Härjedalen
Härje Valley
Härjedalen | |
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Härjedalen (Swedish: [ˈhæ̂rjɛˌdɑːlɛn] ⓘ is a historical province (landskap) in the centre of Sweden. It borders the Norwegian county of Trøndelag as well as the provinces of Dalarna, Hälsingland, Medelpad, and Jämtland. The province originally belonged to Norway, but was ceded to Sweden in the Treaty of Brömsebro, 1645.[citation needed] The province forms the bulk of Härjedalen Municipality, of which the village of Sveg is the seat.
Etymology
The name Härjedalen, from
History
Härjedalen and
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 was first reported in 1896 and are estimated to be over 4000 years old.
According to legend, Härjedalen is named after a powerful
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. 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 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.[5]
Geography
Four-fifths of the province is situated above 500 metres of altitude, constituting a part of the
Härjedalen does not have any cities 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
Administration
The traditional provinces of Sweden serve no current administrative or political purposes, but are historical and cultural entities. In the case of Härjedalen there is a municipality, kommun, Härjedalen Municipality, which is located in the southern part of Jämtland County. 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 in the province is administered by Jämtland-Härjedalens Fotbollförbund.
References
- ^ "Folkmängd i landskapen den 31 december 2016" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. March 21, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- ^ Svenskt ortnamnslexikon 2003
- ^ Mæhlum, Lars; Lundal, Sverre Olav. "Härjedalen". Great Norwegian Encyclopedia (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved August 1, 2019.
- ^ Härjulf Hornbrytare (Lillhärdals historia)
- ^ "Härjedalens historia - En snabbversion". kommunfakta/kulturhistoria. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
Other sources
- Bergström-Magnusson-Raihle (1991) Härjedalen - Natur och kulturhistoria (Östersund: Jämtlands läns museum) ISBN 91-7948-065-9
External links
- Municipality site Archived 2010-08-11 at the Wayback Machine
- Härjedalens Culture Center Archived 2018-08-06 at the Wayback Machine
- Jämtland Härjedalen Tourist site Archived 2006-01-06 at the Wayback Machine
- Härjedalen map
- Map of Härjedalen