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Svealand

geography Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Svealand is a very important part of Sweden.

map svealand
map svealand

It sits in the south-central part of the country. To its north is the land called Norrland. To its south is the land called Götaland. This region is one of the three historical lands of Sweden. It is the core area where the country began.

Map swedish lands
Map swedish lands

Long ago, the people living here were known as the Svear. This is where the English name "Swedes" comes from.

The land has many different shapes and features. In the east, there is a large area called Mälardalen. To the north-east, you will find Roslagen. The middle of the region has a mining area called Bergslagen. In the west, there are the areas of Dalarna and Värmland. The coast has an archipelago with thousands of tiny islands.

map svealand
map svealand

There are also many lakeshores from the four largest lakes in Sweden. Two big rivers flow through this land. The Klarälven river starts in Norway and goes into Lake Vänern. The Dalälven river runs through Dalarna and Lake Siljan.

History shows us how this place grew over time.

Map swedish lands
Map swedish lands

In the past, deep forests like Tiveden and Kolmården acted as borders. These thick woods made it hard for people to control different lands. Early stories called sagas tell us about this time. For a long time, the name "Sweden" only meant Svealand. As kings gained more land, the name was used to show the difference between the old territory and new lands. A man named Bo Jonsson Grip once owned more than half of the kingdom. In his will from 1384, he listed the different parts of the realm.

Many important cities are located within Svealand today. Stockholm is the largest city and the capital of Sweden.

map svealand
map svealand

It sits right on the border of Uppland and Södermanland. You can even find a border stone in the streets of Stockholm's Old Town. Other major administrative cities include Falun, Karlstad, and Nyköping. Uppsala, Västerås, and Örebro are also important centers. In the southern hills, people can visit many different ski resorts. The weather is moderate but changes as you move east. It gets warmer and wetter as the land gets lower.

Svealand is made up of six main provinces.

map svealand
map svealand

These are Dalarna, Närke, Södermanland, Uppland, Värmland, and Västmanland. Since 1634, Sweden has used counties to divide the land. Svealand roughly matches these modern counties as well. Even though Värmland was once part of Götaland, people have long seen it as part of Svealand. This region connects the history of the old Svear to the modern country of Sweden. It remains a central part of the nation's geography.

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File:Map swedish lands.png
Map swedish lands.png
File:map svealand.png
map svealand.png
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