history of being burnt almost every year, 2005 being the 22nd time it was burnt. Burning the goat is an illegal act and not welcomed by most citizens of Gävle, but undoubtedly this is what has made the goat famous. In 2006 the goat was covered in a flame-resistant coating to prevent
arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
, enabling the goat to remain standing throughout that winter. On December 27, 2015, the goat was burnt for the 28th time. In its 54-year history, the goat has been burnt down 38 times.


Notable people

*
Linn Ahlborg Linn Joanna Elsa Ahlborg (born 4 September 1999) is a Swedish blogger and YouTube personality. Linn runs one of Sweden's largest YouTube channels with almost 370,000 subscribers and over 500,000 followers on Instagram. Her blog with over 2.5 mil ...
(born 1999) Swedish blogger and influencer * Siri Andersson-Palmestav (1903–2002) writer and missionary. *
Anna Bartels Anna Katarina Bartels née Fernquist (1869–1950) was a Swedish operatic soprano. She made her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1897 in the title role of Friedrich von Flotow's ''Martha (opera), Martha''. Engaged by the company for the next ...
(1869–1950), opera singer *
Alexandra Dahlström Lena Marina Alexandra Dahlström (born 12 February 1984) is a Swedish actress and film director. Career Dahlström gained international attention in 1998, after starring as "Elin" in the film '' Show Me Love''. For this, she won the Guldbagge ...
(born 1984) actress and film director. * Thomas Di Leva (born 1963) singer and songwriter. *
John E. Forsgren John Erik Forsgren (7 November 1816 – 22 January 1890) was a Mormon pioneer and Mormon missionary, missionary. He was the first missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to preach in Sweden. Early life Forsgren w ...
(1816–1890) the first Mormon missionary to preach in Sweden * Hans Forssell (1843–1901) historian and political writer. * Åke Fridell (1919–1985) a film actor. * Valborg Elisabeth Groning (1890-1970) circus princess * Joe Hill (1879–1915) labour activist and songwriter * Rolf Lassgård (born 1955) an actor in crime dramas. * Regina Lund (born 1967) actress and singer. *
Åke Lundqvist Åke Bertil Lundqvist (9 June 1936 – 4 August 2021) was a Swedish actor. Lundqvist began his acting career in 1973, when he played a role as the bookkeeper Schröder in Selma Lagerlöf's ''Gösta Berlings'' saga. Filmography * 2009 – '' Ån ...
(1936–2021) actor at
Stockholm City Theatre Stockholm City Theatre ( sv, Stockholms stadsteater) is live performance theater located in Stockholm, Sweden. The theatre is situated near the Sergel fountain and the Stockholm City roundabout. Location It is located in one of Stockholm's m ...
*
Yat Malmgren Yat or jat (Ѣ ѣ; italics: ) is the thirty-second letter of the old Cyrillic alphabet and the Rusyn alphabet. There is also another version of yat, the iotified yat (majuscule: , minuscule: ), which is a Cyrillic character combining ...
(1916–2002) dancer and acting teacher at the Drama Centre London * Andreas Rudman (1668–1708), pioneer Swedish American Lutheran minister. * Rikard Sjöblom (born 1982), musician with Gungfly, Beardfish & Big Big Train. *
Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...
(born 1948) musician; his mother Ingrid Wickman was from Gävle, where he lived during his childhood * Joakim Sundström (born 1965) sound editor, sound designer and musician *
Erik Wickberg Erik Wickberg (July 6, 1904 – April 26, 1996) was the 9th General of The Salvation Army (1969-1974). Born in Gävle, Sweden to officers David and Betty Wickberg, he was constantly moving around the world to follow his parents' appointmen ...
(1904–1996) former General of The Salvation Army & Chief of the Staff of The Salvation Army *
Lars-Åke Wilhelmsson Lars-Åke Wilhelmsson (born 8 September 1958) is a Swedish fashion designer and drag artist. Mostly known for his performances as the character Babsan (), he was educated as a typographist and art director. Biography Wilhelmsson was a successful ...
(born 1958) fashion designer and drag artist.


Sports professionals

* Nicklas Bäckström (born 1987) ice hockey player for the Washington Capitals *
Christian Edstrom Björn Christian Edström (born March 18, 1976 in Gävle, Sweden) is a Swedish-born American professional rally co-driver. He started competing as a co-driver in 1997, from 2006 to 2016 alongside Travis Pastrana. Rally America National Champions ...
(born 1976) rally co-driver * Anders Eklund (1957–2010) Olympic heavyweight boxer * Peppe Femling (born 1992) biathlete and Olympic gold medallist *
Andreas Johnsson Andreas Karl Johnsson (born 21 November 1994) is a Swedish professional ice hockey winger for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Johnsson was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the seventh round, 202nd overall, of the ...
(born 1994) ice hockey player for the
New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
* Calle Järnkrok (born 1991) ice hockey player for the Calgary Flames * Ewa Laurance (born 1964) pool player *
Oskar Lindblom Oskar Lindblom (born 15 August 1996) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward for the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Early life Lindblom ...
(born 1996) ice hockey player for the Philadelphia Flyers * Anders Lindbäck (born 1988) ice hockey goaltender who has played for several NHL teams * Elias Lindholm (born 1994) ice hockey player for the Calgary Flames *
Jacob Markström Jacob Anders Markström (born 31 January 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender and plays for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League. He was selected by the Florida Panthers in the second round, 31st overall, of the 2008 ...
(born 1990) ice hockey player for the Calgary Flames * Christian Djoos (born 1994) ice hockey player, won
Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
in 2018. *
Felix Sandström Per Felix Sandström (born 12 January 1997) is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Sandström was selected by the Flyers in the third round (70th overall) of the 2015 NHL ...
(born 1997) ice hockey goaltender * Jakob Silfverberg (born 1990) ice hockey player for the
Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...
.


European cooperation

Gävle is a member city of Eurotowns network.


Hospital

Gävle Hospital has approximately 300 physicians, and serves an area of approximately 150.000 people. It has a centre for clinical research in cooperation with Uppsala University.Centre for Clinical Research – Gävleborg (CFUG)
from Uppsala University homepage > Medicine and Pharmacy > Centres. Updated: 11/29/2011.


Twin towns – sister cities

Gävle is
twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...
with five cities: * Jūrmala, Latvia * Galva, Illinois, United States * Næstved, Denmark * Rauma, Finland *
Gjøvik is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is town of Gjøvik. Some of the villages in Gjøvik include Biri, Bybrua, and Hunndalen. The ...
, Norway


See also

* International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships (1995) * List of Gävleborg Governors


References

;Notes


External links

*
Gävle
- official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gavle County seats in Sweden Populated places in Gävle Municipality Municipal seats of Gävleborg County Gästrikland Swedish municipal seats Coastal cities and towns in Sweden Cities in Gävleborg County