Gästrikland () is a historical
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
or ''landskap'' on the eastern coast of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. It borders
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea.
The name literally ...
,
Västmanland,
Dalarna,
Hälsingland
Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to by the Latin name Helsingia, is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of ...
and the
Gulf of Bothnia
The Gulf of Bothnia (; ; ) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the northern part of Sweden's east coast ( West Bothnia an ...
. Gästrikland is the southernmost and the most densely populated of the
Norrland provinces.
The
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
name of the province is ''Gestricia''.
Before 1900, the spelling ''Gestrikland'' was also used in Swedish.
Administration
The traditional
provinces of Sweden
The 25 provinces of Sweden () are historical, geographical and cultural regions. They have no administrative function, but retain their own cultural identities, dialects and folklore.
Several were administrative subdivisions until 1634, when t ...
serve no administrative or political purposes, but are historical and cultural entities. In the case of Gästrikland the province constitutes the southern part of the administrative
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
, ''län'',
Gävleborg County
Gävleborg County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders the counties of Uppsala County, Uppsala, Västmanland County, Västmanland, Dalarna County, Dalarna, Jämtland County, Jämtland and V� ...
.
Heraldry
Arms granted in 1560. As with other provinces the arms is represented with a ducal coronet. Blazon: "Argent Hurty an Elk statant Gules attired and hoofed Or." A coat of arms for
Gävleborg County
Gävleborg County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders the counties of Uppsala County, Uppsala, Västmanland County, Västmanland, Dalarna County, Dalarna, Jämtland County, Jämtland and V� ...
was granted in 1938, combining the arms of Gästrikland and Hälsingland.
Geography
Gästrikland is often called ''the gate to
Norrland'' (the northern Sweden part that is traditionally considered scarcely populated, largely unexplored until the
15th century
The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian calendar dates from 1 January 1401 (represented by the Roman numerals MCDI) to 31 December 1500 (MD).
In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Re ...
, and with a terrain dominated by forests, mountains and lakes). Gästrikland was often called the gate to Norrland because from Gästrikland people went on to the north part of Sweden.
The province uses the slogan "the Iron Kingdom" ("Järnriket").
The main parts of Gästrikland consists of plains, which in the south and east transcends into fertile agricultural areas. To the north the west the terrain becomes hilly and forest covered, unsuitable for agrarian tasks. In the north-western corner one also finds Gästrikland's highest mountain, the ''Lustigknopp'' (literally "Funny-hood"), of 402 meters height; this mountain also constitutes the meeting point of the three provinces Gästrikland, Hälsingland and Dalarna.
Few larger water areas are found, but a multitude of small ones, and of the total area around 1/10 is water. Its largest lake is
Storsjön with an area of 72 km
2, in its central parts.
Gästrikland has one
National park
A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
:
Färnebofjärden.
Sub-divisions
The sub-division of
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
is done within the ''county'', not the province. But as the province coincide with the southern municipal borders in Gävleborg County, the following municipalities are in effect located in Gästrikland:
#
Gävle Municipality
#
Sandviken Municipality
#
Hofors Municipality
#
Ockelbo Municipality
For tourism purposes
Älvkarleby Municipality is also considered a part of Gästrikland.
Historically, Gästrikland was sub-divided into
chartered cities and court districts. Its cities were:
Gävle
Gävle ( ; ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 79,004 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the List of cities in Sweden, 13th-most-populated city in Sweden. I ...
(chartered around 1400) and
Sandviken (chartered in 1943). Its two court districts were ' and '.
Elections
Riksdag
The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
History
Gästrikland was a part of
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea.
The name literally ...
until 14th or 15th century. Mining and iron production became important industries in the 5th century and the iron works of
Hofors and
Sandviken still employ about 6,500 people, producing specialized
steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
and other special metals.
Sports
Football in the province is administered by
Gestriklands Fotbollförbund. Ice hockey is also popular, with
Brynäs IF.
References
*
article ''Gästrikland''from
Nordisk familjebok (1909). In Swedish.
External links
Gästrikland - Tourist site. In Swedish and English.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gastrikland
Provinces of Sweden