Västmanland ( or ), is a historical

Swedish province The provinces of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges landskap) are historical, geographical and cultural regions. Sweden has 25 provinces; they have no administrative function (except for in some cases as sport districts), but remain historical legacies and a ...

, or ''landskap'', in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland,

Närke Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the southwe ...

Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...

Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norwa ...

and Uppland. Västmanland means "(The) Land of the Western Men", where the "western men" (''västermännen'') were the people living west of Uppland, the core province of early Sweden.

Administration

The traditional

provinces of Sweden The provinces of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges landskap) are historical, geographical and cultural regions. Sweden has 25 provinces; they have no administrative function (except for in some cases as sport districts), but remain historical legacies and ...

serve no administrative or political purposes (except sometimes as sport districts), but are historical and cultural entities. In the case of Västmanland the corresponding administrative county,

Västmanland County Västmanland County ( sv, Västmanlands län) is a county or ''län'' in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Södermanland, Örebro, Gävleborg, Dalarna and Uppsala. The county also has a stretch of shoreline towards Mälaren (Sweden's ...

, constitutes the eastern part of the province. The western part is in Örebro County where the municipalities of Hällefors, Lindesberg, Ljusnarsberg and

Nora Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian Places Australia * Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...

are located.

Heraldry

The coat of arms was granted in 1560. At the time it featured one fire mountain, to represent the mine of Sala Municipality. Soon, their numbers were increased to three, to also symbolize the Lindesberg and Norberg/Skinnskatteberg mines and the present blazon was ratified in 1943.

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...

: "Argent, in base triple Mount Azure issuant from each Flames Gules." When crowned with a ducal coronet it represents the province. However rather different in size Västmanland County was granted the same CoA in 1943.

Geography

The terrain is to the north and north-west rocky. In these parts the highest mountains are located: Älvhöjden with 422 meters, and Gillersklack with 408 meters. In the other parts it consists mostly of plains. The largest lake is Mälaren marking the southern border, Sweden's third largest lake. *National parks: Färnebofjärden Western Västmanland traditionally belonged to the mining district of

Bergslagen Bergslagen is a historical, cultural, and linguistic region located north of Lake Mälaren in northern Svealand, Sweden, traditionally known as a mining district. In Bergslagen, the mining and metallurgic industries have been important since the ...

. In 2014, the area around Ramnäs saw the largest forest fire in Sweden in modern times.

History

The oldest city of Västmanland is

Västerås Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049. Västerås is the se ...

, founded sometime around 990. The city was once the provincial capital, and from 1120 it became the seat of the

diocese of Västerås The Diocese of Västerås ( sv, Västerås stift) is a division of the Church of Sweden. Its home is in the Västerås Cathedral. History The diocese existed as a Catholic diocese from the 11th to the 16th century. The see was founded at Munkto ...

. Västerås is today also the largest city in the province, with 140,000 inhabitants in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. After that

Arboga Arboga () is a locality and the seat of Arboga Municipality in Västmanland County, Sweden with 10,330 inhabitants in 2010. Overview The city of Arboga is known to have existed as a town since the 13th century but the area has been inhabited sinc ...

, was chartered in the 12th century,

Köping ''Köping'' was a Swedish denomination for a market town since the Middle Ages, derived from the Old Norse word ''kaupang''. The designation was officially abolished with the municipal reform of 1971, when Sweden was subdivided into the Municip ...

in 1474, Sala in 1624; Lindesberg and

both in 1643, and finally Fagersta in 1944. With

city status in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

being abolished in 1971, these are solely historical titles. The mines of Norberg and Skinnskatteberg began being in use in the 14th century. The mine of Lindesberg was being cultivated in the early 16th century.

Dukes of Västmanland

Since 1772, Swedish Princes have been created Dukes of various provinces. This is solely a nominal title. * Prince Erik (1889–1918)

Culture

Engelsberg Ironworks Engelsberg Ironworks ( sv, Engelsbergs bruk) is an ironworks in ''Ängelsberg'', a village in Fagersta Municipality in Västmanland, Sweden. It was built in 1681 by Per Larsson Gyllenhöök (1645-1706) and developed into one of the world's most mod ...

is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Notable residents

* Johan Wilhelm Dalman (1787–1828), physician and naturalist * Carl Wilhelm von Scheele * Mikael Mogren,

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Sports

Västerås SK is the most successful Swedish bandy team with 20 titles as of 2017. Several

Bandy World Championship The Bandy World Championship is a competition between bandy-playing nations' men's teams. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy. It is distinct from the Bandy World Cup, a club competition, and from the W ...

finals have been played in Västerås.

Subdivisions

Västmanland was historically divided into districts. Within

they were called mountain districts (''bergslag''), and in the rest of the province hundreds.

References

External links

Västmanland
— ''tourism website''.

— ''from Nordisk familjebok (1922)''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vastmanland Provinces of Sweden