ISO 3166 code SE | Time zone CET (UTC+1) Municipal code 0139 | |
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Upplands-Bro Municipality (Upplands-Bro kommun) is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Kungsängen.
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Map of Upplands-Bro Municipality, Sweden
The municipality was formed in 1952 through the amalgamation of five rural municipalities in Uppsala County. In 1971 it was transferred to Stockholm County.
Geography
Situated by Lake Mälaren it is distinguished by its nature. The overwhelming majority of the population are located to one of the three towns Kungsängen (pop. 7,500), Bro (6,200) and Brunna (4,000), and most of the remaining area is taken up by countryside, a substantial part of it being agricultural.
Public transportation
The municipality is served by the Stockholm public transport system operated by SL. The municipal seat Kungsängen used to be the north-western terminus of the Stockholm commuter rail network, but in 2000 this line was extended to Bålsta in Uppsala County and a new station was built in Bro. A new depot for commuter trains has recently been built in the municipality. There is also a bus network.
History
As apparent from its coat of arms, Upplands-Bro takes pride in its pre-historic history, and boasts some of the oldest ancient remains in Sweden. From the Iron Age, about 4,000 burial places have been found, and the remains from the Viking Age include 20 runestones.
Every one of the six parishes also hosts a medieval church, built between 1100–1400.
In the 15th century, the fortress Almarestäket was built in the municipality, just east to the present location of Kungsängen. It was the seat of the Swedish archbishop until the Archbishop Gustav Trolle besieged himself there in 1517, leading to the demolition of the fortress in 1519. The ruins can still be visited.
Since 1970, the main base of the combined cavalry/infantry regiment Life Guards is located in Upplands-Bro. The regiment trains conscript companies of mechanized infantry, Royal Guards and military police. It is also the home of the Swedish Armed Forces International Centre (Swedint).