is a historical
Province or ''landskap'' in the north of
Sweden . It borders to
Hälsingland ,
Härjedalen ,
Jämtland ,
Ångermanland and the
Gulf Of Bothnia .
The province is a part of
Norrland and as such considered to be Northern Sweden, although the province geographically is located in the middle of Sweden. It is a common misconception that name "Medelpad" ("middle land" or "middle ground") reflects this, but the name actually refers to the fact that most of the province lies between its two rivers
Ljungan and
Indalsälven .
''For current affairs see:
Västernorrland County ''
Provinces serve no administrative function in Sweden today (this task is done by the
Counties Of Sweden ) and Medelpad roughly comprises the southern part of
Västernorrland County .
The province is situated at an average altitude of 200-300 meters above sea level. The highest mountains are no more than 500 meters high -- the tallest is Myckelmyrberget with 577
Meters . Of the total area, circa 500 km&
2 is water. The largest lake is
Holmsjön , located at 200 meters elevation, followed by
Leringen , at a similar elevation.
There are also two major rivers that surround the province:
Ljungan and
Indalsälven .
The only town with the historical
City Status In Sweden was
Sundsvall , which was granted the privilege in
1624 . Sundsvall is still the largest city of the province, with some 95,000 inhabitants. In total, the population of Medelpad is circa 120,000.
The arms of Medelpad symbolises the land between the two rivers Ljungan and Indalsälven. As with other Swedish provinces the arms can be represented showing a dukal coronet. Blazon: "Four times parted per fess wavy, Azure, Argent, Gules, Argent and Azure."
The coast line on the
Gulf Of Bothnia , called the "
High Coast ", has been declared a
UNESCO World Heritage Site . The land still rises at the rate of about one
Centimetre per year, as an effect of the last
Ice Age that ended in the
7th Millennium BC .
The
Mountain Hare is the provincial animal, but the
Skvader , a fictional animal, was popular in the innofficial referendum held 1987 to select the provincial animal.
- Mid Sweden - Official tourist site for Medelpad & Ångermanland
