Boden Municipality

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bodens kommun
County Norrbotten County
Province Norrbotten
Seat Boden
Boden Municipality and seat
Area
 • Total area
 • Land area
24th of 290
4,034 km²
Population
 • Total
85th of 290
28,277 inhabitants
Density
 • Total

7 inhabitants/km²
Website
Population as of 2005

Boden Municipality (Bodens kommun) is a municipality in Norrbotten County, northern Sweden. Its seat is in the town Boden.

In 1919 the evolving garrison town of Boden was detached from Överluleå and instituted as a city municipality of its own. In 1967 the rest of Överluleå was merged into the city together with a part of Råneå. In 1971 Edefors (which in 1892 also had been detached from Överluleå) was added and the present municipality was formed.

Contents

[edit] Geography

The closest larger city is Luleå, which is located some 35 kilometers south-east by the shore. Luleå is the largest city in Norrbotten County and hosts the main campus of Luleå University of Technology.

The main northern railway line, Norra Stambanan, ends at Boden. By rail, Boden is connected to Luleå, and, on the same line, Uppsala, Stockholm, and finally Bräcke in the south.

[edit] Language

In Boden, as in all of Sweden, there is no "official" language, but Swedish is by far the mostly used one. Some people are also, due to the proximity to the Finnish border, proficient in Finnish, and a few speak Sami. Nowadays, due to immigration, a lot of languages from around the world can also be heard.

[edit] History

According to recent finds, the oldest settlements are believed to be from around 5,000 BC. From this early time nothing is known (except some scarce finds). First accounted-for sources are from the 16th century, when Boden is referred to as Bondebyn or Bodarna, which may refer to the farmers ("Bonde" means "farmer") or sheds ("Bod" means "shed"). In 1543 there were seven farmers in the town (each farmer at that time might have several workers and a family). It was also mentioned that native Sami people were living in the proximity.

Southern Boden seen from Rödbergsfortet, part of Boden Fortress.
Southern Boden seen from Rödbergsfortet, part of Boden Fortress.


[edit] Sister cities

Boden has three sister cities:

All of these are northerly located, only Uleåborg being on a more southern latitude than Boden.

[edit] Notable natives

[edit] See also

[edit] Source

  • Corresponding article on Swedish wikipedia.
  • Official Web Site.

[edit] External links