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Borlänge () is a locality in
Dalarna County Dalarna County () 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 and Trøndelag to ...
, Sweden, with 44,898 inhabitants as of 2020. It is the seat of the
Borlänge Municipality Borlänge Municipality () is a municipality in Dalarna County in central Sweden, with an area of 586.4 km2. The municipality has a population of 47,640 (2007). The municipal seat is Borlänge. The present municipality was created in 1971 whe ...
which as of 2017 had a total population of 51,604 inhabitants.


History

Originally Borlänge was the name of a tiny village, and traces back to at least the 1390s. The village was insignificant up until about 1870. In 1872 the construction of ''Domnarfvets Jernverk'', the
ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloome ...
of neighbouring village Domnarvet started. In 1875 a railway between
Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...
and
Ludvika Ludvika () is a bimunicipal Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Ludvika Municipality, Dalarna County within the country of Sweden, with 14,498 inhabitants in 2010. Overview The conurbation of Ludvika extends over the border of Smedjebacke ...
, via Borlänge was inaugurated. Thanks to its railway station the village of Borlänge became highly important in servicing the ironworks. In 1898, Borlänge was granted privileges by the national Swedish government as a market town (Swedish: ''
köping ''Köping'' was a Swedish denomination for a market town since the Middle Ages, derived from the Old Norse word '' kaupang''. The designation was officially abolished with the municipal reform of 1971, when Sweden was subdivided into the Munic ...
'') with about 1,300 inhabitants, but still today it belongs to the
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...
's regionally historically dominant parish of Stora Tuna, centered on a large medieval
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
by that name (meaning ''great enclosed farmyards''), now located in a rural district east of the city. In 1898, the Stora Kopparbergs Bergslag - the owner of the ironworks in Domnarvet at the time - built a
papermill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...
in an adjacent village to Borlänge called Kvarnsveden, upstream from Domnarvet. Many area residents
emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1944, the City of Borlänge was incorporated after the market town joined the industrial towns of Domnarvet and Kvarnsveden. In 1971 the municipality of Borlänge was established when the Stora Tuna municipality merged with the City of Borlänge. From the 1940s onward, politics in the municipality has been dominated by the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
. In the early 1970s, the ''Kvarnsvedens Pappersbruk''
paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...
and the ''Domnarvets Jernverk''
steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...
had a high demand for employees. Between 1970 and 1974, the Tjärna Ängar
Million Programme The Million Programme () was a large public housing program implemented in Sweden between 1965 and 1974 by the governing Swedish Social Democratic Party to ensure the availability of affordable, high-quality housing to all Swedish citizens. Th ...
district was built. In the 1990s, Borlänge had the highest crime rate per thousand inhabitants in Sweden, dominated by violence and theft.


Demographics

According to the Borlänge Municipality, as of 2017, Borlänge had a population of 51,604 inhabitants. 11,693 residents in the city are of foreign origin, comprising 22.7% of the total population. Of these individuals, 8,837 were born abroad and 2,856 were born in Sweden. Most of the residents of foreign background come from
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
,
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, other Nordic countries, and other parts of
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. According to the Borlänge Municipality, in the 1990s, most foreign-born residents of Borlänge arrived from
Southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...
, due to the civil wars in
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
. During the 2000s, immigrants in the city primarily came from
Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
,
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. The Somalia-born immigrants mainly arrived via family reunification. This migration had decreased by the following decade, with most newcomers in Borlänge now consisting of asylum immigrants from
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
and
Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...
. As of 2016, there are 472 refugees in the municipality, most of whom originate from Syria (218), Eritrea (121), and Somalia (56). The newer asylum immigrants in the city largely emigrated from Syria and Eritrea. As of 2017, the most common countries of origin for total foreign-born individuals residing in Borlänge are : Somalia (3,114) :
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
(1,570) : Syria (1,032) : Iraq (1,028) : Turkey (926) : Eritrea (350) :
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
(322) :
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
(240) : Ex-Yugoslavia (197) :
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
(174).


Districts

Borlänge's official districts and their inhabitants from 1975 to 2010:


Tjärna ängar

According to the Borlänge Municipality, many of the city's inhabitants with a foreign background live in the neighborhoods of Jakobsgårdarna and Tjärna Ängar (nicknamed "Lilla
Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...
" because of its many Somalia-born inhabitants). An agreement between the Borlänge Municipality and the Swedish Migration Board to receive 30 refugees per year has contributed to the population growth, with many arriving via family reunification. Additionally, people have relocated to the city from other areas. Many are young, with few individuals older than 60 years of age. Over a five-year period, the number of inhabitants in Tjärna Ängar increased considerably, as 1,000 young persons relocated to the neighborhood. The new arrivals principally came from two or three foreign backgrounds, and included university students and people who had emigrated from abroad. In its December 2015 report, the
Swedish Police Authority The Swedish Police Authority () is the national police, police force (''Polisen'') of Sweden. The first modern police force in Sweden was established in the mid-19th century, and the police remained in effect under Municipalities of Sweden, local ...
placed the Borlänge's Tjärna Ängar district in the second highest category of urban areas with high crime rates. In the summer of 2016, there was widespread vandalism, cars were torched and when firefighters arrived, they were attacked with stones and had to wait for police to escort them in order to complete their mission. The
Dalarna University College Dalarna University () is a university college (''högskola'') located in Falun and Borlänge, in Dalarna County, Sweden. Dalarna University is one of Sweden’s more recent institutions of higher education, established in 1977. It is situated i ...
has student accommodation in the area where female students are sexually harassed by the local male youth on a regular basis and avoid going outdoors after sunset. In a 2018 interview, the local
police commissioner A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...
Erik Gatu stated in an interview that clan leaders and religious leaders have taken over the leadership of the area, where 9 out of 10 are born abroad. Police has noted a change in 2017 when crime happens, nobody calls the police but the injured parties settle among themselves according to "an eye for an eye" in a parallel justice system. Although the official number of inhabitants are , unofficially the population may be as high as -, when water usage and the weight of generated household waste is analysed.


Economy


Employers

Borlänge has for a long time been an industrial town surrounding the iron mill of Domnarvet (
SSAB SSAB ABSSAB ASSAB B
, earlier Svenskt Stål AB (), is a Swedish company, formed in 1978, that spec ...
) and the paper mill of Kvarnsveden (
Stora Enso Stora Enso Oyj (from and ) is a Finnish and Swedish forest industry company. It develops and produces various materials, mostly based on wood, for a range of industries and applications worldwide. It has headquarters in Helsinki, Finland, an ...
). As a city with a structure heavily divided by rails and roads, with a modern city center, Borlänge also houses the head office for a state authority - the National
Swedish Transport Administration The Swedish Transport Administration () is a government agency in Sweden, controlled by the Riksdag and the Government of Sweden. It is responsible for long-term infrastructure planning for transport: road, rail, shipping and aviation. It owns, c ...
''Trafikverket''.


Sport

The city boasts a successful football team
IK Brage Idrottsklubben Brage, also known as IK Brage or simply Brage, is a Swedish Association football, football club located in Borlänge. The club is affiliated with Dalarnas Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Domnarvsvallen. The club colou ...
, named after the Norse god, has a history of 18 seasons in the Swedish Premier Division (
Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...
). Brage plays in green and white and hosts its home games at
Domnarvsvallen Domnarvsvallen is a football (soccer), football stadium in Borlänge Municipality and the home arena for IK Brage and Dalkurd FF. Domnarvsvallen has a total capacity of 6,500 spectators. The arena is mostly in wood, and was built in 1925 when IK ...
Stadium in Borlänge, with a
seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of 6,500. Another Borlänge team which has had a great deal of success in the sport, with both domestic and foreign fans following their progress, is the multicultural soccer team Dalkurd FF. Other sports clubs located in Borlänge include: * Forssa BK *
IF Tunabro IF Tunabro is a Sweden, Swedish Association football, football club located in Borlänge. Background IF Tunabro currently plays in Swedish football Division 4, Division 4 Dalarna which is the sixth tier of Swedish football league system, Swedish ...
* Islingby IK * Kvarnsvedens IK * Stora Tuna OK In 2013, a Somali national
bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...
team was formed in Borlänge with the goal of participating in the 2014 Bandy World Championship. The 2008 Women's Bandy World Championship was also arranged with Borlänge as the main venue. In 1999 the large
orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...
competition
O-Ringen The O-Ringen (previously called the "Swedish 5 days") is an Foot orienteering, orienteering competition that takes place annually in different areas of Sweden. Orienteers from all over the world come to the competition. For orienteers around the ...
was held around Borlänge, gathering 15 238 participants. The 1993 World Gliding Championships were held at the
Borlänge Airport Dala Airport or Borlänge Airport is situated southeast of Borlänge, a city in the Dalarna province of Sweden. It is also 20 minutes from the city of Falun. History The airfield was built during the Second World War and was modernized in 1961. ...
, east of the town.


Music

As is the case with its twin city,
Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...
, music is an important part of Borlänge. It has been the hometown of many new young musicians in Sweden such as
Mando Diao Mando Diao is an alternative rock band from Borlänge, Sweden. The band got their breakthrough with the release of the album '' Hurricane Bar''. Their main fan base is in Sweden, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan. Band members are Björn ...
, Sugarplum Fairy and
Miss Li Linda Therese Karlsson (born 21 July 1982), known professionally as Miss Li, is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Since beginning her career in the early-2000s, she has released a total of eight studio albums, and several of her songs have been featu ...
and offers the possibility to get a degree in popular music at BoomTown Music Education, a branch of the School of Music at Luleå University of Technology. The annual but now defunct Peace & Love music festival was hosted in Borlänge.


Notable musical groups

* Stonewall Noise Orchestra, rock band *
Mando Diao Mando Diao is an alternative rock band from Borlänge, Sweden. The band got their breakthrough with the release of the album '' Hurricane Bar''. Their main fan base is in Sweden, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan. Band members are Björn ...
, rock band * Twilight Force,
power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...
band * Astral Doors, heavy metal band * Dozer, stoner rock band * Greenleaf, stoner rock band * Sator, rock band (earlier Sator Codex) * Rootvälta, reggae band * Sugarplum Fairy, rock band *
Anekdoten Anekdoten is a Sweden, Swedish progressive rock band, composed of guitarist/vocalist Nicklas Barker, cellist/keyboardist Anna Sofi Dahlberg, bassist/vocalist Jan Erik Liljeström and drummer Peter Nordins. They are notable for the use of the mello ...
, prog band


Notable people

*
Simon Aspelin Simon Aspelin (; born 11 May 1974) is a former professional tennis doubles player from Sweden who turned professional in 1998. His success mainly came in doubles, winning 12 titles and reaching World No. 7 in March 2008. In men's doubles, Aspeli ...
, tennis player * Jens Bergenström, hockey player *
Jussi Björling Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling ( , ; 5 February 19119 September 1960) was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequentl ...
, tenor *
Mattias Ekholm Mattias Hans Ekholm (born 24 May 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Edmonton Oilers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the fourth round, 102nd overall, of the 2009 NHL entry draft by the Nashville P ...
, - NHL Hockey Player for Edmonton Oilers *
Erik Eriksson Erik Eriksson (; 1216 – 2 February 1250), sometimes known as Erik XI or with the epithet the Lisp and Lame (), was King of Sweden from 1222 to 1229 and again from 1234 to 1250. Being the last ruler of the House of Erik, he stood in the shado ...
, Centre Party's first chairman * Tomas Forslund, ice hockey player * Per Fosshaug,
bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...
player *
Lars Frölander Lars Arne Frölander (born 26 May 1974) is a Sweden, Swedish swimming (sport), swimmer. He has competed in six consecutive Olympic Games (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012). Biography Frölander was born in Boden, Sweden, Boden. He grew up i ...
, swimmer * Nils Patrik Johansson, heavy metal singer * Lars Jonsson, ice hockey player *
Gabriel Karlsson Gabriel Karlsson Pears (born 22 January 1980) is a Sweden, Swedish former professional ice hockey player who last played for Leksands IF in the SHL. External links *Karlsson retires (Swedish)
1980 births Living people Swedish ice hocke ...
, hockey player *
Miss Li Linda Therese Karlsson (born 21 July 1982), known professionally as Miss Li, is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Since beginning her career in the early-2000s, she has released a total of eight studio albums, and several of her songs have been featu ...
, musician * Lasse Nilsson, football player * Gustaf Norén, musician * Mattias Ritola, hockey player * Johan Olof Wallin, archbishop, poet and psalmist


Education

*
Dalarna University College Dalarna University () is a university college (''högskola'') located in Falun and Borlänge, in Dalarna County, Sweden. Dalarna University is one of Sweden’s more recent institutions of higher education, established in 1977. It is situated i ...
* Soltorgsgymnasiet
HagagymnasietRytmus musikgymnasiumErikslundgymnasietNTI Gymnasiet


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borlange Municipal seats of Dalarna County Swedish municipal seats Populated places in Borlänge Municipality Market towns in Sweden Cities in Sweden fi:Borlängen kunta