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 ou ...

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 Härjedalen (; no, Herjådalen or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the centre of Sweden. It borders the Norwegian county of Trøndelag as well as the provinces of Dalarna, Hälsingland, Medelpad, and Jämtland. The province origi ...

, 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.

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. 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 * 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,

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 to ...

, Gules, 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 Indalsälven.

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 * Ljustorp Court District * Njurunda Court District * Selånger Court District * Skön Court District * Torp Court District * Tuna Court District

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. It ...

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 h ...

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

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, and basketball with the Sundsvall Dragons.

References

External links

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