Vilhelmina Municipality

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This page deals with both Vilhelmina Municipality and the urban area (tätort) Vilhelmina

**Vilhelmina Municipality (*Kommun*)**
Map outlining the municipalities of Sweden	Coat of arms Image:Vilhelmina City Arms.jpg
	Municipal facts
	Seat	Vilhelmina
	{{{locationReadable}}}
	County	Västerbotten County
	Province	Lapland
	Area Rank	8,120 km² 7th of 290
	Population Rank (2005)	7,422 249th of 290
	Population density	0.9/km²

Vilhelmina Municipality is a Municipality in Västerbotten County, in northern Sweden. With an area of 8120 km² it is Sweden's seventh largest, but it has a population density of only 1 inhabitant per km².

In an 2000 consensus, the population consisted of 4057 males, and 3861 females.

The seat is in the town Vilhelmina, situated at 64°37′N, 16°39′E, it has 3,800 inhabitants.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Culture
4 Resources and external links

[edit] History

In 1804 the parish of Volgsjö was renamed Vilhelmina, in honour of Queen Frederica Dorothea Wilhelmina of Sweden.

The town was a parish for centuries, got municipal rights in 1917, and in 1947 "minor" city privileges as a "merchant town" (köping). This town came to be a church town around 1900, with a church and small cabins, whereto people travelled long distances to attend church, staying at the cabins. It had 75 cabins by 1921, but most were destroyed in a fire that year. Today, about 20 remain, being used as shops, homes or accommodations.

The current municipal borders were drawn with the 1971 reform, when also the coat of arms were granted. The current size and population does not differ much from the parish a hundred years ago: in 1919, the parish covered 8,715 km² with 9,199 inhabitants.[1]

[edit] Geography

Looking over Volgsjö, a lake adjacent to the town of Vilhelmina. Photo by Aran Johnson, 2004.

Like the northern parts of Sweden (colloquial Norrland), it is scarsely populated due to its inhospitable conditions and cold climate, but is superb for those who like wildlife and untouched nature.

The village of Malgovik, about 20 kilometers north of Vilhelmina City, holds the record for the lowest temperature ever recorded in Sweden. It was set on 13 December 1941 when temperature dropped down to -53° C.

[edit] Culture

Every July the town holds a festival called Hembygdsdagarna Vilhelmina. In addition to popular and folk music performances, tradition holds that a local engaged couple is selected each year to get married during the festival. The bride and groom, lead a parade of fiddlers and other traditionally dressed Swedes through town to the church where the marriage is performed in front of all who wish to attend. They are not always able to find a couple willing to get married, however, so some years they hold the parade without an engaged couple, and hold a public church service instead of a wedding.