Närke () is a
Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in
Svealand in south central
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 is bordered by
Västmanland to the north,
Södermanland
Södermanland ( ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latinisation of names, Latinized form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden, historical province (or ) on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Österg� ...
to the east,
Östergötland to the southeast,
Västergötland to the southwest, and
Värmland
Värmland () is a ''Provinces of Sweden, landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west.
Name
Several Latinized version ...
to the northwest. Närke has a surface area of 4,126 km² and a total population of 208,376.
Name
The name of the province (Neeric 1165-81) comes from an old word ''när'' (narrow) which refers to the narrow
ridge
A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...
where the
church of Norrbyås (Nerboahs 1275) is situated. What the rest of the name means is not clear. In English sometimes also ''Nerike'' (an archaic spelling of the province) and ''Nericia'' (the Latin name)
are used for the province.
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 Närke, the province makes up the southern part of
Örebro County.
The following municipalities have their seats in Närke:
*
Askersund
*
Hallsberg
*
Kumla
*
Laxå
*
Lekeberg
*
Örebro
Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...
Heraldry
Arms granted in 1560, and revised a decade or so later with the current one. The arms is represented with a ducal
coronet. At the centre there are two
crossbow
A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...
bolts was - the crossbow being the favourite weapon of the peasants. Blazon: "Gules between four Roses Argent two Arrows in saltire Or points upward pointed Argent." The Närke arms is one of the components of the coat of arms for Örebro County, granted in 1944.
Geography
*Highest mountain:
Kilsbergen
*Largest lake:
Vättern
Vättern ( , ) is the second-largest lake in Sweden, after Vänern, and the sixth-largest lake in Europe. It is a long, finger-shaped body of fresh water in south central Sweden, to the southeast of Vänern, pointing at the tip of Scandinavia. ...
*National parks:
Garphyttan
The oldest city in Närke was
Örebro
Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...
, receiving its privileges around 1200. After that,
Askersund was chartered in 1643 and
Kumla in 1942.
City status in Sweden was discontinued as of 1971, so these are historical titles.
History
Prehistory
Norse mythology mentions three kings of Närke,
Nidud,
Olof the Sharp-sighted and
Sporsnjall. Nidud was a villainous king in the lay of
Wayland the smith, Olaf aided the Norwegian king
Vikar in battle, and Sporsnjall was burnt to death by
Ingjald Ill-ruler together with five other petty kings.
History
*The exiled Norwegian King
Olaf the Holy stayed in Närke for some time, 1028–1029, with Sigtrygg, before departing for
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,.
* was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...
and its ruler
Yaroslav I the Wise. Olaf may have initiated the Christianization of the province (see also
Culture of Närke).
*In the year 1170, Närke was incorporated into the diocese of
Strängnäs.
*In around 1200 A.D., the
Castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
of
Örebro
Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...
was built to protect the bridge crossing the ford (''öre'' means "sand bank" and ''bro'' means "bridge"), as well as the borough on the south side of the bridge. It was to withstand many sieges, and acquired a reputation for being impregnable.
*In 1316 the future
Saint Birgitta of Sweden, known outside of Sweden as ''Princess of Nericia'',
[ Eivor Martinus in ''Barndrottningen Filippa'', , pp 115, 164 & 167] was married to Ulf Gudmarson, Lord of Närke, to whom she bore eight children, one of whom was
St Catherine of Sweden.
*In 1435,
Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, the leader of a popular uprising against the German sheriffs, was given the castle of Örebro as a fief. In the following year he was assassinated.
*From 1525 to 1554, it was a fiefdom belonging to Lars Siggesson Sparre. Later in belonged to
Duke Charles from 1560 to 1598 and to his son Duke Charles Philip from 1611 to 1622.
*During the 16th and 17th centuries the territory was under a number of fiefs where iron bars were manufactured. As the farming activities gave very little, the iron manufacturing became even more attractive to the farmers, as well as trade with oxen. The oxen were sold in
Bergslagen as well as
Dalarna, where the skin of the oxen were important items in the mines.
*In 1653, it was the scene of the
Morning Star Rebellion.
*The surplus of oxen was also one of the reasons why the shoe-making business took shape and became a most important industry in Närke up until the middle of the 20th century.
Närke was renowned for its warlike peasants and when
coat-of-arms for the province was granted for the funeral of King
Gustav Vasa in 1560 two crossbow darts was the central symbol, the crossbow being the favourite weapon of the peasants.
In Närke there are also a number of ancient castles. The most important and best preserved one is located in Tarsta at Sköllersta.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as nominally in more recent times, the title of
Duke of Närke has been in use.
Culture
The province of Närke has 5,200 ancient remains.
Historical subdivisions
The old subdivisions of provinces were the
Hundreds of Sweden. In Närke, the hundreds were:
*
Asker Hundred
*
Edsberg Hundred
*
Glanshammar Hundred
*
Grimsten Hundred
*
Hardemo Hundred
*
Kumla Hundred
*
Noraskoga Mountain District (transferred to
Västmanland in 1617)
*
Skyllersta Hundred
A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in northern Germanic countries and related colonies, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative division
Administrative divisions (also administrative un ...
*
Sundbo Hundred
*
Örebro Hundred
Sports
Football in the province is administered by
Örebro Läns Fotbollförbund. Ice hockey is also popular, with
Örebro HK, and bandy with
Örebro SK.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Narke
Provinces of Sweden