Place:Dalarna (province), Sweden

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Dalarna is a landskap (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia^[1] and the Dales.

Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bounded by Norway in the west. Borders of the province mostly coincide with the modern administrative Dalarna County (län).

The word "Dalarna" means "the dales" (valleys). The area is a holidays destination for Swedes from the south, who often travel there for Summer holidays, drawn by its fishing lakes, campgrounds, and forests. Some Swedes own or rent a second home in Dalarna, where they are likely to have a vegetable garden and apple trees. In mid-June, midsummer celebrations and dances are held in many of the small villages and in the larger cities. Dalarna is a region full of historical associations, possessing strong local characteristics in respect of its products, and especially of its people.^[1] In the western district Lima, some people in villages speak a traditional dialect, Dalecarlian, while in Älvdalen, they speak a dialect as foreign as Norwegian and Danish, Elfdalian. Historically, the people of Dalecarlia – called Dalecarlians, or Dalesmen (dalkarlar, masar) and Daleswomen (kullor) – have been famous for their independent nature toward authority.

The Old Norse form of the province name is Járnberaland, which means "the land of the iron carriers".

Dalarna is roughly the size of the whole of Jutland (Denmark).

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The province of Dalarna formed part of Svealand before the formation of Sweden in the 11th century.

Three historically notorious rebellions started in the Dalarna province:

• In 1434, led by Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, the miners rose against the oppression of the officers of Eric of Pomerania.
• In 1519–1523 Gustav Vasa found his first and staunchest supporters among the miners in his revolt against the Kalmar Union under King Christian II.
• In 1524–1533 the Dalecarlians and local nobles rebelled against Gustav's increasingly autocratic rule and reformist religious policies; three uprisings were brutally suppressed. Some of the leaders were executed as alleged collaborators of King Christian during the liberation war.
• In 1743, the Dalecarlian Rebellion against the Hats, which was the last major peasants' uprising in Sweden.

Research Tips