Place:Dalsland (province), Sweden

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

Dalsland is a Swedish traditional province, or landskap, situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, and Norway to the northwest.

The province has a low population density of around 14 inhabitants/km² and just one town of significant size: Åmål. The total population numbers 50,604.^[1] The uninhabited areas are characterized by dense forests in the northwestern uplands and lakes in the east, giving rise to the epithet, commonly used for Dalsland, of "Sweden's lake province".

The Latinized name Dalia, which was often used to name Dalsland in older prints, can still sometimes be encountered.

History

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

The original name of Dalsland was "Dal" – "Dalsland" was not used until the 19th century. Dal literally means "Valley".

The area has around 5,000 localized ancient remains. They indicate the origin of the inhabitants to stem from the south and the province Bohuslän; dialectal studies and social aspects have come to a similar conclusion. [1]

Since ancient times the description "Lives on Dal" has been the description used by the inhabitants themselves to describe where they live, instead of the usual "lives in ...". Speculation has it, this is due to the remote and isolated location of the province. [1]

In the 13th century the inhabitants were referred to as "The West gothics west of lake Vänern" by King Magnus Ladulås. A provincial law of 1442 called them "The West Gothics of Dal". All sources point to them being a – remote – part of the Västergötland (West Gothia) province.

Its exposed location near the Norwegian border made it subject to invasion, although to a lesser degree than the southern Bohuslän and Västergötland. It was first conquered around 1100 by the Norwegian Magnus Barefoot, who only held until King Valdemar Atterdag re-drew the provincial borders. [1]

The Nordic Seven Years' War was particularly hard, especially 1568 when 281 farms were burnt. Other feuds that were negative for the province were those of 1611-1612, 1644-1645 and 1675–1679.

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