Medelpad ( or ) is a historical province or ''landskap'' in the north of

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 ...

. It borders Hälsingland, Härjedalen,

Jämtland Jämtland (; no, Jemtland or , ; Jamtish: ''Jamtlann''; la, Iemptia) is a historical province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland to the north a ...

, Ångermanland and the

Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; fi, Pohjanlahti; sv, Bottniska viken) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the Sweden's east coast (West ...

. The province is a part of Norrland 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 Ljungan ( Jamtlandic: ''Jångna'' or ''Aoa'', from Old Norse ''*Oghn'' "the dreadful") is a 322 kilometer long river in Sweden. It originates near Trondheim and the Norwegian border. The river runs through the Swedish counties of Jämtland and ...

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. A total of 26 hydropower plants are placed along its course, making it the third mo ...

Administration

The traditional provinces of Sweden 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, ''län'', Västernorrland County. Three municipalities have their seats in Medelpad: *

Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. History Th ...

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 c ...

Ånge Ånge is a locality and the seat of Ånge Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 2,872 inhabitants in 2010. Ånge is a railway junction where the northern main line railway (''Norra Stambanan'') connects with the central main line rai ...

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,

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 depict ...

, 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:

and

History

The only town with the historical city status was

, 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 Njurunda () is a small village in Sundsvall Municipality, located in Västernorrland County, Sweden. The village is situated at the mouth of the Ljungan river and located about 17 kilometers south of Sundsvall. It is primarily a sleeper town for ...

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

, called 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. It i ...

", has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The land still rises at the rate of about one centimetre per year, called post-glacial rebound process. This is an effect of the last ice age that, in this area, ended in the 7th millennium BC.

Culture

The

mountain hare The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. Evolution The mountai ...

is the provincial animal, but the

Skvader The skvader () is a Swedish fictional creature that was constructed in 1918 by the taxidermist Rudolf Granberg and is permanently displayed at the museum at Norra Berget in Sundsvall. It has the forequarters and hindlegs of a European hare (''Lepu ...

, 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 establi ...

and includes clubs such as

Ljustorps IF Ljustorps IF is a Swedish football club located in Ljustorp. Background Ljustorps IF currently plays in Division 4 Medelpad which is the sixth tier of Swedish football. They play their home matches at the Ljustorps IP in Ljustorp. The club is ...

. 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 lea ...

GIF Sundsvall Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall, more commonly known as GIF Sundsvall (), Giffarna or simply Sundsvall, is a Swedish professional football club based in Sundsvall. The club is affiliated with Medelpads Fotbollförbund and plays its h ...

. 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 seaso ...

, 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