Upplands Väsby Municipality

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This page deals with both Upplands Väsby Municipality and the urban area (tätort) Väsby

**Upplands Väsby Municipality (*Kommun*)**
Image:Svcmap stockholm.png Upplands Väsby municipality and seat in the county Image:Upplands Väsby in County.png Map outlining municipalities of Sweden	Coat of arms Image:Upplands Väsby City Arms.png
	Municipal facts
	Seat	Väsby
	{{{locationReadable}}}
	County	Stockholm County
	Province	Uplandia
	Area Rank	75 km² 274th of 290
	Population Rank (2005)	37,517 58th of 290
	Density	498/km²

Upplands Väsby Municipality is a Swedish Municipality in central Sweden. The town "Upplands Väsby" is the seat, and the home for all but a thousand people of the total municipal population. In the common language it is referred to as just "Väsby".

The name Väsby can be attested (as Vesby) from the 13th century. The prefix "Upplands" came to be used by the post station in 1919 as a means of separating it from other Väsby's in the country. The municipality was then named "Upplands-Väsby" for a time, but the dash has now been removed.

Upplands Väsby is located in between Stockholm and the large airport Arlanda, and the main line railroad goes through the municipality. It is now an important link to the new "Upptåget", enabling change between "Upptåget," a new train service going north to Arlanda, Uppsala, and all the way to Gävle, and the pendeltåg i.e. the local Stockholm commuter rails.

[edit] Geography

The land is covered with good soil, forests, and moraine. The western part border to a creek of the lake Mälaren (not visible on the map) , which also marks the border to the municipality Upplands Bro. There are also other water areas, such as streams and small lakes, in the municipality. One of them is the small river Väsbyån, flowing through Väsby, in which the uncommon fish asp swims.

The municipality consists of the three parishes Hammarby, Ed and Fresta that once were municipalities but were united in 1952.

[edit] History

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Located in the province of Uppland with a hold history holding remains from the Stone Age. Rune stones and axes from the Bronze age have also been found. The number of rune inscriptions in the municipality amounts to 76.

When Väsby Centrum, a shopping centre that currently houses some 60 stores, was built in Väsby in 1972 the population grew markedly. The mall is currently undergoing a large increase; 20 new stores will have opened by spring 2007, bringing the mall's total up to 80 stores.