Facts about Västernorrland 2009 Facts about Västernorrland 2009

Cultural environment
Västernorrland County throughout the ages has been a multicultural
meeting point. Both the county’s prehistory, with remains of
Stone Age dwelling sites that are between 6,000 and 7,000 years
old, and the industrial society that went through powerful expansion
in the 19th and 20th centuries, are characterised by encounters
between humans from different backgrounds. This has created both
exciting and distinctive cultural environments. The rock carvings
at Nämforsen, Näsåker, bear witness to the signifi cance of the site
as a meeting place down the millennia.
The three large rivers in the county, with the sandy banks of Ångermanälven,
the magnifi cent Indalsälven and the mighty Ljungan,
running like an artery between east and west, all lend their individual
characters to the landscape. The river valleys, rich in resources, have
fostered communities and permitted fast communications.
In the World Heritage Site The High Coast, land elevation has
brought about a landscape that constantly alters in character and
conditions. There are unique cultural settings in the form of old
fi shing locations with a fi shermen’s chapel from the 17th century.
Sandviken fi shing camp, Trysunda, Ulvön and Bönhamn are other
examples of genuine fi shing camps well worth a visit.
From the mid-19th century, industrialism had a major impact
on our thickly-forested county. One of the most evident expressions
of the enormous capital assets in the county is the stone-built quarters
in Sundsvall, with grand town houses. The Heritage Reserve
Marieberg sawmill community is a good example of the industrial
communities that emerged along the coast and at the mouth of the
River Ångermanälven.
At the same time Västernorrland was the county in Sweden with
by far the greatest immigration. The county was popularly known
as ”Little America”. The great infl ux of new inhabitants led to
encounters between different population groups and social classes.
New ideals evolved and the county came to be an arena for political
events of signifi cance for Swedish social development, such as the
Sundsvall Strike of 1879 and the shootings in Lunde in 1931.
Beginning in 1945, the development of the modern Västernorrland
got under way. There were big investments in the county by
CULTURE 53