Republic of Jämtland
The Republic of Jämtland is a cultural and marketing project in the Swedish Jämtland with regional political character. The historical background is the fact that Jämtland was an almost independent empire in the Middle Ages , which was controlled by the Jamtamot until 1470 and only came to Sweden in 1645. The cultural, historical and linguistic connections to the Norwegian Trøndelag have always been stronger than to the surrounding Swedish provinces .
The movement began in 1963, when Yngve Gamlin proclaimed himself "President of Jämtland" during the Storsjöyran music festival in Östersund . In 1967 the republic received some kind of official recognition when Gamlin was invited to Harpsund and sat in a rowboat with other statesmen and Swedish Prime Minister Tage Erlander . The republic was quiet in the 1970s, but revived again in 1983 when Moltas Erikson was elected president. Ewert Ljusberg has been president since 1989 . Ministerial posts today are held by the well-known Jämten Olof Johansson , Bodil Malmsten and Kim Anderzon .
The republic manifests itself in its own flag, in the Jämtland language (Jamska) and in the Storsjöyran Festival. The Jämtland song Så tåga vi tillsammans bort (“So we move away together”), the “national anthem” of the Republic of Jämtland, written by Wilhelm Peterson-Berger , is given annually during the Storsjöyran Festival after Ewert Ljusberg's presidential speech by 25,000 Jämten in the central square sung loudly by Östersund.
Under the title “United Republics of Jämtland, Härjedalen and Ravund” ( Förenade republikerna Jamtland, Herjeådalen och Ravund ) there is an extension that also includes Härjedalen and Ravund (the area of today's Ragunda municipality ).
The goals of the “Liberation Movement for the United Republics of Jämtland, Härjedalen and Ravund” ( Befrielserörelsen för de förenade republikerna Jamtland, Herjeådalen och Ravund ) are supported by the quasi-military “JRA - Jamtland Republican Army”, which primarily involves “so-called kidnappings , Tolls, passport and visa controls and other nonsense ”to draw attention to yourself.
Based on the Republic of Jämtland, the American football team from Östersund called itself Jamtland Republicans and chose blue, white and green as the team colors.