Norrbotten County
Webpages concerning "Norrbotten County"
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Wikipedia-Article "Norrbotten County"
Norrbotten County (Norrbottens län) is a Swedish county or län in the extreme north of Sweden. It borders to Västerbotten County and the Gulf of Bothnia. It also borders to Lapland Province in Finland, Nordland and Troms counties in Norway.
The name Norrbotten is also used for a Swedish province with that name. This province covers only the eastern part of Norrbotten County – the inland instead belongs to the Lapland province.
 Map highlighting the location of Norrbotten County in Sweden |
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| County | SE-BD, SE082 | |
| Residence City | Luleå | |
| Province | Norrbotten | |
| Created | 1810 | |
| Area - - |
98,911 km², 24.1% of Sweden; ranked 1st |
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| Population Reference: ranked list |
258,094 inh., 2.6 inh/km² |
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| GRP | See this ranked list | |
Contents |
Province
- Today: Norrbotten and Laponia.
- Historically: Västerbotten and Laponia
Norrbotten has only gradually been come to be referred to as a province, following the county borders drawn in 1810. Historically, Västerbotten was the denomination for northern Sweden.
Cultural identification in Sweden is closely related to the historical Provinces of Sweden, and the people in the coastal region of Norrbotten County, are in this sense living in Northern Västerbotten, or Norra Västerbotten. In order not to be confused with people from Southern Västerbotten, i.e. the coastal region of Västerbotten County, they started to identify themselves with the county rather than with the historical province. By the early 20th century Swedes had in general started referring to northern Sweden as Norrbotten. Specifically this came to mean that Norrbotten, at times referred to just Northern Westrobothnia, rather than to the whole of Norrbotten County. In this Norrbotten also came to be seen as being on equal footing with the historical provinces, even if it never had been one itself, and from the 1980s it has adopted or has been assigned provincial symbols. There is a coat of arms for Norrbotten County, but Norrbotten designated as a traditional province does not hold any distinction of this kind.
Geography
Norrbotten covers almost 1/4 of Sweden's surface, but is sparsely inhabited. This is especially true for the Laponia part, in the inland.
The climate is generally harsh. Considering its northern location this is not surprising. However, the long summer days allow crops to ripe within 2-3 months, and various grains are commonly grown and make up an important part of the industry. Besides grains, potatoes and turnips are also grown. The most important plant is however the grass, used as hey for the livestock.
Major rivers in Norrbotten (north-south) include the Torne River, Lule River, Kalix River and Pite River. Rivers shared with Västerbotten include Skellefte River and Ume River. Other rivers that flow directly to the sea and that are at least 100 km long are the Sangis River, Råne River, Åby River and Byske River.
Population
The population has increased during the last hundred years. The estimated 2002 population was 250,000. In the 1912 census, the population was 166,641, (4,000 more males than females), and of this, around 120,000 belonged to the Västerbotten part. Twenty years earlier, in 1892, the population was only 110,000. [1]
History
Following the Finnish War in 1809 Västerbotten County was separated into a Swedish and a Finnish part, where the main part remained within Swedish borders. In 1810 the county was divided once more when Norrbotten County was created out of the northern part, on the Swedish side.
Heraldry
The arms for the Norrbotten County is a combination of the arms of Västerbotten and Laponia. When it is shown with a royal crown it represents the County Administrative Board. Blazon: "Quartered, the arms of Westrobothnia and the arms of Laponia."
Culture
The culture of Norrbotten is in many ways different from the rest of Sweden, since many different cultures meet there; the sami culture, the finnish culture and the swedish settler-culture. There is a saying in Norrboten called "I am not Swedish - I am a Norrbottnian".
Along the coast are the historical cities Luleå and Piteå. Luleås old town section Gammelstad has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Sami, Meänkieli, and Finnish may be used be used in dealing with government agencies, courts, municipalities, preschools and nursing homes in parts of Norrbotten County.
Administration
The main aim of the County Administrative Board is to fulfil the goals set in national politics by the Parliament and the Government, to coordinate the interests of the county, to promote the development of the county, to establish regional goals and safeguard the due process of law in the handling of each case. The County Administrative Board is nominally a Government Agency headed by a Governor. See List of Norrbotten Governors.
The County Council of Norrbotten or Norrbottens Läns Landsting.
Municipalities
From north to south with approximate population figures as of 2002.
- Kiruna (23,500 inhabitants)
- Gällivare (19,500)
- Pajala (7,000)
- Jokkmokk (5,500)
- Övertorneå (5,500)
- Överkalix (4,000)
- Arjeplog (3,200)
- Boden (28,000)
- Kalix (17,500)
- Haparanda (10,000)
- Älvsbyn (8,500)
- Luleå (72,500)
- Arvidsjaur (7,000)
- Piteå (40,500)
The Sami language can be used in contacts with local authorities in Arjeplog, Gällivare, Jokkmokk and Kiruna. Similary, Finnish and Meänkieli can be used in Gällivare, Haparanda, Kiruna, Pajala and Övertorneå.
References
- article Norrbottens län from Nordisk familjebok (1912).
External links
- Norrbotten County Administrative Board
- Norrbotten County Council
- Norrbotten Regional Association of Local Authorities
| Counties of Sweden |  |
|---|---|
| Blekinge | Dalarna | Gotland | Gävleborg | Halland | Jämtland | Jönköping | Kalmar | Kronoberg | Norrbotten | Örebro | Östergötland | Skåne | Stockholm | Södermanland | Uppsala | Värmland | Västerbotten | Västernorrland | Västmanland | Västra Götaland | |