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Småland | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 | |
| Country |  Sweden |
| Land | Götaland |
| Counties | Kronoberg County Kalmar County Jönköping County(most of) Halland County(part of) Östergötland County(part of) |
| Area | |
• Total | 29,400 km2 (11,400 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2023)[1] | |
• Total | 780,489 |
| • Density | 26.5/km2 (68.8/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | |
| • Language | Swedish |
| • Dialect | Småländska |
| • Demonym | Smålänning |
| Culture | |
| • Flower | Twinflower |
| • Animal | Otter |
| • Bird | Song thrush |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 28500-28799, 33000–34999, 35000–36999, 38000–39999, 55000–57999, 59000–59999 (shared withÖstergötland) |
| Area codes | 0370-0372 0433 0459 0470–0478 0480–0493 |
Småland (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈsmǒːland]ⓘ) is a historicalprovince (landskap) in southernSweden.Småland bordersBlekinge,Scania,Halland,Västergötland,Östergötland and the islandÖland in theBaltic Sea. The nameSmåland literally means "small lands", referring to many small historic provinces from which it was composed. TheLatinized formSmolandia has been used in other languages. The highest point in Småland isTomtabacken, at 377 metres (1,237 ft). In terms of total area, Småland is similar in size toBelgium.
Whilst the traditionalprovinces of Sweden no longer serve any governmental purposeper se, they do retain historical and cultural importance. The province of Småland today is divided almost entirely into the three administrativecounties ofJönköping,Kalmar, andKronoberg. Some few small portions of historic Småland are situated inHalland andÖstergötlandCounties.
The current coat of arms, granted in 1569, displays a rampant red lion carrying a crossbow, all on a golden background. The arms may be surmounted by a ducal coronet. The blazon in English would be, "Or, a lion rampant gules, langued and armed azure, holding in its front paws a crossbow of the second, bowed and stringed Sable with a bolt argent."
The population of Småland was 780,389 as of 31 December 2023.
The land is dominated by aforested high plain in which thesoil is mixed with sand and small boulders, making itbarren in all but the coastal areas and unsuited foragriculture except in certain locations, most notably theKalmar plains. The province is rich in lakes and bogs. The coast is marked by bays in the north (with an island archipelago offshore) and cultivated flatlands in the south. In total, cultivated land covers 14%, meadows cover 7%, and forests cover 50% of the surface of the province.[2] Other than lacking deep valleys, the landscape is similar to theNorrland terrain found further north in Sweden.[3]
The largest towns areJönköping in the north-west,Växjö in the south, andKalmar on the east coast nearÖland Island.
Småland comprises the central, eastern, and southern parts of theSouth Swedish highlands. In detail, the topography of Småland is a series offlat surfaces built upon or deformed by ageological dome.[4][5] The elevated terrain thought to be abuckle formed as result offar-away forces transmitted to Sweden.[6] The main surfaces are theSub-Cambrian peneplain, theSouth Småland peneplain and the "200 m peneplain".[4][5] These surfaces and others are arranged in a stepped sequence called apiedmonttreppen.[5] In eastern Småland, the Sub-Cambrian peneplain dips gently to the sea.[4][A] To the West, this part of the Sub-Cambrian peneplain terminates along a north–southescarpment (running slightly to the east ofVäxjö) that separates it from other flat surfaces.[4] Central and northwestern Småland contains strings ofisolated hills.[4]
The lakes and rivers of Småland are associated to zones of weak rock, eitherfractured,weathered, or both. The many lakes in Småland owe their existence to the creation of basins through the stripping of an irregular mantle of weathered rock byglacial erosion.[7] TheLagan and theNissan drain western Småland, following for most of their courses zones ofweak rock associated with theProtogine Zone.[4][8]Rusken,Rymmen, andMöckeln lakes are aligned with a more eastern branch of the Protogine Zone.[8]Canyons cut into thebedrock are common in central and northern Småland, with the area nearMörlunda containing various particularly narrow (<50 m) canyons.[9][10][B]
The climate of Småland is divided between theoceanic climate of coastal areas such as Kalmar[11] and thehumid continental climate of the interior higher areas such as Jönköping.[12] Southern interior areas such as Växjö have similar oceanic climates such as the coastline.[13] However, temperature average differences between areas are relatively small, since Småland lies in the continental/oceanic transition zone. Summer daytime averages are similar throughout the province, since all three major urban areas are on average around 22 °C (72 °F) with daytime winter temperatures hovering around the freezing point. The slightly colder nights averaging −5 °C (23 °F) in Jönköping are in keeping with its continental classification.[14] The locality ofMålilla has the Swedish and Scandinavian all-time highest-measured temperature with 38 °C (100 °F) on 1 June 1947.[15]
The area was probably populated in theStone Age from the south, by people moving along the coast up toKalmar. Småland was populated by Stone Age peoples by at least 6000 BC, since theAlby People are known to have crossed theice bridge across theKalmar Strait at that time.
It is named Småland ("small lands") because it was an aggrupation of a dozen little (yet largely independent) territories: Kinda (today a part ofÖstergötland), Tveta, Vista, Vedbo,Tjust, Sevede, Aspeland, Handbörd,Möre,Värend,Finnveden, and Njudung.[16] Each "small land" had its own law in the Viking age and earlyMiddle Ages and could declare itself neutral in wars that Sweden was involved in—at least if the King had no army present at the parliamentary debate. Around 1350, during the reign ofMagnus Eriksson, the first national law code was introduced in Sweden and the historic provinces lost much of their old autonomy.
The city ofKalmar is one of the oldestcities of Sweden. In the medieval period it was the southernmost and the third largest city in Sweden, when it was a center for export of iron, which, in many cases, was handled by German merchants. At that time,Scania andBlekinge were not part of Sweden.
Småland was the center of several peasant rebellions. The most nearly successful was theDackefejden led byNils Dacke in 1542 and 1543. When officials of kingGustav Vasa were assaulted and murdered, the king sent small expeditions to pacify the area; but all failed. Dacke was the virtual ruler of large parts of Småland during that Winter, though much troubled by a blockade of supplies, before finally being defeated by larger forces attacking from bothVästergötland and Östergötland. He famously defendedKronoberg Castle (now ruined) but was shot while trying to escape to then Danish-ruled Blekinge.
A portion of Småland called theKingdom of Crystal is known for its manyglassworks and can be traced back to the 18th century.
During the 17th and 18 Century Småland saw Christian revival break out, leading to an increase of entrepreneurship, church building and the sending out of missionaries all over the world. To this day, the people of Småland are affected by this activity.[17]
In the 19th century, Småland was afflicted by social and economic turbulence and poverty, and it had substantialemigration to North America.[18] 4,300 Swedish emigrants were recruited to settle inStamford, Texas, by the family network of the first Swedish emigrant to Texas,Swante M. Swenson, who came fromJönköping.
The furniture companyIKEA was founded in the Småland town ofÄlmhult.
Overnight between 8 and 9 January 2005 the province suffered serious damage from the stormGudrun.
Towns with formercity status were:Eksjö (chartered around 1400),Gränna (1652),Huskvarna (1911),Jönköping (1284),Kalmar (approximately 1100),Ljungby (1936),Nybro (1932),Nässjö (1914),Oskarshamn (1856),Sävsjö (1947),Tranås (1919),Vetlanda (1920),Vimmerby (approximately 1400),Värnamo (1920),Västervik (approximately 1200),Växjö (1342)
Småland has four national parks:
Compared to much of Sweden, Småland has a higher level of religious intensity and church participation.
In terms ofLutheranecclesiastical boundaries, most of the province encompasses thediocese of Växjö. Parts of northern Småland are in thediocese of Linköping.
Småland is known for itsfree church congregations in Jönköping County.[citation needed] Most of Kalmar County and Kronoberg County have few or no free church congregations.
Politically Småland is the strongest province forKristdemokraterna (the Swedish Christian Democratic Party), and both of the last two leaders of the party -Göran Hägglund andAlf Svensson live inJönköping Municipality in northern Småland.
BotanistCarl Linnaeus (1707–1778), often called the father oftaxonomy or "the flower-king",[by whom?] was born inÄlmhult, Småland. Thetwinflower's genus (Linnaea) was named by Dutch botanistJan Frederik Gronovius in honor of Linnaeus because of it being his favorite plant.[19]The flower has since become Småland's provincial flower.[citation needed]
Ingvar Kamprad (1926–2018), founder of furniture retailerIKEA, was also from Älmhult. Some IKEA locations offer a children play area named after Småland.[non-primary source needed]
Småland is home toLinnaeus University, located in Växjö and Kalmar, andJönköping University.
TheSwedish emigration to North America during the 19th century, is best depicted in asuite of novels by authorVilhelm Moberg, which is also the basis for the musicalKristina from Duvemåla created byBenny Andersson andBjörn Ulvaeus ofABBA fame.
In her writing, children's book authorAstrid Lindgren often portrayed scenes from her own childhood, growing up on a farm in Småland.
In the 20th century, Småland has been known for its high level of entrepreneurship and low unemployment, especially in theGnosjö region.
Old Swedish encyclopediaNordisk familjebok describes the inhabitants of Småland as follows:
Arunning joke local to Sweden, is that Smålandians are very economical, ranging frommodestly frugal toutterly cheap.Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA said that the Smålandians are seen as the Scotsmen of Sweden.[21]
The local language is aSwedish dialect known asSmåländska (Smalandian). This may in turn be separated in two main branches, with the northern related to theGötaland dialects and the southern to theScanian dialects.Småländska is a collective term for the Swedish dialects spoken in Småland. Småland is characterized by relatively strong differences between its various regions, the traditional “small lands.”[22] For example, there are fairly significant differences between the Småländska spoken in Tjust in the northeastern part of Småland, the Småländska spoken in the far southwest in Finnveden, and the Småländska spoken in areas bordering the old East Danish provinces, where many features are shared with the Scanian dialect. Like other dialects, these have developed through three interacting forces: the preservation of archaic features from Old East Norse, the adoption of innovations from surrounding regions, and unique local characteristics. Historically, the division of the province into the dioceses of Linköping and Växjö has had a significant influence on the dialects.[22][23]
For details, see:Districts of Småland
After theunification of Sweden, around 800–1200 AD, Småland was for consistency divided intochartered cities and intohundreds.
The historical sub-divisions of all Sweden's provinces were throughhundreds (Swedish: härad). These were Småland's hundreds:
List of towns in Småland, Sweden
Football in the province is administered bySmålands Fotbollförbund.
