Älvdalen Municipality ( sv, Älvdalens kommun, sma, Älvdaelien tjïelte,

Elfdalian Elfdalian or Övdalian ( or , pronounced in Elfdalian, or in Swedish) is a North Germanic language spoken by up to 3,000 people who live or have grown up in the locality of Älvdalen ('), which is located in the southeastern part of Älvdale ...

: ''Kommun Övdaln'') is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

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 ...

in central

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 ...

. Its seat is located in the town of

Älvdalen Älvdalen (Elfdalian: ''Övdaln'' or ''Tjyörtjbynn''; literally meaning ''The River Valley'') is a locality and the seat of Älvdalen Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 1,810 inhabitants in 2010. The parish is widely known for being th ...

. The two parishes ''Särna'' and ''Idre'' were ceded to Sweden from

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 ...

under the treaty of Brömsebro on 13 August 1645. In 1971 the three municipalities ''Särna'', ''Idre'' (which itself had been split off from Särna in 1916) and ''Älvdalen'' were amalgamated to form the present municipality. Älvdalen literally means ''River Valley'', a name stemming from the area around the town Älvdalen, situated along the

Österdal River Österdalälven (Swedish: ''East Dal River'', Elfdalian: ''Sturövę, Sturövin'') is a long river in Sweden that flows southeast through Dalarna. Its sources are Storån, Grövlan and Sörälven and the end point is Djurås, in the municipali ...

, in the municipality's southern part. The middle part of the coat of arms is meant to depict the landscape: streams and hills.

Geography

Geographically, it is considered divided into three parts. From north to south: the mountainous ( fjäll) part, the

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

part, and the valley (Älv) part.

North

The northern part is located within the

Scandinavian mountain range The Scandinavian Mountains or the Scandes is a mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula. The western sides of the mountains drop precipitously into the North Sea and Norwegian Sea, forming the fjords of Norway, whereas to the ...

. It has cultural influences from the native

Sámi people The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric languages#Speakers, Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, ...

Idre Idre ( sma, Eajra, Elfdalian: ''Iðer'') is a locality and ski resort situated in Älvdalen Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden with 794 inhabitants in 2010. It was also a historical parish and former municipality. History The two parishes ''Sä ...

, with about 800 inhabitants is a notable skiing resort. This part has some high mountains including Storvätteshågna at 1,204 meters and ''Städjan'' at 1,131 m. The

Töfsingdalen National Park Töfsingdalen (literally ''The Töfsing Valley'') is a Swedish national park in Älvdalen Municipality, Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. D ...

is also located in the northernmost parts. The Northern part is the northernmost point 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� ...

, one of the three crowns under the Swedish throne.

Central

The forest part has forests, with the

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

Fulufjället also belonging to this part. Its influences come from it bordering to

, and its history has many examples and remains from its border conflicts. To symbolize this, the lower part of the coat of arms depict a crossbow. The point furthest away from any seas in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

is located here. The town

Särna Särna (Elfdalian: ''Sjär’n'') is a locality situated in Älvdalen Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden with 719 inhabitants in 2010. History The two parishes ''Särna'' and ''Idre'' were originally part of Norway but were occupied by an expedi ...

is located along the Österdal River, with 930 inhabitants. Like Idre, its main industry is tourism. The town once belonged to Norway, but in 1644 it was occupied by 200 Swedish

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

s, which in effect made it a Swedish town, although it was official granted first with new borders of 1751.

South

The southern area is populated by 5,000 persons, of whom most speak or understand the

(or ''Övdalsk'', ''Älvdalsmål'') dialect/language, which is very different from standard Swedish. This area may be said to have the most interesting culture, with the town Älvdalen and several notable villages such as Evertsberg, Blyberg, Klitten, Brunnsberg, Västermyckeläng and

Åsen Åsen is a village in Levanger municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located between the lakes Hammervatnet Hammervatnet is a lake in the municipality of Levanger in Trøndelag county, Norway. The lake lies on the north s ...

Localities

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
elections

References

External links

Älvdalen Municipality
– Official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvdalen Municipality Municipalities of Dalarna County 1644 establishments in Sweden