Avesta Municipality

Not to be confused with Alvesta Municipality.
Avesta kommun
Municipality

Coat of arms
Country Sweden
County Dalarna County
Seat Avesta
Area[1]
 • Total 669.08 km2 (258.33 sq mi)
 • Land 613.25 km2 (236.78 sq mi)
 • Water 55.83 km2 (21.56 sq mi)
  Area as of January 1, 2014.
Population (March 31, 2015)[2]
 • Total 22,163
 • Density 33/km2 (86/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code SE
Province Dalarna
Municipal code 2084
Density is calculated using land area only.

Avesta Municipality (Avesta kommun) is one of 290 municipalities of Sweden. It is in Dalarna County, in central part of the country, and its seat is in the town Avesta.

The municipality in its present size was created in 1967 when the four surrounding municipalities were joined with the then City of Avesta. In 1971 it became a municipality of unitary type.

Avesta borders to the municipalities of:

Sports

Speedway: The most successful sport team in Avesta is their speedway team Masarna, translating to "the men of Dalecarlia", competing in the highest division in Sweden.
Football: Avesta AIK, Krylbo IF
Ladies' handball: Avesta Brovallen HF
Ice hockey: Avesta BK

Localities

Notability

A large 8 daler copper plate from 1658 (the British Museum)

1644–1776, Avesta was the largest part of the Swedish Mint, manufacturing mainly copper plate money. The World's largest - a 10 daler plate - is exhibited in the Avesta Myntmuseum, and weighs 19.4 kg.


European bison (wisent) in captivity, Avesta Visentpark, Dalarna, Sweden.

In Stubbsveden, just west of the town Avesta, is a wildlife park for European bison (wisent). Guided tours are conducted around and in between the confinements in the summer season. Occasionally, individuals from this and other Swedish animal parks are relocated to the reserve herds in Poland and Romania to widen their DNA pool.


Wisent statue made of stainless steel, located in Avesta City park

The city's largest industry is its steel mill, today owned by the Finnish company Outokumpu Oyj. Iron production started here in the 16th Century, was industrialized in the 17th, but was surpassed by the copper plate producing Swedish Mint factory from 1644. However, production was maintained during the centuries, and in 1823 a forge was added. 1924, production of stainless, acidproof, and fire-resistive steels was initiated. In the 1960s, these were still the main products, but twenty years later, the cold- and hot-rolled stainless qualities dominated. In 1991, British Steel Stainless merged with the Avesta firm, and in 2001 Outokumpu took over the majority of the ownership.


The World's largest dalahäst.

The largest Dalecarlian horse (Dalahäst) in the world is located in Avesta. It is 13 meters tall and weighs 67 tons.

Notable natives

See also

Politics

Result of the 2010 election

Moderate Party 22,93%

Centre party 6,25%

Liberal People's Party 4,77%

Christian Democrats 3,46%

Swedish Social Democratic Party 44,06%

Left Party 5,42%

Green Party 4,95%

Sweden Democrats 7,21%

Other Parties 0,96%

References

  1. ↑ "Statistiska centralbyrån, Kommunarealer den 1 januari 2014" (Microsoft Excel) (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  2. ↑ "Folkmängd i riket, län och kommuner 31 mars 2015" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. May 11, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2015.

External links

Coordinates: 60°09′N 16°12′E / 60.150°N 16.200°E / 60.150; 16.200

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