Härjedalen () 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 ...
(''landskap'') in the centre 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 the
Norwegian county of
Trøndelag
Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...
, as well as the provinces of
Dalarna
Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden.
Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...
,
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 ...
,
Medelpad
Medelpad ( or ) is a historical province or ''landskap'' in the north of Sweden. It borders Hälsingland, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Ångermanland and the Gulf of Bothnia.
The province is a part of Norrland and as such considered to be Northe ...
and
Jämtland
Jämtland () is a historical provinces of Sweden, province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland, Sweden, Lapland to the north and Trøndelag and Norw ...
. The province originally belonged to
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 ...
, but was ceded to Sweden in the
Second Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645. The province forms the bulk of
Härjedalen Municipality of which the village of
Sveg is the seat.
Etymology
The name ''Härjedalen'', from
Old West Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their ...
, literally means the "Valley of the Härje river". A
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 ...
ized transliteration is Herdalia although that name is today hardly encountered in the
English today. More prominent are derivations such as ''Herjedalen'' or ''Haerjedalen''. The more prosaic explanation of the name is that the word ''her'' or ''har'' means only "mound of stones" and refers to stones in the river .
History
Härjedalen and
Jämtland
Jämtland () is a historical provinces of Sweden, province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland, Sweden, Lapland to the north and Trøndelag and Norw ...
were provinces of
Denmark-Norway until the mid-17th century. After the
Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645, Härjedalen and Jämtland were ceded to Sweden.
The first population of Härjedalen is estimated to have migrated there circa 7,000 BC. The population lived from hunting and fishing, close to the inland ice which by then had started to melt. Ruändan, in the
Flatruet mountains in northwestern Härjedalen, is the location of a large site of rock paintings. The rock paintings at Ruändan consists of some twenty figures depicting people, bear, moose and reindeer. The rock paintings were first reported in 1896 and are estimated to be over 4000 years old.
According to legend, Härjedalen is named after a powerful
Norseman who had to flee east from the Norwegian court of King
Halfdan Svarte after killing one of the king's men with a horn. Thereafter he was known as
Härjulf Hornbrytare (''lit.'' "Härjulf the Hornbreaker"). For a time he entered the service of the
Svea King
Anund
Anund (, meaning ''trail-blazer Anund'' or ''Anund the Land Clearer''), also called ''Brøt-Anundr'' ( Old East Norse) or ''Braut-Önundr'' ( Old West Norse) was a semi-legendary Swedish king of the House of Yngling who reigned in the mid-seve ...
, until he eloped with that king's sister, Helga, and together they disappeared into the remote location in the region eventually named after him. Today a statue stands dedicated to them in the village of
Lillhärdal. Härjulf and Helga were the foreparents to the Icelander,
Bjarni Herjólfsson
Bjarni Herjólfsson ( 10th century) was a Norse- Icelandic explorer who is believed to be the first known European discoverer of the mainland of the Americas, which he sighted in 986.
Life
Bjarni was born to Herjólfr, son of Bárdi Herjólfss ...
, who was the first Norseman to see the "new world" when he was blown off-course whilst on a voyage to
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
. His boat is the one
Leif Erikson
Leif Erikson, also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norsemen, Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental Americas, America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus. According ...
acquired about 15 years later for Leif's famed landing on
Vinland
Vinland, Vineland, or Winland () was an area of coastal North America explored by Vikings. Leif Erikson landed there around 1000 AD, nearly five centuries before the voyages of Christopher Columbus and John Cabot. The name appears in the V ...
.
Christianization of Härjedalen took place after the
Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. Agriculture remained Härjedalen's largest industry for a long time, supplemented by ironmaking and trade mainly to
Røros in
Trøndelag
Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...
. Extensive forestry also played a major role in Härjedalen resulting of industrialization which occurred in the mid-1850s. A large portion of Härjedalen residents emigrated to America, principally to Northwestern
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
during the late 1800s. More recently, Härjedalen has increasingly taken up the position as a tourist landscape with large mountain facilities in
Funäsdalen,
Vemdalen, and
Lofsdalen.
Geography
Four-fifths of the province is situated above 500 metres of altitude, constituting a part of the
Scandinavian mountain range. Sweden's highest village
Högvålen, at 835 metres, is also within the province.
Härjedalen does not have any
cities
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
at all. The only village of even modest size is the market town
Sveg, which used to be the administrative centre of the province.
The provincial flower is the
Arctic violet. It is prominent on high altitudes in Europe, and is also found in the
Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
...
.
Sånfjället National Park extends through the municipality.
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 current administrative or political purposes, but are historical and cultural entities. In the case of Härjedalen there is a
municipality
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' ...
, ''kommun'',
Härjedalen Municipality, which is located in the southern part of
Jämtland County
Jämtland County (, ) is a county or '' län'' in Sweden. It consists of the provinces of Jämtland and Härjedalen, along with minor parts of Hälsingland and Ångermanland, plus two small strips of Lapland and Dalarna. It borders the countie ...
. The municipality does not exactly correspond to the province, but is larger.
Subdivisions
Härjedalen was historically divided into districts.
*
Hede Court District
*
Sveg Court District
Heraldry
The arms is represented with a dukal coronet. Blazon: "Argent a Sledgehammer Sable with Core Gules between Tongs of the second and two Hammers adorsed in pale of the second handled Gules.". It was granted in 1660. Since 1974 Härjedalen Municipality uses the same coat of arms, but without the coronet.
Sports
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
in the province is administered by
Jämtland-Härjedalens Fotbollförbund.
References
Other sources
*Bergström-Magnusson-Raihle (1991) ''Härjedalen - Natur och kulturhistoria'' (Östersund: Jämtlands läns museum)
External links
Municipality site Härjedalens Culture Center Jämtland Härjedalen Tourist site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Härje Vallley
Provinces of Sweden
Kingdom of Norway (872–1397)