Ljusdal Municipality is one of Sweden's 290 Municipalities

Municipalities of Sweden

The municipalities of Sweden are the local government entities of Sweden. The current 290 municipalities are organized into 21 counties...

 within Gävleborg County

Gävleborg County

Gävleborg County is a county or län on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders to the counties of Uppsala, Västmanland, Dalarna, Jämtland and Västernorrland. The capital is Gävle.- Administration :...

. Its seat is Ljusdal

Ljusdal

Ljusdal is a locality and the seat of Ljusdal Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 6,100 inhabitants in 2005.Ljusdal is located beside the river Ljusnan which goes from Bruksvallarna to Ljusne....

.

The municipality was formed in 1971 by the amalgamation

Amalgamation (politics)

A merger or amalgamation in a political or administrative sense is the combination of two or more political or administrative entities such as municipalities , counties, districts, etc. into a single entity. This term is used when the process occurs within a sovereign entity...

 of the market town (köping

Köping

This article deals with the Swedish denomination for a market town. For the city, see Köping, Sweden. For the municipality, see Köping Municipality....

) of Ljusdal (instituted in 1914) with the rural municipalities Järvsö, Färila, Los and Ramsjö.

Geography

Geographically the town is located on the shores of the river Ljusnan, along the shores of which Sweden's northern main line railway (Norra Stambanan

Norra stambanan

The Northern Main Line is long electrified railway in Sweden, between Gävle or Storvik and Ånge. The railway consists of single track except the parts between Mo grindar and Holmsveden, Kilafors and Bollnäs, and Ramsjö and Ovansjö, a total of double track....

) stretches. The municipality calls itself "Sweden's nearest Norrland", with Norrland

Norrland

Norrland is one of the three lands of Sweden , the northern part, consisting of nine provinces. The term Norrland is not used for any administrative purpose, but it is common in everyday language, e.g...

 being historically how Sweden's north was referred to. Geographically, the municipality is located at the centre of Sweden.

In this large municipality (Sweden's 20th largest) there are several nature activities one can enjoy. Along Ljusnan there are a total of 40 kilometers of water ways, with possibilities for sailing, rafting, fishing or taking a tour with the tour boats.
Hamra National Park

Hamra National Park

Hamra National Park is a National Park in Ljusdal Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden. The park, which is a part of Orsa Finnmark , is 28 hectares in area and was founded in 1909.-External links:...

 is also located partly within the western parts of the municipality.

History

The area had a large immigration from Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 in the 17th and 18th century in the western part of the municipality known as Orsa Finnmark (in Dalarna

Dalarna

', English exonym: Dalecarlia, is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. Another English language form established in literature is the Dales. Places involving the element Dalecarlia exist in the United States....

). Still there are many names which trace this Finnish influence.

The population was boosted when the mainline railway was constructed here in the late 19th century.

Today

In contemporary Sweden Ljusdal is perhaps best known for its very successful bandy

Bandy

Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...

 team and for the annual Bandy World Cup

Bandy World Cup

The Bandy World Cup is held every year in Ljusdal in Sweden. 2009 and 2010 it will be played indoors in Sandviken until Ljusdal get their indoor arena...

 held in the town.

Localities

Figures as of 2004, from Statistics Sweden

• Ljusdal
  Ljusdal
  Ljusdal is a locality and the seat of Ljusdal Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 6,100 inhabitants in 2005.Ljusdal is located beside the river Ljusnan which goes from Bruksvallarna to Ljusne....
  
   7,559
• Järvsö
  Järvsö
  Järvsö is a locality and a parish situated in Ljusdal Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 1,385 inhabitants in 2005. From Järvsö, people commute to Ljusdal, Färila, Bollnäs, and Gävle....
  
   1,907
• Färila
  Färila
  Färila is a locality situated in Ljusdal Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 1,351 inhabitants in 2005. Färila is situated in a valley near the river Ljusnan. People to commute to and from Ljusdal. The town is an industrial centre in Ljusdal Municipality....
  
   1,542
• Tallåsen
  Tallåsen
  Tallåsen is a locality situated in Ljusdal Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 608 inhabitants in 2005. It lies about 5 km northwest of Ljusdal. The village is mainly a bedroom community; most inhabitants commute to Ljusdal...
  
   807
• Los 469
• Hybo
  Hybo
  Hybo is a locality situated in Ljusdal Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 262 inhabitants in 2005. It is the original birthplace of none other than the legend that is Mr. Hans Fredholm....
  
   351
• Ramsjö
  Ramsjö
  Ramsjö is a village in Ljusdal Municipality, Hälsingland, Gävleborg County, Sweden with about 306 inhabitants. ....
  
   306
• Hennan
  Hennan
  Hennan, is a village in Ljusdal Municipality, Hälsingland, Gävleborg County, Sweden with about 227 inhabitants. ....
  
   227
• Korskrogen
  Korskrogen
  Korskrogen, is a village in Ljusdal Municipality, Hälsingland, Gävleborg County, Sweden with about 202 inhabitants. ....
  
   202
• Kårböle
  Kårböle
  Kårböle is a village in Ljusdal Municipality, Hälsingland, Gävleborgs län, Sweden with about 134 inhabitants. . The Kårböle stave church can be found here....
  
   134

Tourism

Tourism in the municipality is focussed on Järvsö. Popular tourist activities in Järvsö include skiing on Järvsöbacken and visiting Järvzoo

Järvzoo

Järvzoo is a well-known zoo in Järvsö, Sweden, which has a large collection of Nordic animals. These include the four major carnivores of Sweden: the wolf, bear, lynx, and wolverine.-External links:*...

.

Sister cities

• Denmark : Glamsbjerg
  Glamsbjerg
  Glamsbjerg is a town in central Denmark with a population of 3,227 , located in Assens municipality on the island of Funen in Region of Southern Denmark....
  
  
• Norway: Tynset
  Tynset
  Tynset is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tynset.-Name:...
  
  
• Finland: Ikaalinen
  Ikaalinen
  Ikaalinen is a town and municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The town has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water...
  
  
• Estonia: Vinni
• Germany: Schlieben
  Schlieben
  Schlieben is a town in the Elbe-Elster district, in southwestern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 22 km north of Bad Liebenwerda. Schlieben was the site of a concentration camp during the Holocaust....
  
  

External links

• Ljusdal — official website
• Sweden's Nearest Norrland — tourism website in Swedish/English/German
• http://hig.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:119898/FULLTEXT01 — pdf Energy Flow Survey of Ljusdal's Municipality
• http://www.uppsatser.se/uppsats/e975c84da7/ — Energy flow survey of Ljusdals municipality Abstract HTML