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History of Swedish Counties: Difference between revisions
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Back to [[Portal:Sweden|Sweden Portal Page]]► | Back to [[Portal:Sweden|Sweden Portal Page]]► | ||
Whether you are studying old family group records, looking for original sources to check | Whether you are studying old family group records, looking for original sources to check or running a search in a database, knowing the county (the ''Län'') and the parish (the ''socken ''or''församling '') your ancestor lived in is vital to your Swedish family history research. It is also important to understand the difference between a County ([[Swedish Län|Län]]) and a Province ([[Swedish Landskap|Landskap]]) in Sweden. Although a Swedish ''landskap ''had political authority prior to 1634, they were not known as counties. This article offers a good introduction to the counties of Sweden with reference to changes through the years.<br> | ||
== History == | == History == | ||
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In compliance with the Constitution in 1634, the kingdom was organized into counties. At this time each province (Landskap) turned over its civil authority to the county (Län) administration. The administrative activities in the counties have basically been in force since 1810. Here is a list of the counties with information regarding when they were created or dissolved:<br> | In compliance with the Constitution in 1634, the kingdom was organized into counties. At this time each province (Landskap) turned over its civil authority to the county (Län) administration. The administrative activities in the counties have basically been in force since 1810. Here is a list of the counties with information regarding when they were created or dissolved:<br> | ||
{| | {| class="wikitable" border="1" | ||
|- | |- | ||
! County Name | ! County Name | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| [[Gotland County, Sweden|Gotland]] | | [[Gotland County, Sweden|Gotland]] | ||
| Prior to becoming a county, Gotland was a province. The name of the province dates back to Medieval times. | | Prior to becoming a county, Gotland was a province. The name of the province dates back to Medieval times. Includes the entire island. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Gripsholm | | Gripsholm | ||
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| was a county between 1634 and 1646. It is now part of Dalarna County. | | was a county between 1634 and 1646. It is now part of Dalarna County. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Södermanland County, Sweden|Södermanland]] | ||
| The countys history goes back to 1683 when Södermanland was created by combining the three former Castle counties: Nyköping, Gripsholm, and Eskilstuna Counties. | | The countys history goes back to 1683 when Södermanland was created by combining the three former Castle counties: Nyköping, Gripsholm, and Eskilstuna Counties. | ||
|- | |- | ||
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| [[Värmland County, Sweden|Värmland]] | | [[Värmland County, Sweden|Värmland]] | ||
| Värmland County was created in 1779 from the earlier | | Värmland County was created in 1779 from the earlier Närke och Värmland County. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Västerbotten County, Sweden|Västerbotten]] | | [[Västerbotten County, Sweden|Västerbotten]] | ||
| was created in 1638 from the county of Norrland. It covered the provinces of Västerbotten and the western part of Lapland (Swedish Lapland) and the entire area of Tornedalen. After the loss in the Finnish War in 1809, Sweden | | was created in 1638 from the county of Norrland. It covered the provinces of Västerbotten and the western part of Lapland (Swedish Lapland) and the entire area of Tornedalen. After the loss in the Finnish War in 1809, Sweden gave up Finland to Russia, including Västerbotten east of the Torne River and Muonio River. More changes came in 1810 with Nordmaling transferred to Västernorrland County. At the same time as a separation from the northern area forming Norrbotten. After some changes with municipalities in 1837, 1862, and 1869 Västerbottens boundaries have remained unchanged. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Västernorrland County, Sweden|Västernorrland]] | | [[Västernorrland County, Sweden|Västernorrland]] | ||
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| [[Örebro County, Sweden|Örebro]] | | [[Örebro County, Sweden|Örebro]] | ||
| was created in 1779 from the earlier | | was created in 1779 from the earlier Närke och Värmland counties. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Östergötland County, Sweden|Östergötland]] | | [[Östergötland County, Sweden|Östergötland]] | ||