Leksand () 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

Leksand Municipality Leksand Municipality (''Leksands kommun'') is a municipality in Dalarna County in central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Leksand. In 1974 "old" Leksand was amalgamated with ''Ål'' and reunited with ''Siljansnäs'' (which had been se ...

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 Hedmark ...

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 5,934 inhabitants in 2010.

Sport

Leksand is famous for the Leksands IF ice hockey team, who have won 4 Swedish Championships, although the team is currently facing problems in performance when playing and they have received less funds. Leksand is also home to the Leksands Baseball and Softball Club, the oldest and one of the more successful baseball clubs in Sweden, having won 20 national championships in baseball and 7 in softball. The club was founded in the late 1950s and currently has about 130 members. Additionally, Leksand is home to the Baseball Academy Leksand, a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB)-sponsored academy established in 2006. The academy is part of a broader drive by MLB to develop European talent through a system of baseball academies across the continent, and is the only such academy in Sweden. As of March 2010, Baseball Academy Leksand comprised 22 Swedish players and was managed by Tony Klarberg.

Climate

Leksand 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 ...

( Köppen ''Dfb''). The influence of the Siljan lake is relatively minor on the local climate due to its modest size and freezing over every winter. However, some potential for

lake-effect snow Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated up by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises up through ...

causing excessive accumulation is possible when there is open water. This resulted in a notable freak blizzard of the middle of May 2008 that left of snow on the ground. Winters and springs are influenced by the inland position, with January being quite a bit colder than coastal areas to the east in Gävleborg but spring warming up sooner with a very low

seasonal lag Seasonal lag is the phenomenon whereby the date of maximum average air temperature at a geographical location on a planet is delayed until some time after the date of maximum insolation (i.e. the summer solstice). This also applies to the minimum ...

Industry

Local industry in Leksand includes Leksandsbröd, a producer of traditional Swedish Crisp bread.

Notable people

Per-Olov Brasar Per-Olov "Ole" Brasar (born September 30, 1950) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey forward who played 348 games in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota North Stars and Vancouver Canucks, as well as several seasons for Leksands I ...

- Former

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) forward, active 1977 to 1982 *

Kristian Matsson Kristian Matsson (born 30 April 1983) is a Swedish singer-songwriter who performs under the stage name The Tallest Man on Earth. Matsson grew up in Leksand, and began his solo career in 2006, having previously been the lead singer of the indie b ...

The Tallest Man on Earth Kristian Matsson (born 30 April 1983) is a Swedish singer-songwriter who performs under the stage name The Tallest Man on Earth. Matsson grew up in Leksand, and began his solo career in 2006, having previously been the lead singer of the indie b ...

, folk musician * Johan Hedberg - Former NHL goalkeeper with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

, Dallas Stars,

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

and

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 ...

Anders J. Dahlin Anders J. Dahlin (born March 12, 1975) is a Swedish tenor. He studied at the in Sweden, at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, and at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. Music career In 1998 he made his operatic debut at the N ...

- Internationally acclaimed tenor and opera singer *

Victor Rask Victor Rask (born 1 March 1993) is a Swedish professional ice hockey center who plays for HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the National League (NL). He has previosuly spent eight years in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing for the Carolina Hurrica ...

- NHL forward for the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

Sister cities

* Aurora, Ontario, Canada * Tōbetsu, Hokkaido, Japan

References

External links

* Populated places in Dalarna County Municipal seats of Dalarna County Swedish municipal seats Populated places in Leksand Municipality Populated lakeshore places in Sweden {{Dalarna-geo-stub