Gävle
| Gävle | |
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Town square, Alderholmen, old town, the high-rise "Fullriggaren" at Gävle Strand, the town hall, buildings alongside the river of Gavleån
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| Nickname(s): Gevalia | |
 Gävle
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| Coordinates: 60°40′29″N 17°08′30″E / 60.67472°N 17.14167°ECoordinates: 60°40′29″N 17°08′30″E / 60.67472°N 17.14167°E | |
| Country | Sweden |
| Province | Gästrikland |
| County | Gävleborg County |
| Municipality | Gävle Municipality |
| Area | |
| • City | 42.45 km2 (16.39 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 1,615.07 km2 (623.58 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 8 m (26 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2010) | |
| • City | 71,033 |
| • Density | 1,673/km2 (4,330/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 96,969 |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 80x xx |
| Area code(s) | (+46) 26 |
| Website | www |
Gävle [ˈjɛːvlɛ] is a city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 71,033 inhabitants in December 2010, which makes it the 13th most populated city in Sweden. It is the oldest city in the historical Norrland (Sweden's Northern Lands), having received its charter in 1446 from Christopher of Bavaria. However, Gävle is far nearer the greater region than it is to the other major settlements in Norrland.
In recent years, the city has received a lot of international attention due to its large Yule Goat figure made of straw - the Gävle Goat. The goat is erected in December each year and is subsequently, more often than not, subject to vandalisation by someone setting it on fire. The goat has now become a symbol for the city and is being used for various marketing purposes.
It is believed that the name Gävle derives from the word gavel, meaning river banks in Old Swedish and referring to the Gavleån (Gävle River). The oldest settlement was called Gävle-ägarna, which means "Gavel-owners". This name was shortened to Gävle, then Gefle, and finally Gävle.
Gävle is first mentioned as a town in official history books in the year 1413 but only received its official town charters in the year 1446.
For a long time Gävle consisted solely of small, low, turf or shingle roofed wooden buildings. Boat-houses lined the banks of Gavleån, Lillån, and Islandsån. Until the 18th century the town was built, as was the practice then, around the three most important buildings: the church, the regional palace, and the town hall. Over the last 300 years Gävle has been ablaze on three different occasions. After the fire of 1776 the town was rebuilt with straight streets and rectangular city blocks. The number of stone and brick houses also started to increase. The biggest town fire occurred 1869, when out of a population of around 10,000 approximately 8,000 inhabitants lost their homes, and about 350 farms were destroyed. Almost the whole town north of Gavleån was burnt down. All the buildings south of Gavleån were saved. An area of the old town between the museum and the library has been preserved to this day as a historic reserve, Gamla Gefle.
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Wikipedia