Vilhelmina Municipality
Vilhelmina kommun
Municipality
image of a lake near Vilhelmina
Looking across Volgsjön on a summer morning
Coat of arms of Vilhelmina Municipality
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 64°37′N 16°39′E / 64.617°N 16.650°E / 64.617; 16.650
CountrySweden
CountyVästerbotten County
SeatVilhelmina
Area
[1]
 • Total8,740.5 km2 (3,374.7 sq mi)
 • Land8,047.87 km2 (3,107.30 sq mi)
 • Water692.63 km2 (267.43 sq mi)
 Area as of 1 January 2014.
Population
 (31 December 2021)[2]
 • Total6,485
 • Density0.74/km2 (1.9/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeSE
ProvinceLapland
Municipal code2462
Websitewww.vilhelmina.se

Vilhelmina Municipality (Swedish: Vilhelmina kommun; Southern Sami: Vualtjeren tjïelte) is a municipality in Västerbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Vilhelmina.

History

In 1804 the parish of Volgsjö was renamed Vilhelmina in honour of Queen Frederica Dorothea Wilhelmina of Sweden.

In 1947 the locality Vilhelmina was detached from the rural municipality with the same name, forming the market town (köping) of Vilhelmina. The two entities were reunited in 1965.

Geography

Like the rest of northern Sweden (Norrland), it is scarcely populated due to its inhospitable conditions and cold climate, but is superb for those who like wildlife and untouched nature.

The village of Malgovik, about 20 km north of Vilhelmina, holds the record for the lowest temperature ever recorded in Sweden. It was set on December 13, 1941, when the temperature dropped down to -53 °C.

Localities

There is only one locality (or urban area) in Vilhelmina Municipality:[3]

#LocalityPopulation
1Vilhelmina3,633

Demographics

This is a demographic table based on Vilhelmina Municipality's electoral districts in the 2022 Swedish general election sourced from SVT's election platform, in turn taken from SCB official statistics.[4]

Residents include everyone registered as living in the district, regardless of age or citizenship status. Valid voters indicate Swedish citizens above the age of 18 who therefore can vote in general elections. Left vote and right vote indicate the result between the two major blocs in said district in the 2022 general election. Employment indicates the share of people between the ages of 20 and 64 who are working taxpayers. Foreign background is defined as residents either born abroad or with two parents born outside of Sweden. Median income is the received monthly income through either employment, capital gains or social grants for the median adult above 20, also including pensioners in Swedish kronor. The section about college graduates indicates any degree accumulated after high school.

In total there were 6,473 residents, including 5,093 Swedish citizens of voting age.[4] 51.6 % voted for the left coalition and 46.7 % for the right coalition.

Culture

Every July the town of Vilhelmina holds a festival called Hembygdsdagarna Vilhelmina. In addition to popular and folk music performances, tradition holds that a local engaged couple is selected each year to get married during the festival. The bride and groom lead a parade of fiddlers and other traditionally dressed Swedes through town to the church where the marriage is performed in front of all who wish to attend. They are not always able to find a couple willing to get married, however, so some years they hold the parade without an engaged couple, and hold a public church service instead of a wedding.

References

  1. ↑ "Statistiska centralbyrån, Kommunarealer den 1 januari 2014" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 2014-01-01. Archived from the original (Microsoft Excel) on 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  2. ↑ "Folkmängd i riket, län och kommuner 31 december 2021" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  3. ↑ Statistics Sweden as of December 31, 2005
  4. 1 2 3 "Valresultat 2022 för Vilhelmina i riksdagsvalet" (in Swedish). SVT. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
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