Umeå Municipality
Umeå [˘ʉməoː] is a city and a municipality in Västerbotten County, in northern Sweden. The municipality covers an area of 2,316.5 km². Out of a total population of 107,845, 53,503 are male, and 54,342 are female. The population density of the community is 46 inhabitants per km².
Umeå is located some 600 km north of Stockholm at 63°50'N 20°15'E. It is situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Bothnia at the mouth of the Ume älv. It is the largest Swedish city north of Uppsala, and is sometimes referred to as the regional centre of Norrland. The nearby town of Holmsund serves as its port.
Umeå University with its 25,000 students is located there, as is a large hospital serving the region.
Since the establishment of the university in the mid 1960s Umeå has grown from about 50,000 inhabitants to today's 100,000. The expansion continues and it has made Umeå a modern, somewhat intellectual town in contrast to the more industrialised ones surrounding it. It does have some notably industries, principally the production of timber, wood-pulp, machines and furniture.
On the 25 June of 1888 a fire devastates the east parts of Umeå and 2300 of the 3000 inhabitants became homeless. In the restaurations after the fire, birches where planted along wide avenues to prevent the fire from spreading. After that Umeå is sometimes called the City of birches.
See also
External links
- Umeå - Official site