Härnösand () 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 Härnösand Municipality in

Västernorrland County Västernorrland County ( sv, Västernorrlands län) is a county (''län'') in the north of Sweden. It is bordered by the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland, Västerbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. The name ''Västernorrland'' means "Western ...

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 countries, Nordic c ...

with 17,556 inhabitants in 2010. It is called "the gate to the

High Coast The High Coast ( sv, Höga Kusten) is a part of the coast of Sweden on the Gulf of Bothnia, in the Ångermanland province of northeast Sweden, centered in the area of the municipalities of Kramfors, Härnösand, Sollefteå and Örnsköldsvik. ...

" because of the world heritage landscape just a few miles north of Härnösand. Härnösand is the seat of the Diocese of Härnösand.

History

On 10 December 1885, Härnösand became the first town in Sweden with electric street lighting, following the Gådeå power station being taken into use.

Education

Härnösand is the seat of The National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools (''Specialpedagogiska skolmyndigheten''). The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) operates its training programme Sida Partnership Forum in Härnösand.

Industry

One of the biggest employers in Härnösand is the cable-TV and Cable

internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise priva ...

Com Hem.

Sports

The women's team of the

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing 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 international governing body for bandy is ...

club Härnösands AIK plays in the highest division and the men's team has done. Their handballteam plays in division 2 and is called Brännans IF. The football club IF Älgarna plays in Division 2 Norrland. Curling has also been a successful sport in the city, Team Anette Norberg is from here. Anette has taken several medals in the sport, including Olympic gold. It is perhaps therefore not surprising that Sweden's only curling high school is located here. The high school started at 1989 and has since contributed several talented curlers to the world. Härnösand also has an ice hockey team AIK Hockey Härnösand that plays in division 1 in region norr. That is where goaltender Anton Forsberg (

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...

) started his career.

Recreation

Härnösand is a fairly small town and some of the activities young people engage in are Kåken (), a youth centre provided by the municipality. The city also has an extensive selection of outdoor activities in the summer and wintertime. Wintertime people can go

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

( cross country and downhill), ice skating, etc. Summertime activities include climbing, kayaking, trekking, etc. The town also features a summertime beach Smitingen, which occasionally gets some surfable waves. Härnösand is each summer the site of one of the world's largest

airsoft Airsoft is a team game in which participants eliminate opposing players by tagging them out of play with spherical plastic projectiles shot with mock air weapons(usually powered by an electronic motor) called airsoft guns. Although similar ...

events, Berget.

Climate

Härnösand 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 freez ...

( Dfb) with significant maritime influence, causing mild to warm summers and cold but not severe winters that are milder than areas further north. In the Kvarken area and further north the water is less salty and freezes easier, creating colder winter climate.

Notable natives

* Alfhild Agrell, writer and playwright * Anders Jonas Ångström, physicist * Albert Atterberg, soil mechanics *

Bo Holmberg Bo Lindor Holmberg (17 November 1942 – 11 February 2010), born in Härnösand, Västernorrlands län, Sweden, was a Swedish politician, Governor of Södermanland, and husband of former Minister for Foreign Affairs Anna Lindh. Biography Holmbe ...

, politician * Carl Gustaf Nordin, statesman * Ulf Sandström, Ice Hockey player * Nils Bohlin, inventor *

Anette Norberg Anette Norberg (born 12 November 1966) is a retired Swedish curler from Härnösand. She and her team were the Olympic women's curling champions in 2006 and 2010. After winning the 2006 Women's Curling tournament in Turin over Mirjam Ott's Sw ...

, women's

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

Olympic gold medalist This article lists the individuals who have won at least four gold medals at the Olympic Games or at least three gold medals in individual events. List of most Olympic gold medals over career This is a partial list of multiple Olympic gold medalis ...

* Lubbe Nordström, writer/poet * Frideborg Winblad, educator and administrator *

Lena Endre Lena Endre (born 8 July 1955) is a Swedish actress of film and television,* primarily in the Swedish and Norwegian markets, known for her parts in the Liv Ullmann film '' Trolösa'' (2000), and the '' Millennium series'' of films (e.g., ''The ...

, Actor *

Lasse Lindh Lasse Lindh (born 27 March 1974) is a Swedish indie pop musician. His debut album, ''Bra'', came out on EMI in 1998, and featured three charting singles in Sweden. Lindh began singing in English for his second album, ''You Wake Up at Sea Tac'' (t ...

, Musician *Håkan Ekström, Forestry Consultant * Monica Sjöö, (December 31, 1938 – August 8, 2005), Swedish painter, writer and a radical anarcho/ eco-feminist and an exponent of the Goddess movement. * Tomas Fischer, book publisher and businessman

References

External links

Härnösand official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harnosand Härnösand County seats in Sweden Coastal cities and towns in Sweden Populated places in Härnösand Municipality Ångermanland Municipal seats of Västernorrland County Swedish municipal seats Diocese of Härnösand Cities in Västernorrland County