Härjedalen | ||
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Country | Sweden | |
Land | Norrland | |
Counties |
Jämtland County Dalarna County |
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Area | ||
• Total | 11,405 km2 (4,403 sq mi) | |
Population (2009) | ||
• Total | 10,028 | |
• Density | 0.88/km2 (2.3/sq mi) | |
Ethnicity | ||
• Language | Swedish, some Norwegian | |
Culture | ||
• Flower | Arctic violet | |
• Animal | Bear | |
• Bird | Golden eagle | |
• Fish | Grayling | |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Härjedalen (Swedish pronunciation: [²hærjɛˌdɑːlɛn]; Norwegian: Herjedalen,) is a historical province or landskap in the centre of Sweden. It borders the country of Norway as well as the provinces of Dalarna, Hälsingland, Medelpad, and Jämtland. The province originally belonged to Norway, but was ceded to Sweden in the Treaty of Brömsebro, 1645.
The name Härjedalen, from Old West Norse Herjárdalr, literally means the "Valley of the Härje river". A Latinized transliteration is Herdalia, although that name is hardly encountered in the English language today. More prominent are derivations such as Herjedalen or Haerjedalen. The more prosaic explanation of the name says that the word her or har just means "mound of stones" and refers to stones in the river .
Jämtland and Härjedalen were provinces of Norway until the mid-17th century. Härjedalen came under the Norwegian king ca. 1100. After the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645, Härjedalen, along with Jämtland, were ceded to Sweden. They were commonly spelled Herjedalen and Jemtland until 1660.
The first population of Härjedalen is estimated to have migrated there circa 7,000 BC. The population lived from hunting and fishing, close to the inland ice which by then had started to melt. Ruändan, in the in northwestern Härjedalen, is the location of a large site of rock paintings. The rock paintings at Ruändan consists of some twenty figures depicting people, bear, moose and reindeer. The rock paintings was first reported in 1896 and are estimated to be over 4000 years old.