Gävle
Gävle City hall
Seal
Gävle
Coordinates: 60°40′N 17°10′E / 60.667°N 17.167°E / 60.667; 17.167Coordinates: 60°40′N 17°10′E / 60.667°N 17.167°E / 60.667; 17.167
Country	Sweden
Province	Gästrikland
County	Gävleborg County
Municipality	Gävle Municipality
Area[1]
• Total	42.45 km2 (16.39 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2010)[1]
• Total	71,033
• Density	1,673/km2 (4,330/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Gävle [ˈjæːvlə] is a city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 71,033 inhabitants in December 2010.^[1] It is the oldest city in the historical Norrland (Sweden's Northern Lands), having received its charter in 1446 from Christopher of Bavaria.

History[link]

Old town (Gamla stan)

It is believed that the name Gävle derives from the word gavel, meaning river banks in Old Swedish and referring to the Gavleån (Gävle River). The oldest settlement was called Gavle-ägarna, which means "Gavel-owners". This name was shortened to Gavle, then Gefle, and finally Gävle.

River Gavleån with two if its bridges in the background - Murénbron and Islandsbron. Photo is taken from bridge Centralbron

For a long time Gävle consisted solely of small, low, turf or shingle roofed wooden buildings. Boat-houses lined the banks of Gavleån, Lillån, and Islandsån. Until the 18th century the town was built, as was the practice then, around the three most important buildings: the church, the regional palace, and the town hall. Over the last 300 years Gävle has been ablaze on three different occasions. After the fire of 1776 the town was rebuilt with straight streets and rectangular city blocks. The number of stone and brick houses also started to increase. The biggest town fire occurred 1869, when out of a population of around 10,000 approximately 8,000 inhabitants lost their homes, and about 350 farms were destroyed. Almost the whole town north of Gavleån was burnt down. All the buildings south of Gavleån were saved. An area of the old town between the museum and the library has been preserved to this day as a historic reserve, Gamla Gefle.

After the catastrophe of the fire Gävle developed its characteristic grid plan with large esplanades and green areas. It is now a green town with wide avenues. Stopping the spread of future town fires was the main idea behind this development.

An extensive redevelopment of the central town area was started during the 1950s. Around 1970 Gävle became a large urban district when it was united with the nearby municipalities of Valbo, Hamrånge, Hedesunda, and Hille. New suburbs like Stigslund, Sätra, Andersberg, and Bomhus have grown up around the central city.

Renovated residential area Öster in the east part of the city

Gävle goat[link]

The Gävle Goat in 2009.

The history of the Gävle goat began in 1966. Stig Gavlén came up with the idea of placing a giant version of the traditional Swedish Christmas goat of straw in Slottstorget (Castle Square) in central Gävle. On 1 December the 13-metre tall, 7-metre long, 3 tonne goat was erected on the square. At midnight on New Year's Eve, the goat went up in flames. The goat has since had a history of being burnt almost every year, 2005 being the 22nd time it was burnt. Burning the goat is an illegal act and not welcomed by most citizens of Gävle, but undoubtedly this is what has made the goat famous. In 2006 the goat was covered in a flame-resistant coating to prevent arson, enabling the goat to remain standing throughout that winter.

Geography[link]

Gävle park with river Gavleån

Gävle is situated by the Baltic Sea near the mouth of the river Dalälven. At 60 degrees north and 17 degrees east, Gävle has the same latitude as Helsinki and the same longitude as Vienna and Cape Town.

Gävle has a similar climate to the rest of central Sweden, with an average temperature of −5 °C (23 °F) in January and 17 °C (63 °F) in July. Yearly rainfall is around 600 mm (23.62 in).

Economy[link]

Gävle Industry

Trade from the port of Gävle increased markedly during the 15th century when copper and iron began to be exported from the port. In order to ensure that all trade was via Stockholm, sailing to foreign ports from Gävle and a few other ports was forbidden.

During the 16th century, Gävle was one of the most important port and merchant towns with many shipping companies and shipyards.

In 1787 Gävle was awarded "free and unrestricted sailing rights" to and from foreign ports. This led to an increase in trade, which in turn lead to an increase in buildings, industrial developments, trade and shipping.

Today there are few shipping companies or shipyards left, but an important port remains. It has over 1000 ships calling per year and is among the top ten common ports in Sweden.

Major companies[link]

• Korsnäs (company) (forest industry)
• Stora Cell Industri (forest industry)
• Kraft General Foods Scandinavia (Gevalia coffee and spices)
• Leaf AB (sweets and confectionery, carrying brands such as Läkerol and Ahlgrens)
• Gävle Galvan (galvanization)
• Gävle Stål (pre-fabricated steel construction)
• Gävle Varv (pressure tanks)
• Cale Industri (parking meters)

Education[link]

The University College of Gävle currently enrolls 12,500 students. It offers courses of study in six departments: Business Administration, Education and Psychology, Caring Sciences and Sociology, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics, Natural and Computer Sciences and Technology, and Built Environment.

Some courses are given in English, taught both to visiting students from foreign partner institutions and to Swedish students.

Miscellaneous topics[link]

Gävle is mostly known for the coffee called Gevalia, produced by Kraft General Foods Scandinavia and exported under multiple brand names. Gevalia is particularly popular in the Americas. Gevalia produces dozens of unique flavored coffees for the United States that are not available to its customers in Europe, but visitors to the factory can sample many of the premium blends. (Gevalia is the Latin name for Gävle); its Gävle goat, the Läkerol throat lozenges and car-shaped sweets Ahlgrens Bilar; and its ice hockey team Brynäs IF.

Due to large forest and pulp industries, many people perceive Gävle as occasionally smelling bad.^[2] In fact, when the local Coffee plant considered installing catalysts for its steam stacks, the community grew concerned that they would lose the smell of roasting coffee. The Gevalia coffee company installed the catalysts in a way that did not impact the pleasant smell.^[3]

Notable residents[link]

• Andreas Rudman (1668–1708) Pioneer Swedish American Lutheran minister^[4]
• Nils Norén (chef)
• Alexandra Dahlström (actress)
• Christian Edstrom (professional rally co-driver)
• Anders Eklund (boxer)
• Joe Hill (labour activist)
• Cat Stevens (musician) - his mother Ingrid Wickman was from Gävle, and he also lived here for some time during his childhood.
• Joakim Sundström, Swedish sound editor, sound designer and musician
• Martin Burken Rickardsson (Travian player)
• Ewa Mataya Laurance (professional pool player)
• Jacob Markström (player for the Rochester Americans American Hockey League team)
• Rolf Lassgård (actor)
• Åke Fridell (actor)
• Arthur Nilsson (1963–1993), Swedish-American artist and illustrator
• Fredrik Larsson Musician known on YouTube
• Thomas Di Leva (musician)
• Nicklas Bäckström (player for the Washington Capitals NHL team)
• Yat Malmgren (dance teacher at the Drama Centre London)
• Anders Lindbäck (goalie for the Nashville Predators NHL team)
• Jens Bredberg (famous singer)

Sports[link]

Läkerol Arena, home Brynäs IF

Gävle has teams competing in the highest national league in both football (Gefle IF) and ice hockey (Brynäs IF). Other sports clubs located in the town include:

• BK Loke - a wrestling club
• Hille IF - a football club
• IK Huge - a football and ice-hockey club
• Sjötulls BK - a football club
• Strömsbro IF - a football, bandy and ice-hockey club

Music[link]

Gävle is known for being the cradle for many young musicians.

Gävle is the hometown of young progressive rock band Beardfish, who have released 6 albums and are signed to German label InsideOut Music. They have recorded their 6th album, Mammoth, in this city.

In 2009, DJ Adam Beyer was robbed while playing a set in Gävle. According to an announcement by Mr Beyer he was in Gävle with the intention of supporting the local scene but is now unsure if he will return to Gävle. Mr Beyer encouraged his fans to "Don´t let the dark side take over!".

The Road To Gävle In 2009 the Danish Tina Dico made an album named "The Road To Gävle", which is the soundtrack for a Danish movie, taking place in Gävle.

Young synth-pop band The Sound of Arrows is from Gävle as well. They became very popular in Europe with their single "Into the Clouds".

Gävle is home to one of Scandinavias best dubstep-clubs, Gefle Dub. With regular visits from international superstars such as Flux Pavilion, Datsik, Sukh Knight & P Money, Foreign Beggars etc.

The Gävle Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1912 gives a concert series in the konserthus.

Whisky[link]

Mackmyra, a suburb of Gävle, is home to Mackmyra Whisky. Malt whisky has been produced there since 1999.

Hospital[link]

Gävle Hospital has approximately 300 physicians, and serves and area of approximately 150.000 people.^[5]

See also[link]

• International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships (1995)
• List of Gävleborg Governors

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gävle

• Gävle - Official site
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Gefle". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• http://arbetarbladet.se/nyheter/gavle/1.1516045-over-94-000-invanare-i-gavle

v t e Municipalities and seats of Gävleborg County Municipalities Bollnäs Gävle Hofors Hudiksvall Ljusdal Nordanstig Ockelbo Ovanåker Sandviken Söderhamn Municipal seats Bergsjö Bollnäs Edsbyn Gävle Hofors Hudiksvall Ljusdal Ockelbo Sandviken Söderhamn Counties of Sweden Sweden

v t e Administrative seats of Swedish counties (län) Falun (Dalarna) Gävle (Gävleborg) Gothenburg (Västra Götaland) Halmstad (Halland) Härnösand (Västernorrland) Jönköping (Jönköping) Kalmar (Kalmar) Karlskrona (Blekinge) Karlstad (Värmland) Linköping (Östergötland) Luleå (Norrbotten) Malmö (Skåne) Nyköping (Södermanland) Örebro (Örebro) Östersund (Jämtland) Stockholm (Stockholm) Sundsvall (Västernorrland) Umeå (Västerbotten) Uppsala (Uppsala) Västerås (Västmanland) Växjö (Kronoberg) Visby (Gotland)

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