Uppland

Uppland () is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea. It has an extremely short and strangely shaped land border with Åland, an autonomous province of Finland, on the small uninhabited island of Märket in the Baltic.

The name literally means up land, a name which is commonly encountered in especially older English literature. Its Latinised form, which is occasionally used, is Uplandia.

Administration

The traditional provinces of Sweden serve no administrative or political purposes, but are historical and cultural entities. The corresponding administrative county, or län, is Uppsala County, which occupies the larger part of the territory. The bulk of the population, however, is within Stockholm County. Minor parts of the province are also in Västmanland County, Gävleborg County and Södermanland County.

Heraldry

Arms granted in 1560. Historically Uppland ranked as a duchy and the coat of arms is represented with a dukal coronet. Blazon: "Gules, a Royal Orb Or gemmed of the field and Azure with the cross bottoned Argent." Despite the fact that the Uppsala län has a different name and a smaller territory it was granted the same coat of arms in 1940.

Geography

Uppland was historically divided into chartered cities and districts. Within Roslagen they were called ship districts, and in the rest of the province hundreds. The above mantioned districts and cities have today no administrative function.

Cities

• Djursholm (1913)
• Enköping (approximately 1300)
• Lidingö (1926)
• Norrtälje (1622)
• Sigtuna (approximately 990)
• Solna (1943)
• Stockholm (1252)
• Sundbyberg (1927)
• Uppsala (1286)
• Vaxholm (1652)
• Öregrund (1491)
• Östhammar (approximately 1300)

Districts

Bro Hundred Bälinge Hundred Frösåker Hundred Färentuna Hundred Hagunda Hundred Håbo Hundred Lagunda Hundred Ly Hundred Lång Hundred Norunda Hundred Närding Hundred Oland Hundred Rasbo Hundred	Seming Hundred Simtuna Hundred Sju Hundred Sollentuna Hundred Torstuna Hundred Trögd Hundred Ulleråker Hundred Vaksala Hundred Vallentuna Hundred Våla Hundred Åsunda Hundred Ärling Hundred Örbyhus Hundred
Bro and Vätö Ship District Danderyd Ship District Frötuna and Länna Ship District	Väddö and Häverö Ship District Värmdö Ship District Åker Ship District

Facts

• Highest mountain:: Upplandsberget at Siggeforasjön, 117 metres
• Largest lake: Mälaren
• Archipelago: Roslagen
• National Parks: Ängsö, Färnebofjärden

Population

The population of Uppland was 1,339,154 as of 2004. The provincial population corresponds to the two main counties as follows:

County	Population
Stockholm County, partly	1,023,820
Uppsala County, entirely	319,925

(Note: The population statistics for Uppsala County date from 2007, which is why the population adds up to a larger total sum.)

History

The earliest unambiguous mention of the province of Uppland comes from the 1296, when it was mentioned that it included the Folklands of Fjärdhundraland, Attundaland, Tiundaland and Roslagen. The Swedish capital of Stockholm is divided between two provinces. The southern half lies in Södermanland and the northern half in Uppland.

Dukes

The nominal title Duke of a province has been awarded to Swedish princes since 1772. Dukes of Södermanland were:

• Prince Gustaf (1827-1852)
• Prince Sigvard (from his birth in 1907 until his loss of succession rights in 1934)

Religion

Uppsala is the seat of the only (formerly Catholic) archbishop of the Lutheran Church of Sweden.

Culture

The archaeological site Birka and the castle of Drottningholm are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

External links

• Uppland - Tourist site
• Uppland - Tourist information