Vastmanland

Vastmanland
Basic data
Part of the country (landsdel) :	Svealand
Province (län) :	Västmanland County , Örebro County
Surface:	9,286 km²
Residents:	288,016 (December 31, 2008)
Population density:	31 inhabitants per km²
Highest elevation:	Fjällberget 466  m above sea level
Largest lake:	Mälaren

Västmanland is one of Sweden's 25 historic provinces ( landskap ) in the Svealand part of the country . It is located at the northwest end of the Mälaren . In the south, Västmanland borders on Södermanland and Närke , in the west on Värmland , in the north on Dalarna and in the east on Uppland .

The largest city is Västerås , which is also the seat of the provincial government of today's Västmanland County . Other cities are Sala , Köping , Arboga and Fagersta . The most important branch of the economy is the electrical industry.

geography

Västmanland is mountainous in the west and north-west, but is otherwise an undulating plain with a slight incline towards Mälaren. Between this lake and the Vänern there is a ridge that acts as a water divider. The highest peaks in the western region are around 450  m above sea level. NN . The area surrounding the mining towns of Skinnskatteberg and Norberg is also elevated. From this region, smaller mountain ranges extend to the southeast, the depressions of which are filled with swamps. The ice masses of the last glacial period left behind so-called rolling stone ridges ( rullstensåsar ) on their retreat , which can be found in several places in Västmanland. In contrast to today, the rivers flowed predominantly from northeast to southwest. After that, a stronger land uplift began in the northwest than in the eastern part of the landscape and the watercourses changed their direction. Large areas were below sea level for a long time and are now characterized by the presence of valuable clay.

The mountain bed of Västmanland is rich in mineral resources that have been extracted in numerous pits. In addition to metals, you will find marble and many other usable minerals.

history

The settlement of Västmanland began after the inland ice melted from regions to the west. In the Iron Age , when the power center of central Sweden was in Uppland , Västmanland got its name, which is based on the fact that the region lies west of Uppland. After discovering the natural resources of the landscape, they began to be mined in many pits. Some of the mining locations that are now in Västmanland, such as Norberg and Noraskog , originally belonged to other historical provinces. Anundshög , one of the most important burial grounds of the Viking Age, is located near Västerås . The northern areas of Västmanland were almost uninhabited forests for a long time until they were settled by immigrant Finns in the 17th century .

coat of arms

Description: Three blue, red-burning mountains in silver.

Landscape symbols

• Flower: Mistletoe ( Lat. Viscum album )
• Animal: Roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus )
• Vogel: Crested Tit ( Lophophanes cristatus , Syn. Parus christatus )
• Fish: pikeperch ( Sander lucioperca )

Web links

Commons : Västmanland  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Vastmanland . In: Theodor Westrin, Ruben Gustafsson Berg, Eugen Fahlstedt (eds.): Nordisk familjebok konversationslexikon och realencyklopedi . 2nd Edition. tape 33 : Väderlek – Äänekoski . Nordisk familjeboks förlag, Stockholm 1922, Sp. 414-415 (Swedish, runeberg.org ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Folkmängd i landskapen ( Memento from August 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive )