Åtvidaberg 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 Åtvidaberg Municipality,

Östergötland County Östergötland County ( sv, Östergötlands län) is a county or '' län'' in southeastern Sweden. It has land borders with the counties of Kalmar to the southeast, Jönköping to the southwest, Örebro to the northwest, and Södermanland to the ...

, Sweden with 6,859 inhabitants in 2010.

History

Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

was mined in the area from the 14th century, and the name "Åtvidaberg" was originally the name of a ''bergslag'' (a type of mining community). The earliest known use of the place name is from 1467, as a

compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...

of the words ''Åtvid'', which was the name of the parish, and ''berg'', literally "mountain", but in this context referring to a mine. The town's development was to be directed by the noble family Adelswärd. Through investments in the 19th and early 20th century the town developed into a modern industrial town. In the 1970s the industry was dominated by

Facit Facit (''Facit AB'') was an industrial corporation and manufacturer of office products including furniture. It was based in Åtvidaberg, Sweden, and founded in 1922 as ''AB Åtvidabergs Industrier''. Facit AB, a manufacturer of mechanical ca ...

, making calculators. It was a major sponsor of the football team

Åtvidabergs FF Åtvidabergs Fotbollförening, also known simply as Åtvidabergs FF, Åtvidaberg, Åtvid or (especially locally) ÅFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Åtvidaberg. The club is affiliated with Östergötlands Fotbollförbund and ...

, one of Sweden's strongest team in the 1970s. When Facit went bankrupt in the second half of the 1970s, it led to the downfall and degradation of the team. At the end of the 19th century almost one third of the population of Åtvidaberg Municipality in Sweden emigrated to

Ishpeming, Michigan Ishpeming ( ) is a city in Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,470 at the 2010 census, less than it was in the 1950s and 1960s when the iron ore mines employed more workers. A statue of a ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

as copper mines in the Åtvidaberg area closed down. In 1994 this was commemorated by a plaquette at the Mormorsgruvan mine of Åtvidaberg.

References

Municipal seats of Östergötland County Swedish municipal seats Populated places in Östergötland County Populated places in Åtvidaberg Municipality {{Östergötland-geo-stub