The 25provinces of Sweden (Swedish:Sveriges landskap) arehistorical, geographical and cultural regions. They have no administrative function, but retain their own cultural identities, dialects and folklore.
Several were administrative subdivisions until 1634, when they were replaced by thecounties of Sweden (län). Some were conquered later on fromDenmark–Norway. Others, like theprovinces of Finland, have been lost.
In some cases, the county and province borders correspond almost exactly, as withBlekinge andBlekinge County. The island ofGotland is both aprovince, acounty and amunicipality (kommun). The only other province to share a name with a modern municipality isHärjedalen, though the borders are not quite the same. Administrative borders are subject to change – for example, several of today's counties were created in the 1990s – while the provincial borders have remained stable for centuries. All the provinces are also ceremonialduchies, but as such have no administrative or political functions.
Nevertheless, the provinces of Sweden are no archaic concept; they are still referenced in everyday speech and seen as culturally distinct. The main exception isLapland, where people see themselves as citizens ofVästerbotten orNorrbotten, based on thecounties.
Sweden's two largest cities,Stockholm andGothenburg, both have provincial borders running through them: Stockholm is split betweenUppland andSödermanland, and Gothenburg is split betweenVästergötland andBohuslän. According to a 2011 survey, people in major cities – Stockholm, Gothenburg and, to a lesser extent,Malmö – identify primarily with their city, rather than their province.[2]
English and other languages occasionally use Latin names for Swedish provinces. The nameScania for Skåne is particularly common in English. Some Englishexonyms and spellings, such asthe Dales for Dalarna,East Gothland for Östergötland,Swedish Lapland for Lapland andWest Bothnia for Västerbotten, are also found in English literature.[8][9][10]
The origins of the provincial divisions lay in thepetty kingdoms that gradually became more and more subjected to thecentral monarchy during theconsolidation of Sweden.[11] Until thecountry law of Magnus Eriksson in 1350, each of these lands still had its own laws and its own assembly (thing), and in effect governed itself. The first provinces were consideredduchies, but newly conquered provinces received the status of duchy orcounty, depending on importance.[citation needed]
After the separation from theKalmar Union in 1523, the Kingdom incorporated only some of its new conquests as provinces. The most permanent acquisitions stemmed from theTreaty of Roskilde in 1658, in which the formerDanishScanian lands (Skåne,Blekinge andHalland), along withGotland and the NorwegianBohuslän,Jämtland andHärjedalen, became Swedish and gradually integrated. Other foreign territories were ruled asSwedish Dominions under the Swedish monarch, in some cases for centuries.Norway, inpersonal union with Sweden from 1814 to 1905, never became an integral part of Sweden.
When Sweden ceded Finland to theRussian Empire in 1809,Västerbotten was divided up so thatNorrbotten first emerged as a county. Eventually, it came to be recognized asits own province. It was granted a coat of arms as late as in 1995.[12]
Some scholars suggest that Sweden revived the concept of provinces in the 19th century.[13]
Österland (Finland, from the 13th century to 1809)
Norrland (northern parts of present-day Sweden and north-western Finland)
In theViking Age and earlier, Götaland and Svealand were home to a number ofpetty kingdoms that were more or less independent; Götaland in the Iron Age and Middle Ages did not includeScania and other provinces in the far south, which were then part ofDenmark. The leading tribe of Götaland in the Iron Age was theGeats; the main tribe of Svealand, according toTacitus ca 100 AD, was theSuiones (or the ”historical Swedes”). ”Norrland” was all the unexplored northern parts, the boundaries and Swedish control over which were weakly defined into the early modern age.
Due to theNorthern Crusades againstFinns,Tavastians andKarelians andcolonisation of some coastal areas of the country, Finland fell under the Catholic Church and Swedish rule.Österland ("Eastern land"; the name had early gone out of use) in southern and central Finland formed an integral part of Sweden. Russia annexed Finland in 1809, and reunited it with some frontier counties annexed earlier to form theGrand Duchy of Finland. In 1917, Finland becamean independent country.
The regional borders have changed several times throughout history with changing national borders. Norrland, Svealand and Götaland are onlyparts of Sweden, and have never superseded the concept of the provinces.
At the funeral of KingGustav Vasa (Gustav I) in 1560, the arms for 24 provinces of Sweden, including Finland, were displayed together for the first time, most of them created for that occasion.[14][12]Erik XIV of Sweden modelled the funeral processions on those of Germandukes, who in turn may have styled their displays afterEmperor Charles V's funeral, where a host of banners represented each entry in the King's long list of titles. Gustav Vasa's title only had three entries – "King ofSweden,the Goths andthe Wends" – so banners were created for each Swedish province for a better display.
Some of these arms were short-lived, such as the beaver forMedelpad (changed in the 1570s),[12] the wolverine forVärmland (changed in 1567)[12] and the roses onSmåland’s arms.Östergötland was represented by two different arms, one with aVästanstång dragon and one with aÖstanstång lion. The current arms for Östergötland (see below) were created in 1884.[12]
The current arms for Småland were created for the coronation ofJohn III in 1569. The wild man representingLapland was created for the funeral ofCharles IX in 1612.[12] Arms for Jämtland were created when Norway ceded the province to Sweden in 1635. Arms for Härjedalen were created later. The arms for Blekinge, Bohuslän, Halland and Skåne were created for the funeral ofCharles X Gustav in 1660. The Arms for Norrbotten were created as late as 1995.[12]
AtErik XIV's coronation in 1561, a division of the provinces into 'duchies' (hertigdom) and 'counties' (grevskap) was introduced. However, this system never achieved lasting stability. In 1884, theKing in Council gave all provinces the right of use to a ducal coronet for their coat of arms.[15][16][14] Some of theFinnish provinces, which were separated from Sweden in 1809, still feature a count's coronet.
Götaland comprises ten provinces in the southern part of Sweden. Until 1645,Gotland andHalland were parts of Denmark. Also, until 1658Blekinge andScania were parts of Denmark, andBohuslän was part ofNorway.Värmland was counted as part of Götaland until 1812.
Norrland today comprises nine provinces in Northern and central Sweden. Until 1645 the provinces ofJämtland andHärjedalen were parts of Norway. In 1809, when Sweden ceded Finland to theRussian Empire, the old province ofLapland was split intoSwedish Lapland andFinnish Lapland.Norrbotten was separated fromVästerbotten at the same time, and developed its own provincial identity during the 19th century.
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