The geographical center of Sweden is contested amongst at least four locations.
Flataklocken
The oldest and most famous geographical center of Sweden is Flataklocken, a spot next to Lake Munkby in
Torpshammar,
Medelpad
Medelpad ( or ) is a historical province or ''landskap'' in the north of Sweden. It borders Hälsingland, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Ångermanland and the Gulf of Bothnia.
The province is a part of Norrland and as such considered to be Northe ...
at . The site was identified in 1947 after an initiative by the newspaperman
Gustaf von Platen. The method used for calculating this point was that of the centre of gravity of the geometrical figure of Sweden. The calculation was made by professor Nils Friberg and Tor Andeldorf at the geography department of
Stockholm University
Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...
, using a cardboard cutout map of Sweden with outlying islands attached directly to the mainland. They balanced the map model on a needle and declared the balancing point the geographical center.
A delegation including Gustaf von Platen,
explorer
Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...
Hans Ostelius and
orienteer Gösta Lagerfelt trekked through the wilderness to the site and declared it the geographical center. Later, a sign marking the significance of the spot was erected and a lookout built. The site has since become a popular
tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural beaut ...
.
Other claims
Area towns
Ã…nge and
Östersund
Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...
often claim to be the geographical center of Sweden.
Other places have been claimed to be the centre of Sweden, using differing methods. The most prominent is
Ytterhogdal in
Hälsingland
Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to by the Latin name Helsingia, is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of ...
, based on the methodology of calculating the latitude for the point halfway between the northernmost (
Treriksröset) and southernmost (southern tip of
Skåne
Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...
) points, and then taking the mid between the easternmost and westernmost points at that latitude.
See also
*
Geographical centre In geography, the centroid of the two-dimensional shape of a region of the Earth's surface (projected radially to sea level or onto a geoid surface) is known as its geographic centre or geographical centre or (less commonly) gravitational centre. In ...
s
*
Demographical center of Sweden
Sources
Ånge Municipality Flataklocken Official WebsiteSveriges Mittpunkt - FlataklockenYtterhogdal vill bli Sveriges mittpunkt, Länstidningen 21 November 2005{{in lang, sv
Center
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
Geography of Västernorrland County
Hälsingland