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| Skellefteå | |
  Skellefteå
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Sweden |
|---|---|
| Municipality | Skellefteå Municipality |
| County | Västerbotten County |
| Province | Västerbotten |
| Area 1 | |
| - Total | 21.70 km² (8.4 sq mi) |
| Population (2005-12-31)1 | |
| - Total | 32,425 |
| - Density | 1,494/km² (3,869.4/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Skellefteå is a city in Västerbotten in northern Sweden. It has 35,525 inhabitants, and is the seat of Skellefteå Municipality, with 73,000 inhabitants.
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History
Skellefteå is believed to have been inhabited from around 1000 AD by the Sami people and possibly partly Finnish people.
The name Skellefteå, was recorded spelt Skelepht in 1327, but its origin remains unknown.
Archeologists have found that people were living in the area as far back as 8000 years ago.
In the 14th century attempts were made to Christianize Skellefteå. Norrland was not Christianized until several hundred years after the rest of Sweden, and northern cities such as Skellefteå were largely unexplored. The reason for the sudden awakened interest was the fishing of salmon in the areas around Skellefteå, which was sparked by an increased demand of fish, due to stricter enforcement of the annual month long fasting by the Catholic Church whereby meat was substituted by fish.
The city itself is much younger, and in fact one of the youngest cities of Norrland. It was founded in 1845 by vicar Nils Nordlander.
Today
In the 20th century Skellefteå evolved to an industrial and mining city and many wooden houses were demolished to give room for brick buildings. The largest employer in Skellefteå is the mining company Boliden AB, with about 1,200 employees. Mining is done for gold, and Skellefteå is sometimes referred to as the Goldtown.
If things go according to plan, Skellefteå will be the site of the hind legs of the world's largest moose – Stoorn – a tourist attraction planned to be built spanning from Skellefteå into Arvidsjaur in Norrbotten.
Industry
- Boliden AB, a big Swedish mining and smelting company
- Ursviken
- Alimak
Sports
- Skellefteå AIK, Skellefteå AIK is a professional Swedish ice hockey team from Skellefteå. The club plays in the highest Swedish league Elitserien.
- Sunnanå SK, women's football (soccer)
- Soo Shim Taekwondo Klubb, one of Sweden’s most successful Taekwondo Clubs.citation needed
Famous people from Skellefteå
- Margot Wallström, First Vice President of the European Commission
- Jonathan Hedström, ice hockey player
- Jan Erixon, ice hockey player
- Andreas Hedlund, musician
- Hanna Marklund, football player
- Johan Backlund, ice hockey player
- Jocke Nyström, tennis player
- Victoria Silvstedt, supermodel
- Hardy Nilsson, ice hockey coach
- Henrik Wikström, song writer
- Toini Gustafsson-Rönnlund, skier
- Stieg Larsson, writer
- The Wannadies, an alternative rock band formed in 1988.
- Black Bonzo, a progressive rock band.
- Per Olov Enquist, writer
- Funky Dan Larsson, musician
References
- http://lokalhistoria.skelleftea.org
- Some material has been translated and incorporated from sv:Skellefteå
Organisations/networks in Skellefteå
Law Enforcement
Skellefteå is served by the Västerbotten County Police Department, Skellefteå Division (Polismyndigheten i Västerbottens län, Skellefteå). Mainly, the Skellefteå Police uses Volvo XC70 and Volvo V70 but also has a few Mercedes and Volkswagen vans.
See also
- Sollefteå (similar name)
- Morö backe
- Norrböle
References
- ^ a b "Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km2 2000 och 2005" (xls) (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
External links
- Skellefteå - Official site
- Tourist in Skellefteå - Tourist information in Swedish, English and German languages
- Skellefteå AIK - Official site
- Sunnanå SK - Official site
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Skellefteå is one of 133 towns with the historical City status in Sweden. |
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