Leksand () 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 subdivi ...
and the seat of
Leksand Municipality
Leksand Municipality (''Leksands kommun'') is a municipality in Dalarna County in central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Leksand.
In 1974 "old" Leksand was amalgamated with ''Ål'' and reunited with ''Siljansnäs'' (which had been ...
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 Hed ...
,
Sweden, with 5,934 inhabitants in 2010.
Sport
Leksand is famous for the
Leksands IF
Leksands Idrottsförening is a Swedish ice hockey team from the town of Leksand in the region of Dalarna. The team plays in the top-tier league, SHL, after succeeding through the 2019 SHL qualifiers and thus earning promotion to the SHL. The ...
ice hockey team, who have won 4 Swedish Championships, although the team is currently facing problems in performance when playing and they have received less funds. Leksand is also home to the
Leksands Baseball and Softball Club, the oldest and one of the more successful baseball clubs in Sweden, having won 20 national championships in baseball and 7 in softball. The club was founded in the late 1950s and currently has about 130 members.
Additionally, Leksand is home to the
Baseball Academy Leksand
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...
, a
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
(MLB)-sponsored academy established in 2006.
The academy is part of a broader drive by MLB to develop European talent through a system of baseball academies across the continent, and is the only such academy in Sweden. As of March 2010, Baseball Academy Leksand comprised 22 Swedish players and was managed by Tony Klarberg.
Climate
Leksand has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...
(
Köppen ''Dfb''). The influence of the Siljan lake is relatively minor on the local climate due to its modest size and freezing over every winter. However, some potential for
lake-effect snow
Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated up by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises up through ...
causing excessive accumulation is possible when there is open water. This resulted in a notable freak
blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling ...
of the middle of May 2008 that left of snow on the ground. Winters and springs are influenced by the inland position, with January being quite a bit colder than coastal areas to the east in
Gävleborg but spring warming up sooner with a very low
seasonal lag
Seasonal lag is the phenomenon whereby the date of maximum average air temperature at a geographical location on a planet is delayed until some time after the date of maximum insolation (i.e. the summer solstice). This also applies to the minim ...
.
Industry
Local industry in Leksand includes
Leksandsbröd, a producer of traditional Swedish
Crisp bread.
Notable people
*
Per-Olov Brasar - Former
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
(NHL) forward, active 1977 to 1982
*
Kristian Matsson
Kristian Matsson (born 30 April 1983) is a Swedish singer-songwriter who performs under the stage name The Tallest Man on Earth. Matsson grew up in Leksand, and began his solo career in 2006, having previously been the lead singer of the indie ...
-
The Tallest Man on Earth, folk musician
*
Johan Hedberg - Former NHL goalkeeper with the
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have play ...
,
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...
,
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...
and
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kans ...
*
Anders J. Dahlin- Internationally acclaimed tenor and opera singer
*
Victor Rask
Victor Rask (born 1 March 1993) is a Swedish professional ice hockey center who plays for HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the National League (NL). He has previosuly spent eight years in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing for the Carolina H ...
- NHL forward for the
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confe ...
Sister cities
*
Aurora, Ontario
Aurora ( 2021 population: 62,057) is a town in central York Region in the Greater Toronto Area, within the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located north of the City of Richmond Hill and is partially situated on the Oak Ridg ...
, Canada
*
Tōbetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
References
External links
*
Populated places in Dalarna County
Municipal seats of Dalarna County
Swedish municipal seats
Populated places in Leksand Municipality
Populated lakeshore places in Sweden
{{Dalarna-geo-stub