Misplaced Pages

#651348

20-399: The traditional provinces of Sweden have no administrative or political functions; instead, they are historical and cultural entities. The administrative county of Västerbottens län includes the province of Västerbotten and the southern part of Swedish Lapland . On 18 January 1884, all Swedish provinces were granted the status of duchies, allowing their coats of arms to be displayed with

40-492: A Västanstång dragon and one with a Östanstång lion. The current arms for Östergötland (see below) were created in 1884. The current arms for Småland were created for the coronation of John III in 1569. The wild man representing Lappland was created for the funeral of Charles IX in 1612. Arms for Jämtland were created when Norway ceded the province to Sweden in 1635. Arms for Härjedalen were created later. The arms for Blekinge, Bohuslän, Halland and Skåne were created for

60-637: A ducal coronet. The coat of arms for Västerbotten is described as: "Azure Seme of Mullets Or a Reindeer in full course and hoofed Gules." Västerbotten was historically divided into chartered cities and districts. Until the Finnish War of 1808–1809 and the Treaty of Fredrikshamn , the province of Västerbotten included a small portion of what is now northern Finland . This area was later incorporated into Finnish Lapland . The province of Ostrobothnia ( Finnish : Pohjanmaa , Swedish : Österbotten ),

80-629: A lesser extent, Malmö – identify primarily with their city, rather than their province. English and other languages occasionally use Latin names for the Swedish provinces. The name Scania for Skåne predominates in English. Some English exonyms , such as the Dales for Dalarna, East Gothland for Östergötland, Swedish Lapland for Lappland and West Bothnia for Västerbotten are common in English literature. Swedes writing in English have long used

100-471: A local identity. Today, Norrbotten is considered a separate province, even though provinces had lost their administrative and legal significance hundreds of years before 1810. Västerbotten Regiment served as the provincial regiment. Since the 13th century, Swedish princes from certain dynasties have been created dukes of various provinces. Since 1772, these titles have been purely nominal. Lakes Watercourses Watercourses Regional football in

120-509: Is Härjedalen , though the borders are not quite the same. Administrative borders are subject to change – for example, several of today’s counties were created in the 1990s – while the provincial borders have remained stable for centuries. All the provinces are also ceremonial duchies , but as such have no administrative or political functions. Nevertheless, the provinces of Sweden are no archaic concept; they are still referenced in everyday speech and seen as culturally distinct. The main exception

140-429: Is Lapland , where people see themselves as citizens of Västerbotten or Norrbotten , based on the counties . Sweden’s two largest cities, Stockholm and Gothenburg , both have provincial borders running through them: Stockholm is split between Uppland and Södermanland , and Gothenburg is split between Västergötland and Bohuslän . According to a 2011 survey, people in major cities – Stockholm, Gothenburg and, to

160-420: The counties of Sweden ( län ). Some were conquered later on from Denmark–Norway . Others, like the provinces of Finland , have been lost. In some cases, the county and province borders correspond almost exactly, as with Blekinge and Blekinge County . The island of Gotland is both a province , a county and a municipality ( kommun ). The only other province to share a name with a modern municipality

180-633: The Iron Age was the Geats ; the main tribe of Svealand, according to Tacitus ca 100 AD, was the Suiones (or the ”historical Swedes”). ”Norrland” was all the unexplored northern parts, the boundaries and Swedish control over which were weakly defined into the early modern age. Due to the Northern Crusades against Finns , Tavastians and Karelians and colonisation of some coastal areas of

200-596: The King’s long list of titles. Gustav Vasa’s title only had three entries – "King of Sweden , the Goths and the Wends " – so banners were created for each Swedish province for a better display. Some of these arms were short-lived, such as the beaver for Medelpad (changed in the 1570s), the wolverine for Värmland (changed in 1567) and the roses on Småland ’s arms. Östergötland was represented by two different arms, one with

220-508: The Swedish monarch, in some cases for centuries. ( Norway , in personal union with Sweden from 1814 to 1905, never became an integral part of Sweden.) When Sweden ceded Finland to the Russian Empire in 1809, Västerbotten was divided up so that Norrbotten first emerged as a county. Eventually, it came to be recognized as its own province. It was granted a coat of arms as late as in 1995. Some scholars suggest that Sweden revived

SECTION 10

#1732780731652

240-454: The Swedish names only. The origins of the provincial divisions lay in the petty kingdoms that gradually became more and more subjected to the central monarchy during the consolidation of Sweden . Until the country law of Magnus Eriksson in 1350, each of these lands still had its own laws and its own assembly (the thing ), and in effect governed itself. The first provinces were considered duchies , but newly conquered provinces received

260-488: The concept of provinces in the 19th century. Historically, Sweden was seen as containing four ”lands” (larger regions): In the Viking Age and earlier, Götaland and Svealand were home to a number of petty kingdoms that were more or less independent; Götaland in the Iron Age and Middle Ages did not include Scania and other provinces in the far south, which were then part of Denmark . The leading tribe of Götaland in

280-415: The concept of the provinces. At the funeral of King Gustav Vasa (Gustav I) in 1560, arms for 23 of the provinces were displayed together for the first time, most of them created for that occasion. Erik XIV of Sweden modelled the funeral processions on those of German dukes , who in turn may have styled their displays after Emperor Charles V 's funeral, where a host of banners represented each entry in

300-692: The country, Finland fell under the Catholic Church and Swedish rule. Österland ("Eastern land"; the name had early gone out of use) in southern and central Finland formed an integral part of Sweden. Russia annexed Finland in 1809, and reunited it with some frontier counties annexed earlier to form the Grand Duchy of Finland . In 1917, Finland became an independent country . The regional borders have changed several times throughout history with changing national borders. Norrland, Svealand and Götaland are only parts of Sweden, and have never superseded

320-496: The funeral of Charles X Gustav in 1660. The Arms for Norrbotten were created as late as 1995. Götaland ( Gothia , Gothenland ) comrpises ten provinces in the southern part of Sweden. Until 1645, Gotland and Halland were parts of Denmark. Also, until 1658 Blekinge and Scania were parts of Denmark, and Bohuslän was part of Norway . Värmland was counted as part of Götaland until 1812. Svealand ( Swealand ) comprises six provinces in central Sweden. Until 1812, Värmland

340-605: The province is administered by Västerbottens Fotbollförbund . Ice hockey is also popular, with IF Björklöven and Skellefteå AIK . 65°00′N 17°30′E  /  65.000°N 17.500°E  / 65.000; 17.500 Provinces of Sweden The 25 provinces of Sweden ( Swedish : Sveriges landskap ) are historical , geographical and cultural regions. They have no administrative function (except in some sports contexts), but retain their own cultural identities, dialects and folklore. Several were administrative subdivisions until 1634, when they were replaced by

360-712: The status of duchy or county , depending on importance. After the separation from the Kalmar Union in 1523, the Kingdom incorporated only some of its new conquests as provinces. The most permanent acquisitions stemmed from the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, in which the former Danish Scanian lands ( Skåne , Blekinge , Halland and Gotland ), along with the Norwegian Bohuslän , Jämtland and Härjedalen , became Swedish and gradually integrated. Other foreign territories were ruled as Swedish Dominions under

380-460: Was counted as part of Götaland instead. Norrland ( Northland ) today comprises nine provinces in Northern and central Sweden. Until 1645 the provinces of Jämtland and Härjedalen were parts of Norway. In 1809, when Sweden ceded Finland to the Russian Empire , the old province of Lapland was split into Swedish Lapland and Finnish Lapland . Norrbotten was separated from Västerbotten at

400-526: Was located on the Finnish side of the Gulf of Bothnia, and its name is still in use today. Following the treaty of Fredrikshamn, which redefined the outlines and orientation of Sweden, Västerbotten County was split in 1810. The northern part became Norrbotten County . The Swedish-speaking residents of Norrbotten, a multilingual region, began identifying as norrbottningar , with the new county borders fostering

#651348