Malung 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

Malung-Sälen Municipality Malung-Sälen Municipality (''Malung-Sälens kommun'') is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Dalarna County in central Sweden. Its seat is located in the urban areas in Sweden, town of Malung. ''Malung Municipality'' was created in 1971 ...

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 5,126 inhabitants as of 2010.

Overview

Malung is home to Malungs

Folkhögskola Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish language, Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch language, Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish language, Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German langua ...

, two kilometers south of the town centre. Specialized courses include folk music, dance, mountaineering, blacksmithing and health. Malung is also where the first

DreamHack DreamHack is an ESL Gaming brand specializing in esports tournaments and other gaming conventions. It is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records and Twin Galaxies as being the world's largest LAN party and computer festival with the world's fa ...

event took place. In the 29th week of every year, Malung is host to

Svenska dansbandsveckan Svenska dansbandsveckan is a dansband music festival in the Orrskogen folkpark of Malung, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is t ...

, an annual dance festival that regularly brings over 3000 caravans as well as more than 80 performing bands to the community. Every year around 50,000 tickets are sold.

History

The oldest written source mentioning Malung is the Sverre Saga from the 13th Century. The mill wheel manufacturing in the area is supposed to be centuries older than that. The history of Malung as a village or settlement precedes local recorded history. It is however mentioned in the 13:th century tale " Sverres saga" that the norwegian king

Sverre Sigurdsson Sverre Sigurdsson ( non, Sverrir Sigurðarson) (c. 1145/1151 – 9 March 1202) was the king of Norway from 1184 to 1202. Many consider him one of the most important rulers in Norwegian history. He assumed power as the leader of the rebel party ...

rode through a town named "Molung" while passing through Jarnberaland(swe: järnbäraland, "iron-bearing land", modern day

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 ...

) in the year 1177. The locals were described as friendly and helpful although heathen due to their belief in Aesir faith or

old Nordic religion Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is the most common name for a branch of Germanic paganism, Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse language, Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into ...

. This makes Malung the first settlement in

to be recorded in text. In addition to the locality's own history one of several

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...

can be found approximately five kilometers south-east of the

town centre A town centre is the commerce, commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train ...

. The quarry is 1700 meters long, 50-170 meters wide and it has been active since the early

viking age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...

based on finds

dated Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner **Group dating *Play date, an ...

to the later half of the eighth century. Millstones cut in this quarry has been found as far south as

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

as well as in Mälardalen, most parts of

Svealand Svealand (), or Swealand, is the historical core region of Sweden. It is located in south central Sweden and is one of three historical lands of Sweden, bounded to the north by Norrland and to the south by Götaland. Deep forests, Tiveden, Tyl� ...

and even

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The quarry is a culture reserve as of 2003. In more recent history, Malung is known as the

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

capital of Sweden, with its leather industry and several tanneries. Malung also has a proud and old tradition of so-called "skinners" or "skinnare": groups of leather merchants, tailors and tanners who would walk between villages to create and sell pelts, leather jackets and even shoes in exchange for accommodation and a modest pay.

Climate

Malung has a relatively moderate

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

not far below

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (al ...

. In comparison with areas further east in the county like

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabita ...

, temperatures are generally chilly. Cold extremes in particular are very cold compared to elsewhere this far south in the country.

Notable people

Stina Nilsson Stina Nilsson (born 24 June 1993) is a Swedish biathlete and former cross-country skier. She is a five-time Olympic medalist and the 2018 Olympic champion in the individual sprint. In March 2020 she announced that she would switch to competing in ...

(*1993), cross-country skier * Niss Oskar Jonsson (*1909 +2002), businessman and founder of

Jofa Jofa, originally short for ''Jonssons Fabriker'' (Jonsson's Factories) is a maker of sporting equipment for sports such as ice hockey, bandy, and horseback riding, based in Malung, Sweden. History Niss Oskar Jonsson founded Jofa in 1926. It can b ...

* Daniel Bodin (*1984), motorsport athlete * Aino Trosell (*1949), author *

Sven Jerring Sven Alfred Teodor Jerring, (born ''Jonsson'', 8 December 1895 – 27 April 1979) was a Swedish radio man who during almost 50 years worked as a presenter, sports journalist and commentator at the national Swedish broadcasting company AB Radiotjä ...

(*1895 +1979), radio presenter, sports journalist and commentator * Krister Dahl (*1923 +2005), architect * Torbjörn Korssell (*1951), singer-songwriter * Johan Eriksson (*1973), singer-songwriter

References

External links