Everything about Sm Land totally explained
is a historical
province (
landskap) in southern
Sweden.
Småland borders
Blekinge,
Scania or Skåne,
Halland,
Västergötland,
Östergötland and the island
Öland in the
Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means
Small lands.
Administration
The traditional
provinces of Sweden serve no administrative or political purposes, but are historical and cultural entities. The province is divided into the three administrative
counties:
Jönköping County,
Kalmar County and
Kronoberg County, which roughly cover the entire Småland province. Smaller areas of Småland are situated in the counties of
Halland County and
Östergötland County.
Heraldry
For details, see: Heraldry of Småland
The current coat of arms was granted in
1569 and pictures a rampant red lion on a golden shield carrying a crossbow. The arms is represented with a dukal coronet. Blazon: "Or a lion rampant Gules langued and armed Azure holding in front paws a Crossbow of the second bowed and stringed Sable with a bolt Argent."
Population
The population of Småland was 708,896, as of 2004, distributed over five counties as follows:
| County |
Population |
| Jönköping County, largely |
311,962 |
| Kalmar County, largely |
210,258 |
| Kronoberg County, entirely |
177,448 |
| Halland County, peripherally |
7,081 |
| Östergötland County, peripherally |
2,261 |
Geography
The geography is dominated by a
forested high plain where the
soil is mixed with sand and small boulders, making it in all except the coastal areas, and unsuited for
agriculture except in certain locations, notably the
Kalmar Plains. The province is rich in lakes and bogs. The coast consists of an archipelago of islands and bays in the north and cultivated flatlands in the south. In total, cultivated land covers 14%, meadows 7% and forest 50%.
Largest towns are
Jönköping in the north-west,
Växjö in the south, and
Kalmar on the east coast near
Öland Island.
History
The area was probably populated in the
Stone Age from the south, by people moving along the coast up to
Kalmar. Most of Småland was part of the land of the Götar (Norse: Gautar. Old English: Geatas). Smaland was populated by Stone Age peoples by at least 6000 BC, since the
Alby People are known to have crossed the
ice bridge across the
Kalmar Strait at that time.
The name Småland ("small lands") comes from the fact that it was a combination of several independent lands, Ydre, Kinda, Tveta, Vista, Vedbo, Tjust, Sevede, Aspeland, Handbörd, Möre, Värend, Finnveden and Njudung. Every small land had its own law in the Viking age and early middle age and could declare themselves neutral in wars Sweden was involved in, at least if the King had no army present at the parliamentary debate. Around 1350, under the king
Magnus Eriksson a national law was introduced in Sweden, and the historic provinces lost a lot of their old independence.
The city of
Kalmar is one of the oldest
cities of Sweden, and was in the medieval age 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.
Småland was the center of several peasant rebellions, the most successful of which was
Dackefejden led by
Nils Dacke in
1542-
1543. When officials of king
Gustav Vasa were assaulted and murdered, the king sent small expeditions to pacify the area, but all failed. Dacke was in reality the ruler of large parts of Småland during the winter, though heavily troubled by a blockade of supplies, before finally being defeated by larger forces attacking from both
Västergötland and
Östergötland. Dacke held a famous battle defence at the (now ruined)
Kronoberg Castle, and was shot while trying to escape to then Danish-ruled
Blekinge.
In the 19th century, Småland was characterized by poverty, and had a substantial
emigration to North America, which additionally hampered its development. The majority of emigrants ended up in
Minnesota, with a geography resembling Sweden, combining
arable land with forest and lakes.
Ikea was also founded in the Småland city of Älmhult.
Historical cities
Towns with former
city 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)
Dukes
Swedish Princes have been given the nominal title Duke of Province since
1772. Dukes of Småland have been:
National Parks
Småland has three national parks:
Store Mosse
Norra Kvill
Blå Jungfrun
Religion
In comparison with much of Sweden, Småland has a higher level of religious intensity and church participation.
In terms of Lutheran ecclesiastical boundaries, most of the province encompasses the diocese of Växjö. Parts of northern Småland are in the diocese of Linköping.
Småland is also known for its free churches.
Politically Småland is the strongest province for Kristdemokraterna (the Swedish Christian Democratic Party), and both the current leader Göran Hägglund and his predecessor Alf Svensson live in Jönköping Municipality in northern Småland.
Culture
The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus, sw. Carl von Linné, (1707-1778), often called the father of taxonomy or "The flower-king", was born in Älmhult in Småland. He gave the Twinflower its Latin name based on his own (Latin: Linnea borealis, because of his particular fondness of it. The flower has become Småland's provincial flower.
Another notable person from Älmhult is Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of the global concern IKEA. The name "Småland" is used as the name of the children's play areas at some IKEA stores.
Literature
The Swedish emigration to North America in the 19th century is best depicted in the suite of novels by Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg, which is also the basis for the musical "Kristina from Duvemåla" by ex-ABBA musicians/composers Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.
Children's book author Astrid Lindgren often portrayed scenes from her own childhood growing up on a farm in Småland, in her writing.
Smalandians
In the 20th century, Småland has been known for its high level of entrepreneurship and low unemployment, especially in the Gnosjöregion. Some suggest the harsh conditions has throughout history forced the inhabitants of the region to be cunning, inventive and cooperative.
This is how the Swedish encyclopedia Nordisk familjebok described the people: » the Smalandian is by nature awake and smart, diligent and hard-working, yet compliant, cunning and crafty, which gives him the advantage of being able to move through life with little means.
A running joke, or stereotype, in Sweden, is that of the Smalandian being very economical, or even cheap. Ingvar Kamprad said that the Smalandian are seen as the Scotsmen of Sweden
Tongue
The local tongue is a Swedish language dialect known as Småländska (Smalandian). This may in turn be separated in two main branches, with the northern related to the Götaland dialects and the southern to the Scanian dialects.
Sub-divisions
For details, see: Districts of Småland
Small lands
After the unification of Sweden, around 800-1200 AD, Småland was for consistency divided into chartered cities and into hundreds.
Hundreds
The historical sub-divisions of all Sweden's provinces were through hundreds. These were Småland's hundreds:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Sm Land'.
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