Vänortsparken ( en, Twin Towns' Park), is a park in central

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, U ...

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 Bo ...

, Sweden.

History

The park was constructed in 1858 on the initiative of the Umeå Garden Society (which was founded in 1851). However, the park was destroyed by a devastating town fire in 1888. It was rebuilt and it got its present shape and present name in 1985 after a major reconstruction. At that time a man-made stream in the eastern and northern parts was added to the greenery and paved and furnished spots were dedicated to the six

twin towns A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

of Umeå. These spots were decorated with artifacts that symbolize each town:

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northe ...

in Denmark,

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

in Finland,

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population ...

in Russia,

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogalan ...

in Norway,

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

in Germany and

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

in Canada.Facts about Vänortsparken (Swedish)
, retrieved 27 July 2014. Würzburg is spelled Wurtzburg in this reference. The sculpture ''Tellus'' by artist Ante Dahlstedt, is in the form of a globe with the location of the six twin towns marked. It was also raised in 1985 and it illustrates the twin town theme of the park. The park area is surrounded by lines of

Norway maple ''Acer platanoides'', commonly known as the Norway maple, is a species of maple native to eastern and central Europe and western Asia, from Spain east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran. It was introduced to ...

. Other trees species are inter alia

Swiss pine ''Pinus cembra'', also known as Swiss pine, Swiss stone pine or Arolla pine or Austrian stone pine or just stone pine, is a species of a pine tree in the subgenus ''Strobus''. Description The Swiss pine is a member of the white pine group ...

mountain pine ''Pinus mugo'', known as bog pine, creeping pine, dwarf mountain pine, mugo pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, or Swiss mountain pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and S ...

, Alpine currant,

European ash ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albo ...

and

horse-chestnut ''Aesculus hippocastanum'', the horse chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the maple, soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large, deciduous, synoecious (hermaphroditic-flowered) tree. It is also called horse-chestnut, Europe ...

. There is also an Ornäs birch (Betula pendula 'Dalecarlica'), the Swedish

national tree This is a list of national trees, most official, but some unofficial. National trees See also * National emblem * Floral emblem * List of U.S. State and territory trees References {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of National Trees N Trees In ...

, planted in 1985. ää Until 1925 the parl was the city's main football field. Older names of the area is Kyrktorget (Church Square) and Skolparken (School Park).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanortsparken, Umea Parks in Umeå 1858 establishments in Sweden