Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a

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

(''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 ...

, bordering

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 ...

, Lapland,

North Bothnia Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swed ...

, 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 ...

. It is known for the

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

named after the province.

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 ...

serve no administrative or political purposes, but are historical and cultural entities. The administrative

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

Västerbotten County Västerbotten County ( sv, Västerbottens län) is a county or ''län'' in the north of Sweden. It shares the borders with the counties of Västernorrland, Jämtland, and Norrbotten, as well as the Norwegian county of Nordland and the Gulf of Bot ...

, consists of the province and the southern part of Swedish Lappland.

Heraldry

On 18 January 1884, all provinces gained the rights to the rank of duchy, and the arms can be represented with a ducal coronet.

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

: "Azure Seme of Mullets Or a Reindeer in full course and hoofed Gules."

Geography

Västerbotten was historically divided into chartered cities and districts.

Cities

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Ume� ...

(1622) *

Skellefteå Skellefteå (, locally ) is a Cities in Sweden, city in Västerbotten County, Sweden. It is the seat of Skellefteå Municipality, which had 73,246 inhabitants in 2021. The city is historically industrial, with mining being a large part of that i ...

(1845)

Communes/Municipality Västerbottens län

Towns and villages

* Björksele

Facts

*Highest mountain: Åmliden (550 meters) *Largest lake: Bygdeträsket

History

Up until the

Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic ...

1808–1809, and the

Treaty of Fredrikshamn The Treaty of Fredrikshamn ( sv, Freden i Fredrikshamn; russian: Фридрихсгамский мирный договор), or the Treaty of Hamina ( fi, Haminan rauha), was a peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Imperial Russia on 17 ...

, the province of Västerbotten also included a small portion of the extreme north of current

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. This part has later been integrated in Lapland, Finland. The Österbotten, ''Eastern Botten'' or Ostrobothnia, lay on the Finnish side of the sea, and this province name still survives. Following the Fredrikshamn treaty, which re-defined the outlines and orientation of Sweden, in 1810,

was split in two parts. The northern portion became

Norrbotten County Norrbotten County ( sv, Norrbottens län; se, Norrbottena leatna, fi, Norrbottenin lääni) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares border ...

, and the Swedish-speaking locals of Norrbotten (which in itself is a multi-lingual area) soon began referring to themselves as Norrbothnians. The county borders thus gradually led to a local provincial identity. Nowadays

Norrbotten Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swede ...

is considered a separate province, even though provinces had ceased to have any administrative or legal significance hundreds of years before 1810.

Västerbotten Regiment The Västerbotten Regiment ( sv, Västerbottens regemente), designations I 19, I XIX, I 20 and I 20/Fo 61, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited fr ...

was the provincial regiment.

Dukes of Västerbotten

Since the 13th century, Swedish princes in some dynasties have been created dukes of various provinces. Since 1772, these are only nominal titles. * Prince Gustaf Adolf (1906-1947)

Geography

Lakes and watercourses

Sports

Regional football in the province is administered by

Västerbottens Fotbollförbund The Västerbottens Fotbollförbund ''(Västerbotten Football Association)'' is one of the 24 district organisations of the Swedish Football Association. It administers lower tier football in Västerbotten County. Background Västerbottens Fot ...

. Ice hockey is also popular, with

IF Björklöven IF Björklöven (often simply referred to as Björklöven or Löven) is a Sweden, Swedish professional ice hockey Club (organization), club in Umeå, Västerbotten, in northern Sweden. The club is currently playing in the second-tier league HockeyA ...

and

Skellefteå AIK Skellefteå AIK is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Skellefteå, Sweden. They currently play In the Swedish Hockey League. They play their home games in Skellefteå Kraft Arena, which seats 6,001 spectators. The team has won the Sw ...

References

External links

Västerbotten.seVästerbotten.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasterbotten Provinces of Sweden