 The History of Jämtland/Härjedalen
The lake Storsjön was the cultural centre of the province, which started during the early Iron Age. The hunters and trappers had their occupation in the wilderness, which surrounded the area. The rock carvings from 3 000 B.C. tell us about the ceremonial rites and the magic the hunters practised to bring them luck. In Gärde Offerdal, the moose was carved in full scale ! No other province but Jämtland has so many pits where moose were caught in ancient days. The moose's hide and horns, birds and furred animals were all important trading goods. On the western side of the mountain Sonfjället, in Härjedalen, lies one of the world's best preserved gullies from the Ice Age. When the ice melted, the water made gullies 10-12 metres deep, from the top of the mountain to the valley below. Here you will find about 200 of them! On Frösön (Frey´s island) , you will find the most northen runestone in Sweden. It is about a thousand years old and the inscriptions says, among other things, that "Östman Gudfast's son christianised Jämtland" Also on Frösön, not very far from the stone, lies Jämtland's only ancient castle, on top of Öneberget. The oldest tapestry in the world comes from Överhogdal. It is 1 000 years old, 200 years older than the famous Bayeux Tapestry in France. Today you can see it in a special room in the museum of Jämtland. Jämtland became Swedish at the Brömsebro peace in 1645. Before that Jämtland had belonged to Norway, Denmark, Sweden again and so on. Östersund, the only city in the two provinces, was founded in 1786, to put an end to the farmer's valuable trade that always went to Trondheim, Norway. It was not until 1879, when the railway was built, the town started to prosper and tourism has been the primary industry since then. Åre is one of the oldest tourist resorts in Sweden and has nowadays the best downhill skiing in Sweden.  Useful information Quiz game Contents About... E-mail |