Älvdalen (

Elfdalian Elfdalian or Övdalian ( or , pronounced in Elfdalian, or in Swedish) is a North Germanic language spoken by up to 3,000 people who live or have grown up in the locality of Älvdalen ('), which is located in the southeastern part of Älvd ...

: ''Övdaln'' or ''Tjyörtjbynn''; literally meaning ''The River Valley'') is a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

and the seat of Älvdalen Municipality in

Dalarna County Dalarna County ( sv, Dalarnas län) is a county or ''län'' in central Sweden ( Svealand). It borders on the counties of Uppsala, Jämtland, Gävleborg, Västmanland, Örebro and Värmland. It also borders on the Norwegian counties of He ...

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 countries, Nordic c ...

, with 1,810 inhabitants in 2010. The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

is widely known for being the place of manufacturing, in 1839, of the 4-meter granite vase (called ''Älvdalen Vase''), installed in the Summer Garden in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

(a gift from

Charles XIV John of Sweden sv, Karl Johan Baptist Julius , spouse = , issue = Oscar I of Sweden , house = Bernadotte , father = Henri Bernadotte , mother = Jeanne de Saint-Jean , birth_date = , birth_place = Pau, ...

Nicholas I of Russia , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date ...

). Nearby is the Hykjebergets Nature Reserve, inaugurated by

Prince Carl Philip A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

and Princess Sofia in 2016.

Language

The indigenous

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

of Älvdalen is

. Although it contains many

innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed enti ...

s it still preserves various

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

traits that have ceased to exist in most other

North Germanic languages The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also ...

.
O'Hagan, Sean: ''Witch hunts, mystics and race cars: inside the weirdest village in Sweden'' (photo-essay on photographer Maja Daniels's three-year sojourn in Älvdalen and her family connection to Elfdalian) The main spoken language in modern times is a Dalecarlian dialect of Swedish language, Swedish, which also is the dominant language in the local administration.

Climate

Älvdalen has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, g ...

influenced by its location near the furthest interior position on the

Scandinavian Peninsula The Scandinavian Peninsula ( sv, Skandinaviska halvön; no, Den skandinaviske halvøy (Bokmål) or nn, Den skandinaviske halvøya; fi, Skandinavian niemimaa) is a peninsula located in Northern Europe, which roughly comprises the mainland ...

. As a result, seasonal swings are large and the general climate has strong resemblances to Skellefteå much further north at sea level. Being in a river valley, the area is also prone to temperature inversion and harsh freezing. Compared to Mora about to its southeast, temperature differences are comparatively large since Mora is lower, further south and situated by the slightly moderating lake of Siljan.

References

Municipal seats of Dalarna County Swedish municipal seats Populated places in Dalarna County Populated places in Älvdalen Municipality {{Dalarna-geo-stub

Language

Climate

See also

References