Boden Municipality

Infobox_Kommun2
name=Boden
fullname=Bodens kommun
isocode=
capital=Boden
governor=
county=Norrbotten County
province=Norrbotten
arearank=24th
area=4,034
areapercent=x.x
population_as_of=2005
populationrank=85th
population=28,277
populationpercent=x.x
populationdensity=7




location=65_50_N_21_43_E
locationReadable=65° 50′ N 21° 43′ E|

Boden Municipality ("Bodens kommun") is a municipality in Norrbotten County, northern Sweden. Its seat is in the town Boden.

In 1919 the evolving garrison town of "Boden" was detached from "Överluleå" and instituted as a city municipality of its own. In 1967 the rest of Överluleå was merged into the city together with a part of "Råneå". In 1971 "Edefors" (which in 1892 also had been detached from Överluleå) was added and the present municipality was formed.

Geography

The closest larger city is Luleå, which is located some 35 kilometers south-east by the shore. Luleå is the largest city in Norrbotten County and hosts the main campus of Luleå University of Technology.

The main northern railway line, Norra Stambanan, ends at Boden. By rail, Boden is connected to Luleå, and, on the same line, Uppsala, Stockholm, and finally Bräcke in the south.

Language

In Boden, as in all of Sweden, there is no "official" language, but Swedish is by far the mostly used one. Some people are also, due to the proximity to the Finnish border, proficient in Finnish, and a few speak Sami. Nowadays, due to immigration, a lot of languages from around the world can also be heard.

History

According to recent finds, the oldest settlements are believed to be from around 5,000 BC. From this early time nothing is known (except some scarce finds). First accounted-for sources are from the 16th century, when Boden is referred to as "Bondebyn" or "Bodarna", which may refer to the farmers ("Bonde" means "farmer") or sheds ("Bod" means "shed"). In 1543 there were seven farmers in the town (each farmer at that time might have several workers and a family). It was also mentioned that native Sami people were living in the proximity.

Sister cities

Boden has three sister cities:
* Alta, Norway,
* Uleåborg (Oulu), Finland
* Apatity, Russia.All of these are northerly located, only Uleåborg being on a more southern latitude than Boden.

Notable natives

*Eyvind Johnson, author (Nobel Prize in Literature 1974)
*Peter Englund, author, historian (tenth member of the Swedish Academy)
*Niclas Wallin, ice hockey player (team member of the winner of the 2006 Stanley Cup, Carolina Hurricanes)

See also

*English Canal
*Boden Fortress

Source

* Corresponding article on Swedish wikipedia.
* Official Web Site.

External links

* [http://www.boden.se/ Boden] - Official site
* [http://www.experienceboden.nu/ Experience Boden] - Official Tourist site