Valhalla Centre is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

northern Alberta Northern Alberta is a geographic region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. An informally defined cultural region, the boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes, the region encompasses everything north of the ce ...

, Canada within the

County of Grande Prairie No. 1 The County of Grande Prairie No. 1 is a List of municipal districts in Alberta, municipal district in northwestern Alberta, Canada in Division No. 19, Alberta, Census Division No. 19. It is bounded on the south by the Wapiti River, on the ea ...

. It is located in the

Peace River Country The Peace River Country (or Peace Country; ) is an aspen parkland region centring on the Peace River in Canada. It extends from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where a certain portion of the region i ...

at the junction of Highway 59 and Highway 723, northeast of the Village of Hythe and west of the Town of Sexsmith. It is approximately east of the

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

border and has an elevation of . The hamlet is located in Census Division No. 19 and in the federal riding of

Peace River The Peace River () is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in the Peace-Athabasca Delta to form the ...

History

The hamlet was founded in 1912 by

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

ns that moved north from Edson. It was named by Reverend Halvar N. Ronning after

Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...

, Odin's hall in

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

. The first post office was established in 1916. The settlement grew around a

creamery A creamery or cheese factory is a place where milk and cream are processed and where butter and cheese is produced. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has ...

until 1945. The ''Melsness Mercantile'' building was built in 1925, and functioned as a store and post office until 1951. Today it hosts a museum dedicated to the Scandinavian heritage of the area, and was declared a Provincial Historic Site.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Valhalla Centre had a population of 40 living in 19 of its 22 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 15. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Valhalla Centre had a population of 15 living in 9 of its 9 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 45. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Economy

The economy is centred on

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and stock raising.

Amenities

The hamlet has a church (Valhalla Lutheran Church),

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

rink, skating rink, museum and K-8 school (Valhalla Community School). The school is one of 13 publicly funded Alberta Chartered Schools.

References

External links