Medelpad ( or ) is a historical

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

or ''landskap'' in the north of Sweden. It borders

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. ...

, Härjedalen, Jämtland,

Ångermanland Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland. The name is derived from ...

and the Gulf of Bothnia. The province is a part of

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 administ ...

and as such considered to be Northern Sweden, although the province geographically is located in the middle of Sweden. It is a common misconception that the name ''Medelpad'' ("middle land" or "middle ground") reflects this, but the name actually refers to the fact that most of the province lies between its two rivers Ljungan and

Indalsälven Indalsälven is one of Sweden's longest rivers with a total length of 430 kilometers. Among its tributaries are Kallströmmen, Långan, Hårkan and Ammerån Ammerån is a river in Jämtland, Sweden. It is a tributary of Indalsälven Indal ...

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 a ...

serve no administrative or political purposes, but are historical and cultural entities. In the case of Medelpad the province roughly comprises the southern part of the administrative

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, ''län'',

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 ...

. Three municipalities have their seats in Medelpad: * Sundsvall *

Timrå Timrå () is a locality and the seat of Timrå Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 10,443 inhabitants in 2010. It is located about 13 km north of Sundsvall (a town with a metropolitan area of some 100,000 inhabitants), and ...

* Ånge

Heraldry

The arms of Medelpad symbolises the land between the two rivers Ljungan and Indalsälven. As with other Swedish provinces, the arms can be represented showing a ducal coronet. Blazon: "Four times parted per fess wavy,

Azure Azure may refer to: Colour * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 ...

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions t ...

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depi ...

, Argent and Azure."

Geography

The province is situated at an average altitude of 200–300 meters above sea level. The highest mountains are no more than 500 meters high—the tallest is Myckelmyrberget with 577 meters. Of the total area, circa 500 km² is water. The largest lake is Holmsjön, located at 200 meters elevation, followed by Leringen, at a similar elevation. There are also two major rivers that surround the province: Ljungan and

History

The only town with the historical

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, city status ...

was Sundsvall, which was granted the privilege in 1624. Sundsvall is still the largest city of the province, with about 50,000 inhabitants. In total, the population of Medelpad is circa 120,000.

Districts

Indal Court District Indal is a locality situated in Sundsvall Municipality, Västernorrland County, Sweden with 949 inhabitants in 2015. It is located close to the river Indalsälven Indalsälven is one of Sweden's longest rivers with a total length of 430 kilomet ...

Ljustorp 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 ...

* Njurunda Court District *

Selånger Court District Medelpad ( or ) is a historical province or ''landskap'' in the north of Sweden. It borders Hälsingland, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Ångermanland and the Gulf of Bothnia. The province is a part of Norrland and as such considered to be Northern Sw ...

Skön Court District Medelpad ( or ) is a historical province or ''landskap'' in the north of Sweden. It borders Hälsingland, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Ångermanland and the Gulf of Bothnia. The province is a part of Norrland and as such considered to be Northern Sw ...

Torp Court District Medelpad ( or ) is a historical province or ''landskap'' in the north of Sweden. It borders Hälsingland, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Ångermanland and the Gulf of Bothnia. The province is a part of Norrland and as such considered to be Northern Sw ...

Tuna Court District Medelpad ( or ) is a historical province or ''landskap'' in the north of Sweden. It borders Hälsingland, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Ångermanland and the Gulf of Bothnia. The province is a part of Norrland and as such considered to be Northern Sw ...

Notability

The coast line on the Gulf of Bothnia, called the " High Coast", has been declared a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. The land still rises at the rate of about one centimetre per year, called

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound ...

process. This is an effect of the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

that, in this area, ended in the 7th millennium BC.

Culture

The mountain hare is the provincial animal, but the Skvader, a fictional animal, was popular in the 1987 unofficial referendum to select the provincial animal.

Sports

Football in the province is administered by

Medelpads Fotbollförbund The Medelpads Fotbollförbund ''(Medelpad Football Association)'' is one of the 24 district organisations of the Swedish Football Association. It administers lower tier football in the historical province of Medelpad in Norrland. It was esta ...

and includes clubs such as Ljustorps IF. The province only football team currently in the highest league

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football le ...

is GIF Sundsvall. Ice hockey is also popular, with

Timrå IK Timrå IK is a professional Swedish ice hockey team based in Timrå, north of Sundsvall. It competes in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), which is the top-tier league in Sweden, since being promoted by winning 2021 SHL qualifiers. Previous season ...

, and basketball with the

Sundsvall Dragons Sundsvall Dragons was a professional Swedish basketball club from Sundsvall. The Dragons made it to the Basketligan Finals four times: in 2005, 2008 and in 2009 and 2011 as winners. History The team was one of the oldest in Sweden, as it was fo ...

References

External links

Mid Sweden
- Official tourist site for Medelpad & Ångermanland {{Authority control Provinces of Sweden