Sollefteå () is a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

and the seat of

Sollefteå Municipality Sollefteå Municipality () is a Swedish municipality in Västernorrland County. Its seat is located in Sollefteå. The former ''City of Sollefteå'' (instituted in 1917) was amalgamated with the surrounding entities in 1974 to form the present m ...

Västernorrland County Västernorrland County () is a county ('' län'') in the north of Sweden. It is bordered by the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland, Västerbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. The name ''Västernorrland'' means "Western Norrland", as it was in the ...

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 ...

History

The earliest written account on Sollefteå is found in a script dating back to 1270. During this time the name of the village was given as De Solatum - a name that can be interpreted as a composition of ''Sol'' (sun) and ''at'' (property) i.e. literally The sunlit region. ''De Solatum'' also can be interpreted as desolation, which means loneliness or remoteness (see

Remote and isolated community In Canada, the designations remote, isolated, outport and fly-in refer to a settlement that is either a long distance from larger settlements or lacks transportation links that are typical in more populated areas. Definition In responding to t ...

). With Sollefteå being located at the lowest rapids of the Ångermanälven thereby making it the last outpost to which it was possible to sail. The village developed into 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' ...

. The town changed from a commercial town into a town dominated by the military when the two regiments

T 3 T3 or T-3 may refer to: Entertainment * '' T3: Alliance'', an investigative-public affairs TV program in the Philippines * ''T3'' (magazine), focusing on new and hi-tech gadgets * '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'', the third film in the '' ...

(Logistics) and I 21 (Infantry) were located there in 1898 and 1911 respectively. In 1902 Sollefteå obtained the status of market town or ''

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 ...

'' before finally being granted a town charter in 1917 thereby making it a

city 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 ...

. It is now the seat of the much larger Sollefteå Municipality. Sollefteå is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''city''.

Notable buildings

The pharmacy

The pharmacy building was erected in 1889. It is a brick building, two and a half storeys high. The style of the building is influenced by the late 19th-century architectural style and is dominated by the

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

style. The house was designed by the architect Niclas Wahrgren. The many various architectural styles represented in the building is seen in the medieval inspired

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

corner tower, Norman arches, North German gothic styles, blind windows with pointed arches and

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

supported by

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

s. There are also

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

elements in the design, for example the staircase's orientalic/antique and geometric mosaics with

meanders A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank or river cliff) and deposits sediments on an inn ...

. The overall style of the building is reminiscent of the palatial buildings erected on Strandvägen in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and in the Stenstaden in

Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. Old town i ...

at the same time. In 1984, the building was declared a historic building and thereby protected from demolition or major alterations. It is today the home of the local library as well as the city's museum.

Hotel Appelbergs

The hotel is located in the centre of Sollefteå, along the pedestrian district. It is also the oldest hotel in the city, built in 1882 by timberman and innkeeper Erik Appelberg. The hotel became a hub for timber-merchants as well as local potentates. Notable guests include Crown Princess Stéphanie of Austria, King

Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

and Gustav V of Sweden, and Kaiser

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

. The hotel also provided accommodation for King

Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...

Siam 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 ...

and four of his princes during their tour of Ångermanland in the early 20th century. Their journey is commemorated in the hotel with a plaque, and in the village of Utanede with a

royal pavilion The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince o ...

. The building is a good example of the early architecture of Sollefteå, being built of wood. *

Sollefteå Church Sollefteå () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Sollefteå Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. History The earliest written account on Sollefteå is found in a script dating back to 1270. During this time the name ...

Multrå transmitter

The Multrå transmitter is a facility for FM/TV broadcasting with a 288 metre tall mast.

Climate

The nearest weather station to Sollefteå is located in Österforse, slightly more than by air to its south-west. The station's slightly more southerly latitude is likely even exceeded by a 50–80 metres higher elevation depending on location within Sollefteå. This likely renders Sollefteå slightly milder, particularly during afternoons. Österforse has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

( Dfc) that is quite moderate in nature considering its inland position and latitude. Summer days are very warm for North Central Sweden, being heavily affected by its low elevation in comparison to areas further west such as

Östersund Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...

. Temperatures are heavily dependent on wind direction and the convergences of warm southerly and cold northerly air.

Temperature inversion In meteorology, an inversion (or temperature inversion) is a phenomenon in which a layer of warmer air overlies cooler air. Normally, air temperature gradually decreases as altitude increases, but this relationship is reversed in an inver ...

is also a factor due to its position beneath the

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

. As a result, cold snaps can be quite extreme, resulting in an all-time low of . The all-time heat record is from July 2, 2015 with in an otherwise chilly summer.

Sports

The following sports clubs are located in Sollefteå: *

Sollefteå GIF Sollefteå GIF is a Sweden, Swedish Association football, football club located in Sollefteå. Background The club was founded in 1898 catering for a variety of sports. From 1905 the club gradually developed its football section. In the 1953/54 ...

* Sollefteå Hockey * Remsle UIF * Sollefteå Handboll

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

* Sollefteå BTK

Table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

* Sollefteå Skidor

Cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

Notable people

Nils Åkerblom Nils Carlsson Åkerblom (17 September 1895 – 12 October 1974) was a Swedish equestrian. He competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as ...

(1895-1974), equestrian *

Adam Alsing Rolf Adam Engelbrekt Alsing (12 October 1968 – 15 April 2020) was a Swedish television and radio presenter, best known for presenting ''Big Brother (Swedish TV series), Big Brother Sweden'' on Kanal 5 (Swedish TV channel), Kanal 5. He mov ...

(1968-2020), television and radio presenter * Torsten Anderson (1904-1986), New Zealand wrestler *

Ingela Andersson Ingela Andersson (born 16 July 1991) is a Swedish biathlete. She resides in Östersund. She competed at the Biathlon World Championships 2013 in Nové Město na Moravě, and at the Biathlon World Championships 2016 in Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is ...

(born 1991), biathlete * Lena Asplund (born 1956), politician * Emil Assergård (born 1991), singer-songwriter *

Urban Bäckström Urban Bäckström (born 25 May 1954 in Sollefteå, Västernorrlands län) is a Swedish economist who was CEO of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise from 2005 to 2014 and governor of the Bank of Sweden from 1994 to 2002. Personal life Bäck ...

(born 1954), former Governor of the

Bank of Sweden Sveriges Riksbank, or simply the Riksbank, is the central bank of Sweden. Founded in 1668, it is the world's oldest surviving central bank, and the third oldest bank in continuous operation. Prior to World War I, it was also the only state- ...

, president of the

Confederation of Swedish Enterprise The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise or Swedish Enterprise () is a major employers' organization for private sector and business sector companies in Sweden. It has 49 member associations representing 60,000 member companies with more than 1.6 ...

* Olle Dahlberg (1928–1997), speed skater *

Helena Ekholm Helena Ekholm (née Helena Jonsson) (born September 6, 1984 in Helgum) is a former Swedish biathlete. She was born in Helgum, Sollefteå Municipality. She is the 2009 world champion in pursuit and the 2011 world champion in individual. She als ...

(born 1984), biathlete * Jan Eriksson (born 1958), ice hockey player * Ulf Eriksson (born 1942), association football referee * Margareta Fahlén (1918-1978), actress * Laura Fitinghoff (1848-1908), writer *

Thomas Gradin Thomas Kjell Gradin (born February 18, 1956) is a Swedish associate head scout for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) and a former professional ice hockey centre who played in the NHL and the Swedish Elite League (SEL) fro ...

(born 1956), ice hockey scout and former player * Anton Halén (born 1990), handball player * Gunnar Hedlund (1900-1989), politician * Göran Högberg (1948-2019), long distance runner *

Erika Höghede Erika Katharina Höghede (born 21 August 1963) in Sollefteå, Sweden is a Swedish actor, actress. She has appeared in many TV programs and play (theatre), theatre plays since 1997. She has created several Sveriges Television, SVT programs, among t ...

(born 1963), actress *

Emma Johansson Emma Karolina Johansson (born 23 September 1983) is a Swedish retired professional racing cyclist. Nicknamed ''Silver Emma'', Johansson accumulated many second and third places at major championships and one-day classics. In 2013 in women's roa ...

(born 1983),

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

. Won two Olympic silver medals. * Joacim Jonsson (born 1974), former football player and manager * Magnus Jonsson (born 1982), biathlete *

Frida Karlsson Frida Elisabeth Karlsson (born 10 August 1999) is a Swedish cross-country skier. She won a silver medal in the women's 10 kilometres classical, bronze medal in the women's 30 kilometre freestyle mass start, and gold as a member of the women's 4 ...

(born 1999), cross-country skier *

Sven O. Kullander Sven Oscar Kullander (born 30 November 1952 in Sollefteå) is a Sweden, Swedish biologist specialised in ichthyology. He primarily researches cichlids – notably the genus ''Apistogramma'' and the ''Cichlasoma''-complex – and other tropical ...

(born 1952), biologist * Rune Lindström (born 1944), alpine skier * Lennart Ljung (1921-1990), former

Supreme Commander Of The Swedish Armed Forces The Chief of Defence, formerly the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces (; acronym: ÖB) is the highest ranked professional military officer in the Swedish Armed Forces, and is by NATO terminology the Sweden, Swedish chief of defence, c ...

* Bo Lundquist (born 1942), businessman * Karl-Göran Mäler (1939-2020), economist * Andreas Molinder (born 1987), ice hockey player * Mats O. Nyberg (born 1958), curler and curling coach * Johan Nyström (born 1975), swimmer *

Marie-Helene Östlund Marie-Helene Östlund (née Westin, born 14 May 1966), is a retired Swedish cross-country skier. Östlund won a world championship title on the 20 km in Oberstdorf, West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Fede ...

(born 1966), cross-country skier *

Mona Sahlin Mona Ingeborg Sahlin (; ; born 9 March 1957) is a Swedes, Swedish politician who was leader of the opposition and leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 2007 to 2011. Sahlin was a Parliament of Sweden, Member of Parliament, represen ...

(born 1957), former chairman of

Swedish Social Democratic Party The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( , S or SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( ), is a social democratic political party in Sweden. The party is member of the Progressiv ...

and Member of Parliament *

Therese Sjölander Eva Therése Sjölander (born 4 May 1981 in Sollefteå, Sweden) is an ice hockey player from Sweden. She won a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics. References External linksSweden thrashes It ...

(born 1981), ice hockey player *

Maj Sønstevold Maj Sønstevold (born ''Lundén''; 9 September 1917 – 14 March 1996) was a Swedish composer who lived and worked in Norway. Biography Maj Sønstevold was born in Sollefteå, Sweden. She studied piano in Stockholm and with Billy Mayerl in London. ...

(1917 – 1996), composer *

Gerhard Strindlund Gerhard Strindlund (1890–1957) was a Swedish politician who held various cabinet posts in the 1930s. He was a member of the Agrarian Party. Biography Strindlund was born in Sollefteå parish, Västernorrland county, on 24 September 1890. He ...

(1890–1957), politician * Pär Styf (born 1979), ice hockey player *

Per Svartvadet Per Eric Svartvadet (born 17 May 1975) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player. Svartvadet was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft in the 6th round, as the 139th pick overall. In the summer of 1999 he was traded ...

(born 1975), ice hockey player * Helen Svedin (born 1976), supermodel, wife of

Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-t ...

* Madelein Svensson (born 1969), race walker * Pelle Svensson (1943-2020), lawyer and wrestler * Ellen Tejle (born 1984), campaigner for awareness of women's representation in film *

Ingrid Thulin Ingrid Lilian Thulin (; 27 January 1926 – 7 January 2004) was a Swedish actress and director who collaborated with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. She was often cast as harrowing and desperate characters, and earned acclaim from both Swedish and in ...

(1926-2004), actress * Mattias Timander (born 1974), ice hockey player * Mikael Tjallden (born 1975), ice hockey player * Kristina Ulander (born 1981), wheelchair curler *

Lars Vågberg Lars Vågberg (born 30 June 1967 in Sollefteå, Sweden) is a Norwegian curler from Bærum. Vågberg began his international curling career in Sweden. In his first international tournament, he was the second Mikael Hasselborg's 1990 European ...

(born 1967), Norwegian curler * William Wallinder (born 2002), ice hockey player * Ann-Cathrine Wiklander (born 1958), singer

Sister city

Madison, Mississippi Madison is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 11th most populous city in Mississippi, United States, located in Madison County, Mississippi, Madison County, north of the List of capitals in the United States, state capital, Jackson, Miss ...

Madison has been Sollefteå's sister city since 1997. Talks began in 1995 when Madison officials were meeting with the board of Sollefteå-based forestry products company, Haglof, Inc, for the latter was interested in opening a plant in Madison. The Madison officials came to Sollefteå and were more interested to learn about Swedish culture. A delegation of 30 members of the city of Sollefteå's board came to Madison to tour the city and make the sister city relationship official. During the visit, Haglof opened its new office in Madison, and another Swedish company, Mini Tube, was also interested in opening offices in Madison. After the people of the delegation of Sollefteå came to Madison, the latter sent 34 delegates to Sollefteå, once again to tour the city. The Madison delegates learned about Swedish culture and traditions, came to Haglof Inc.'s facilities, and toured an environmental center. Because of Sollefteå's and Madison's relationship, the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce was created in the latter.

Gallery

File:Sollefteå1.jpg, Northern entrance to Sollefteå, crossing Ångermanälven

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solleftea Populated places in Sollefteå Municipality Ångermanland Municipal seats of Västernorrland County Swedish municipal seats Diocese of Härnösand fi:Sollefteån kunta