Åsele Municipality

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Åsele kommun
Åsele vapen.svg
Coat of arms
County Västerbotten County
Province Lapland
Seat Åsele
Asele Municipality in Västerbotten County.png
Population
 • Total
286th of 290
3,180 inhabitants[1]
Area
 • Total area
 • Land area
 • Water area
21st of 290
4,574.11 km² (1,766.07 sq mi)[2]
4,276.95 km² (1,651.34 sq mi)[2]
297.16 km² (114.73 sq mi)[2]
Density
 • Total
287th of 290
0.74 inh/km² (1.93 inh/sq mi)
Municipal code 2463[3]
Website www.asele.se
Density is calculated using land area only

Åsele Municipality (Swedish: Åsele kommun) is a municipality in Västerbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Åsele.

Contents

[edit] History

The first Swedish settlement in Åsele Municipality (it was already inhabited by the native Sami people) was in Gafsele south of Åsele. The settlers were Nils Andersson and his wife Brita. They came from Finland in 1674, trying to avoid the war with Russia.

Fredrika is a parish in the municipality. It was created in 1799 and named in honour of Queen Frederica Dorothea Wilhelmina of Sweden. Other nearby parishes were named Dorotea and Vilhelmina, but Åsele refused to take any of these names, as they were very proud of themselves and the town.

In 1974 the former market town (köping) Åsele (1959-1970) was amalgamated with Dorotea and Fredrika. In 1980 the Dorotea part was detached, forming a new Dorotea Municipality.

[edit] Geography

Geographically, the Ångerman River flows from Vilhelmina through Åsele Municipality, and many electric power stations are built around it.

The town Åsele is located in the middle of the municipality. It has a nice looking church, a small historical (open air) museum and a golf course.

[edit] Localities

There are two localities (or urban areas) in Åsele Municipality:[4]

# Locality Population
1 Åsele 1,920
2 Fredrika 254

The municipal seat in bold

[edit] Other

The municipality has recently received some recognition as the future site of Europe's largest Thai Buddhism temple.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Statistics Sweden as of December 31, 2008
  2. ^ a b c Statistics Sweden as of January 1, 2009
  3. ^ Statistics Sweden as of January 1, 2009
  4. ^ Statistics Sweden as of December 31, 2005
  5. ^ Fact sheet on the official site

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 64°09′N 17°21′E / 64.15°N 17.35°E / 64.15; 17.35