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Bollnäs Municipality

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Country
  
Sweden

Seat
  
Bollnäs

ISO 3166 code
  
SE

Province
  
Hälsingland

County
  
Gävleborg County

Time zone
  
CET (UTC+1)

Municipal code
  
2183

Bollnäs Municipality

Bollnäs Municipality (Bollnäs kommun) is a municipality in Gävleborg County, east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Bollnäs.

Contents

The municipality evolved during a series of local government reforms in the 1950s and 1970s. It consists of six original entities and has its present shape since 1977.

Localities

Population as of 2005:

Geography

Through the municipality, from north to southeast, runs the river Ljusnan. Among the localities situated at the river are Bollnäs and Arbrå. South of Bollnäs is the confluence of Ljusnan and its biggest tributary Voxnan.

Nearby the town of Bollnäs are several water areas with fish such as trout, bass and pike. The streams Ljusnan and Voxnan also offer fishing, as does the tributary lake Vågen in Bollnäs.

Protected nature

A total of 1,461 acres (5.91 km2) of the land in the municipality (0.8% of the municipality's area) are considered protected nature, for instance there are six nature reserves within the municipality's borders.

The reserves are:

  • Djupsjön-Römmaberget - reserve since 1999. 86 ha large and located approximately 12 km southwest of Kilafors.
  • Galvån - 22 ha large and located 6 km north of Bollnäs.
  • Grossjöberget - reserve since 1998. 423 ha large and located approximately 20 km northeast of Bollnäs.
  • Hästhagsberget - reserve since 2000. 28 ha large and located approximately 13 km south-southeast of Kilafors.
  • Kölberget - reserve since 1980. 44 ha large and located approximately 7 km southeast of Kilafors.
  • Stora Bolleberget - reserve since July 11, 2006. 99 ha large and located approximately 4 km northwest of Bollnäs.

    • Eight areas are included in Natura 2000. Four of these are also nature reserves - Djupsjön/Römmaberget, Galvån, Grossjöberget and Hästhagsberget - and the other four are Andersvallsslåtten, Haga, Myrsjömyrorna and Tomtas.

    Culture

    Västerby hembygdsby in Rengsjö shows example of hälsingegårdar, old farms built in a way typical for the province of Hälsingland. Other examples of hälsingegårdar are Gästgivars in Vallsta, Erik-Larsgården in Arbrå and Kämpens in Bollnäs.

    Outside Växbo, 15 km northeast of Bollnäs, Växbo lin ("Växbo linen"), Växbo kvarn ("Växbo Mill") and Trolldalen is situated. Växbo lin is the only remaining spinnery and weavers of linen in Scandinavia. Växbo kvarn is a water mill from the 19th century (reopened in 1985) where flour is ground using old techniques. Trolldalen displays old tools from the 19th century, tools used for processing linen.

    Since 1997, the workgroup Kulturarv Hälsingegårdar has been active with the goal to get 15 villages/farms in Hälsingland declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The villages and farms listed demonstrates examples of the traditional architecture of Hälsingland. On the list are among others Västerby hembygdsby, Växbo kvarn and Trolldalen. In 2006, the County Administrative Board of Gävleborg County handed over the documents concerning the issue to the Swedish National Heritage Board. UNESCO has received the inquiry and will make a decision in July, 2009, at the earliest.

    Transport

    The Northern main line railway (Norra Stambanan) follows to great extent Ljusnan through the municipality. Bollnäs town holds the largest train station, the only station where inter-city trains stop. The local train X-tåget, which operates the route Gävle-Ljusdal, makes additional stops at Kilafors, Arbrå and Vallsta.

    Twin towns

    Bollnäs Municipality has six twin towns:

  • Nykøbing Mors, Denmark, since 1948. The town is now part of Morsø Municipality
  • Flekkefjord, Norway, since 1948.
  • Kankaanpää, Finland, since 1950.
  • Misburg-Anderten, Germany, since 1960.
  • Shepton Mallet, England, since 1991.
  • Ogre, Latvia, since 1992.

    • Notable people

  • Orienteering competitor Emma Engstrand (b. 14 December 1977) was born in, and grew up in, Bollnäs.
  • Anders Eriksson (b. 9 January 1975), ice hockey player, was born in, and grew up in, Bollnäs.
  • Ida Gawell-Blumentahl (1868–1953), "Delsbostintan", entertainer, was born in Arbrå.
  • Åke "Stan" Hasselgård (4 October 1922 – 23 November 1948), jazz clarinetist, grew up in Bollnäs, where his grave can be found.
  • Hanna Hedlund, singer and TV show host, was born in Hanebo near Kilafors on 21 January 1975.
  • Lina Hedlund, singer, was born in Hanebo near Kilafors on 28 March 1978.
  • C.-H. Hermansson, politician, was born in Bollnäs on 14 December 1917.
  • Anna-Karin Kammerling, swimmer, grew up in Bollnäs.
  • Timo K. Mukka (1944–1973), Finnish writer, was born in Bollnäs, whereto his family had been evacuated from the Finnish province of Lapland region during the Lapland War.
  • Gösta "Snoddas" Nordgren, singer and bandy player, was born in Arbrå on 30 December 1926.
  • Thomas von Scheele, table tennis player, was born in Bollnäs on 13 March 1969.
  • Victoria Silvstedt, super model, grew up in Bollnäs.
  • Peter Stormare, actor, grew up in Arbrå.
  • Per-Inge Tällberg, ski jumper, was born in Bollnäs on 14 June 1967.
  • Staffan Tällberg, ski jumper, was born in Bollnäs on 17 April 1970.

    • Politics

    Result of the 2010 election

    Moderate Party 22,32%

    Centre party 9,56%

    Liberal People's Party 5,39%

    Christian Democrats 4,25%

    Swedish Social Democratic Party 36,82%

    Left Party 6,82%

    Green Party 5,34%

    Sweden Democrats 8,42%

    Other Parties 1,07%

    References

    Bollnäs Municipality Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA