Gotland Municipality
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Map outlining municipalities of Sweden |
Coat of arms |
|
| Municipal facts | ||
| Seat | Visby | |
|
|
||
| County | Gotland County | |
| Province | Gotland | |
| Area Rank |
3,151 km² 27th of 290 |
|
| Population Rank (2005) |
57,661 37th of 290 |
|
| Density | 18/km² | |
Gotland Municipality is a Swedish Municipality that covers the entire island of Gotland. The city of Visby is the municipality's seat.
Contents |
[edit] History
On December 31st, 1951 there were 93 local government units on the island of Gotland, among them one city (Visby), one market town (Slite), one county council and a lot of rural municipalities, many of them with less than 100 inhabitants.
Twenty years later the situation was totally different.
The first of the two nation-wide local government reforms in Sweden during the 20th century was implemented on January 1st, 1952. From that date on, the rural municipalities on the island were regrouped into twelve new enlarged municipalities, which together with Visby, Slite and the Gotland County Council formed the new administrative pattern.
After ten years it was clear that this reform had not been radical enough and the work began preparing for the next one.
On January 1st, 1971 the second and last local government reform was implemented in Sweden. All administrative and judicial differences between rural and urban areas were abolished. Only one type of municipality (kommun) existed from that date on. In the case of Gotland all the entities were united into one single unit. As there was only one municipality in the county, also the County Council was abolished and merged into the new unitary municipality.
[edit] Towns
Towns with population figures from 2000:
- Visby, 22 017
- Hemse, 1 766
- Slite, 1 617
- Klintehamn, 1 431
- Vibble, 1 057
- Romakloster, 877
- Fårösund, 816
- Lärbro, 512
- Havdhem, 343
- Burgsvik, 335
- Stånga, 334
- Västerhejde, 296
- Ljugarn, 295
- Roma, 282
- Väskinde, 280
- Tingstäde, 277
- När, 202
[edit] Politics
Election results 2002:
| Party | Seats |
|---|---|
| Swedish Social Democratic Party | 28 |
| Centre Party | 13 |
| Moderate Party | 11 |
| Left Party | 8 |
| Liberal People's Party | 4 |
| Green Party | 4 |
| Christian Democrats | 3 |
| Total | 71 |
[edit] Region
Main article County Councils of Sweden
When Gotland was made into a single municipality in the 1970s, the county council was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the municipality, making it a unitary authority. During a trial period some of the authority normally held by the Gotland County Administrative Board, an agency of the national government, has also been devolved to the Gotland Municipality, as well as to two mainland councils. The municipality of Gotland is there for in this respect also a region. It has responsibility for the public healthcare system and public transport.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- (Swedish) Gotland - Official site
