TheMälaren Valley(Swedish:Mälardalen), occasionally referred to asStockholm-Mälaren Region(Stockholm-mälarregionen), is the easternmost part ofSvealand,the catchment area ofLake Mälarenand the surrounding municipalities. The term is often used interchangeably for the extended capital region ofSwedenasStockholmis located at the lake's eastern end, at its outlet in theBaltic Sea.
Extent and characteristics
editThe Mälaren Valley, which never has been defined as an official region, has throughoutSwedish historyinstead been shared by severalprovinces—Uppland,Södermanland,Västmanland,andNärke— and, in modern times, by severalcounties—Stockholm,Uppsala,Södermanland,Örebro,andVästmanland.In most cases, theLake Hjälmarenregion is included into the Mälaren Valley Region, if nothing else, for historical and cultural reasons.
Notwithstanding this, most people in Sweden will have a clear notion of what characterises the Mälaren Valley, while few of them will be able to define what those characteristics are more precisely. Arguably, this is because the region is not only homogeneous and has been so for many centuries, but also have had a tremendous influence on sharedSwedish historyand therefore never had to define its symbols or accentuate its distinctive features. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries when modern Swedish nationalism evolved, traits conceived as typical Swedish were more often than not characteristics of the Mälaren Valley. For example, theFalu redcottage with white corners, often iterated as a traditional Swedish building style, is common in the Mälaren Valley, but would stand out on the Swedish west coast. Similarly, what is referred to asStandard Swedishis often difficult to distinguish fromdialectsspoken around Lake Mälaren. One of the distinctive features of the region is its many large mansions — one of the finest surviving examples, theWorld Heritage SiteEngelsberg Ironworksin the north-west corner of the region, is thought of as representative for Sweden in general.[1]
Population
editLarger cities outsideGreater StockholmincludeUppsala(population: 165,456),Västerås(128,534),Örebro(126,009),Södertälje(75,773) andEskilstuna(70,342).[2]As of 31 December 2020[update]more than 3.6 million people lived in this region, which may also be confined to a much smaller geographical area around Stockholm and Mälaren proper.
| County | Capital | Area¹ | Population[3] | Density² |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stockholm County | Stockholm | 6,514 | 2,391,990 | 367.2 |
| Uppsala County | Uppsala | 8,189 | 388,394 | 47.4 |
| Örebro County | Örebro | 8,504 | 305,643 | 35.9 |
| Södermanland County | Nyköping | 6,072 | 299,401 | 49.3 |
| Västmanland County | Västerås | 5,117 | 277,141 | 54.2 |
| Total | 34,396 | 3,662,569 | 106.5 | |
| ||||
Notes
edit- ^Flygare
- ^"Localities 2018 – population, land area, population density"(XLSX).Statistics Sweden.23 March 2021.Retrieved28 July2021.
- ^"Population density per sq. km by region, sex, observations and year".Statistics Sweden.31 December 2020.Retrieved28 July2021.
References
edit- Flygare, Iréne (1997).Mälaren runt(in Swedish). Utbildningsförlaget Brevskolan. pp. 6–11.ISBN91-574-4829-9.