Swedish Lapland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Swedish Lapland (Swedish: Lappland) is a province in northernmost Sweden. It borders to Jämtland, Ångermanland, Västerbotten, Norrbotten, Norway and Finland.

Lapland originally extended eastward. However, in 1809 Russia annexed the eastern part of the Swedish realm, and created the Grand Duchy of Finland, which in effect split Lapland into a Swedish part and a Finnish part, both of which still exist today -- see also Finnish Lapland.

**Lappland**
Image:Swedish Lapland.png The provinces of Sweden with Lappland highlighted
	Land	Norrland
	Main corresponding county	Norrbotten County, Västerbotten County
	Area	109,702 km²
	Flower	Mountain avens
	Animal	Arctic fox

1 Government
2 Geography
- 2.1 National parks
3 History
- 3.1 Municipalities and towns
4 Heraldry
5 Culture
6 External links

[edit] Government

The Swedish Lapland is divided between the Norrbotten County, in the north, Västerbotten County, in the south. Most people in these counties refer to the entire county, including the areas in Lapland, when they say 'Norrbotten' or 'Västerbotten'. The reasons are practical and historical and do not imply they wouldn't prefer the name Lapland.

Citizens of Sami descent are eligible to stand and vote in elections for the Swedish Sami Parliament.

[edit] Geography

Parts of Lappland have been named a UNESCO World heritage site, the Laponian area.

[edit] National parks

[edit] History

The history of Lappland is in many ways connected to the history of Norrbotten County and Västerbotten County, since Lappland is a historic region connected to these counties. During the middle ages, Norrbotten/Lappland was basically a no man's land. The area was sparsely populated by Sami people. In the southern part of Lappland, Swedish and Norwegian settlers lived, side by side with the Sami population. From the Middle ages on, the Swedish kings tried hard to colonize and Christianize the area. But it took time - even today, Finnish and Sami minorities live in the area and have maintained their culture and customs.

During the industrialization of Sweden, the natural resources (hydroelectricity, timber and minerals) from Norrbotten and Lappland played a key role. Still, the area is poor compared to the southern parts of Sweden. The unemployment is high and young people leave for a better future "down south".

[edit] Municipalities and towns

In Norrbotten County:

In Västerbotten County:

[edit] Heraldry

Lapland itself was never considered a duchy but on January 18, 1884 the Privy Council gave all Provinces the right of use to a dukal coronet for their arms. Blazon Swedish version: "Argent, a Wildman stantant Gules wrapped with birch leaves Vert on the head and around the waist holding a Club Or in dexter over the shoulder."