This article is about the Swedish historical province. For the modern county, see Värmland County. For the song by Chaos Chaos, see Chaos Chaos (album).
"Wermland" redirects here. For the Detektivbyrån album, see Wermland (album).
Several Latinized versions of the name exist, including Varmelandia,[2]Vermelandia,[3]Wermelandia,[4]Værmalandia, Værmolandia, Virmolandia and Vermillandia.
Some of the Latinised forms show the origin of the name to come from the large local lake by the name of Värmeln [sv; ceb; no] (from older *Virmil); others from the river name *Værma, the main outlet of that lake.[5] The province was originally part of Götaland, and became part of Svealand in 1815.[6]
Wermland is an obsolete Swedish spelling of the name, which may still be seen in proper names such as Nya Wermlands-Tidningen, a newspaper.
Administration
Sub-divisions
Sweden's provinces were sub-divided into hundreds or districts. Värmland was historically divided into chartered cities and districts. One district formed part of Bergslagen and was a mountain district, and all the other districts were hundreds.
The largest lake is Vänern. Most streams of importance lead to Vänern. However, the province is rich in small lakes, ponds and streams. The scenery, with mountains and lakes, is usually regarded as picturesque and has inspired painters and writers.
Western Värmland
There are several mountain plateaus in the western part of Värmland, which is in the Scandinavian Mountains. The highest elevations are found in the northern parts, with plateaus of 500–700 metres (1,600–2,300 ft). The highest peak is also located here, Granberget at Höljes, 701 metres (2,300 ft).
Eastern Värmland
The eastern part of Värmland is counted as part of the Bergslagen, the Central Swedish Mining District. Its terrain is rather hilly, with a few high hills: Hvitklinten 414 m (1,358 ft), Dalkarlsberget 450 m (1,480 ft) and Vålbergsrös 476 m (1,562 ft).
This part of Värmland is rich in minerals, most notably iron ore which exists in large quantities. Some notable sites in this area are around Långban and Nordmark Hundred. In the southeast, the ridge of Kilsbergen marks the border with Närke.
Gallery
Sunset on the lake Foxen located in the borderland between southwest Värmland and Norway.
The province was sparsely populated in the pre-historic age compared to Sweden's southern half. Its 5,500 registered ancient remains are few, compared to other areas. The province was considered to be of minor importance in the Swedish Realm. There are, however, interesting histories told by Snorri Sturlasson about Värmland in the 13th century. It extends back to Ingjald Illråde a legendary king in the 7th century. These stories say that Olof Trätälja, the son of Ingjald, was not accepted as king and had to flee and settled in the then sparsely populated Värmland. More men had to flee the brutal successor of Ingjald and settled in Värmland. Archaeology shows that at this time there was indeed a large increase in population, and memorials of powerful men were constructed. According to Snorri and other Icelandic sources, Värmland came under Norwegian control in the late 9th and through the 10th century. However, by the time of Adam of Bremen in the 11th century the region is described as Swedish. In Adam's account, the värmlänningar are described as a distinct "Swedish tribe" along with the Sviar, Geats and Skridfinnar (commonly taken to be Sami people).
The early history strongly influenced was not only by the proximity to Västergötland, but also by its western neighbour Norway. Sweden's war with Norway had a strong effect on Värmland too. In 1225, Haakon IV of Norway (Haakon the Old) invaded Sweden and burnt down all villages if they did not pay a ransom. This feud was eventually settled in 1249.
Värmland was originally considered a part of Götaland, and had a strong connection to its southern neighbour Västergötland. Eastern Värmland traditionally belongs to the Bergslagen area, Sweden's central mining district.
In 1582, Värmland was granted its first city privileges, Kristinehamn, but those were revoked. The second city, Karlstad, on the north shore of lake Vänern, was granted by Duke Charles, later king Charles IX of Sweden, in 1584. It became the capital of the province and its name is derived from the King, and literally means Charles' City. The third city was Filipstad in 1611; however, its privilege was revoked in 1694 after a devastating fire. King Charles IX took great personal interest in expanding mining in the province and the industry developed significantly during his reign.
The early 17th century marked the beginning of substantial immigration from Finland. The areas where they centred were known as Finnskog. They kept their Finnish customs and language until the late 19th century. The last native resident to speak Finnish here died in the 1980s.
The most significant coup d'état of modern Swedish history had its beginning in Karlstad. The man behind the uprising was a liberal nobleman and a prominent man of the opposition, major generalGeorg Adlersparre. He was backed up by the radical guards captain Carl Henrik Anckarsvärd and used the part of the western army that was stationed in Värmland to occupy Karlstad on the night of 7 March 1809. From there he officially proclaimed a revolution, a proclamation which held the view that wars and oppression had ruined the country and the government therefore had to be overthrown. On 9 March, Adlersparre and his enthusiastic soldiers (many of Finnish origin) finally began their march towards Stockholm, and in the events that followed, the king Gustav IV Adolf abdicated under pressure.[7]
Under the Continental system (1806–1814), the timber industry flourished in Värmland and continuing into the modern era, forestry became industrialized and is still the economic backbone of the province.
The peace monument at Morokulien, raised in 1914 to commemorate 100 years of peace between Sweden and Norway.
Bordering on Norway, Värmland was affected by Sweden's last war, Crown Prince Jean Baptiste Bernadottesmilitary campaign against Norway in 1814. The province saw large troop movement and many soldiers originating from the province were involved in battles. The Värmland Regiment had three battalions attached to the 9th Brigade under Colonel Klingspor and one battalion attached to the 10th Brigade under Colonel Gahn af Colqhoun. Both brigades were part of the 5th Army Division under Major General Rosenblad. The 9th Brigade crossed the border to Norway on 30 July 1814 and participated in the siege of Fredrikstad Fortress, which capitulated on 4 August, while other parts of the regiment a few days later followed later Lieutenant General Vegesacks department north and participated in battles at Rakkestad and Langenäs on 6 August 1814 and Askim on 9 August 1814. A battalion of the regiment, commanded by Major Lagerlöv, managed to fight back a Norwegian attack from the bridgehead at Langenäs. The 10th Brigade crossed the border on 1 August 1814 and went in the direction of Morast. It participated in the Battle of Lier south of Kongsvinger on 2 August 1814 and then retreated to the border, where the battalion participated in the battle of Midskog on 5 August 1814 and suffered heavy losses.[8]
The Wooden Soldier in Charlottenberg called 61:an Martinsson, a memorial to WW II.
During World War II, western Värmland was again an area of heavy military deployment. A major part of the Swedish Armed Forces was concentrated to Värmland following the German invasion of Norway. Approximately 150,000 military personnel were mobilised to Värmland in June 1941, by the time of German demands to transport the fully armed Division Engelbrecht through the country and before the launch of Operation Barbarossa, and with several large military exercises being conducted in the province during the period. Even more military personnel, possibly as many as 250,000, were mobilised to Värmland in the fall of 1943, due to the pending Swedish announcement to end German military transits and fear of a German attack.[9]
An agreement from the dissolution of the union with Norway in 1905 stated that no fortification was allowed on the border between the two nations, but after the German occupation of Norway, old fortifications were renovated and many new constructed. Notably is the fortification Skansen Hultet (Skans 153 Hultet) in Eda Municipality, constructed 1940-1941 (although improvements continued until 1945), and equipped with a network of machine gun emplacements, casemates and other concrete bunkers, surrounded by barbed wire, walls and several lines of tank traps. The fortifications have been renovated by locals and are now open to the public.[10] Formerly classified Swedish military documents shows that the Swedish Armed Forces spent approximately SEK 30 million on fortifications in Värmland during the 1940s.[11] There are around 12,000 military objects, including 123 fortified sites, in Värmland dating from World War II.[11][12]
The film Gränsen (Eng. Beyond the Border) from 2011, telling the story about the life of the young soldiers guarding the border between Sweden and German-occupied Norway in 1942, takes place in northern Värmland and was filmed near Torsby.[13]
Education, theatre and a somewhat glamorous lifestyle were buoyed by the landed gentry and the wealth being generated through a lively local iron trade, and also by the position of the landscape on the edge between civilization and wilderness, which inspired art, literature and folklore. During the second half of the 19th century, the iron processing industry was largely put out of business by the revolution in the steel industry which made Central Europe and the United States vastly superior in this field, and the overall economic crisis throughout Europe of the 1870s and 1880s, and the subsequent emigration to North America, shook the landscape. The consequence, however, was to make authors like Lagerlöf and Fröding more aware of the heritage of their province, and they both drew on what they felt to be an oral tradition of story-telling and local legends. This emphasis on richly textured, often romantic or burlesque tales which nonetheless transcend the local has remained a focus of later writers, such as Göran Tunström (1937–2000) and Lars Andersson (b. 1954).
Ice hockey is a popular sport in Värmland. The two most prominent teams in recent years are Färjestads BK from Karlstad and BIK Karlskoga from Karlskoga. Färjestad BK is the most successful team in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The team has won 10 Swedish championships since the introduction of the SHL in 1975. BIK Karlskoga plays in the second tier HockeyAllsvenskan. Other notable teams are Forshaga IF from Forshaga and Grums IK from Grums. The two teams played in the top tier of Swedish ice hockey in the 1940s and 1950s.
There are several larger locations for winter sports in Värmland:
Torsby Ski Tunnel in 2009.
Torsby is home to the Torsby Ski Tunnel and Sports Center. Torsby Ski Tunnel and Sports Center is a complete indoor and outdoor training facility.[14] The ski tunnel was inaugurated in 2006 and is the first ski tunnel in Sweden.[14] The ski tunnel has a length of 1.3 kilometers, but skiing is possible in both directions, which gives a total length of around 2.5 kilometers.[14][15] At its inauguration, the ski tunnel was the longest ski tunnel in the world.[16] The indoor facility also houses the first indoor shooting range for biathlon in Sweden.[17] The facility also has a complete test center.[18] The outdoor facility includes several trails for cross-country skiing, additional shooting ranges for biathlon, and a ski slope for alpine skiing.[15][19][20][21] In total, there are up to 50 kilometers cross-country skiing trails in the area.[15] Torsby Ski Tunnel and Sports Center is an official patner of the national cross-country skiing team of Sweden.[22] The facility is regularly used by elite and national team athletes from Sweden and other countries. Torsby Ski Tunnel and Sports Center is an official Vasaloppet Centre.[15] Directly adjacent to the facility is Torsby Sports hotel.[15] The larger Valbergsängen Sports Hotel is also located in the area.[15] Torsby Ski Tunnel and Sports Center is located next to Torsby Airport, with scheduled flights to and from Stockholm Arlanda Airport.[14]
Torsby is also home to Stjerneskolan upper secondary school, which specializes in sports. The school has sports programmes specialized in, among other things, cross-country skiing, biathlon and alpine skiing.[23][24] The programmes in cross-country skiing and biathlon are graded as national sports gymnasiums (RIG).[24] Notable alumnus of the school includes the Swedish former cross-country skier Gunde Svan, Swedish biathlete and former cross-country skier Stina Nilsson and Swedish cross-country skier Linn Persson.[25][26]
Mattila holiday village is located in Finnskogen northwest of Torsby.[27] The village stems from a former Finnish settlement dating back to the 1640s.[28] Mattila offers an extensive system of cross-country skiing trails. The trails measures up to 170 kilometers in total.[29] Some trails extend all the way into Norway.[29] The trails are groomed by the same grooming machine that was used for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun.[29] The cross-country skiing competition Mattila Ski Marathon is held annually in Mattila. The competition is a seeding competition for Vasaloppet.[28][30]
The Långberget cross-country skiing facility is located north of Sysslebäck in northern Värmland. The facility is 630 metes above sea level.[30] The facility offers up to 63 kilometers of cross-country skiing trails and a smaller ski slope for alpine skiing, as well as a sports hotel and hostel.[31][20] The Långberget cross-country skiing facility is an official Vasaloppet Centre.[30]
The sports facility Kalhyttan is located in Filipstad in eastern Värmland. The facility includes a multi-sport arena and an artificial snow facility.[32] Kalhyttan has one of the most modern artificial snow systems in Sweden.[33] The facility offers a total of 40 kilometers of cross-country skiing trails, including a 4 kilometer long cross-country skiing trail with artificial snow.[34] Kalhyttan has been the venue for the Swedish Skiing Championship ten times.[35]
There are several ski resorts in Värmland:
Branäs ski resort is located near Dalby in northern Vämland. Branäs is the largest ski resort in Värmland and the fourth largest ski resort in Sweden.[32][20] The facility includes 33 slopes for alpine skiing, 30 lifts, including a gondola, a total of 29 kilometers of cross-country skiing trails and a ski cross course, as of 2024.[32][20][36] The facility has a lift-served vertical drop of 415 meters.[36] The two longest runs are 3 kilometers each.[20]
Hovfjället ski resort is located outside Torsby. The ski resort is 542 meters above sea level.[32] The facility includes 13 slopes for alpine skiing, six lifts, and a total of 22 kilometers of cross-country skiing trails.[32][20] The ski resort has been in use since the 1960s.[37]
Valfjället Skicenter is located near Gryttved, west of Åmotfors in western Värmland. The facility includes 12 slopes for alpine skiing, five lifts and several trails for cross-country skiing.[38] With a vertical drop of 220 metres, the ski facility has one of southern Sweden's highest vertical drop.[32] The longest run is 1.8 kilometers.[32]
The ski resort Ski Sunne (also known as Finnfallet) is located outside Sunne. The facility includes 10 slopes for alpine skiing and seven lifts (including two chairlifts).[39][40] Ski Sunne has a drop height of 265 metres.[41] The longest run is 1,8 kilometes.[39] Ski Sunne is operated and used by the slalom skiing club Sunne Alpina Klubb.[42]
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