Örnsköldsvik is a town and a 6,418.3 km² large Municipality in Västernorrland County in northern Sweden. The total population of the municipality is around 55,702 people where about half of that lives in the central parts of Örnsköldsvik and the rest in the suburbs or smaller towns like Husum, Köpmanholmen or Mellansel .

Geography

The city is situated in the beginning of the "High Coast", which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is located around 100 km south of Umeå and 550 km north of Stockholm. The municipality is mainly forested with some farmland.

History

Örnsköldsvik was founded as a market town in 1842 and became a city in 1894. As a city, the most important business was trade and heavy industry. In the surrounding villages (now incorporated parts of the city itself) two major industrial ventures raised, MoDo as a pulp/paper/lodging combinate and Hägglunds as a heavy industrial company. Even today the ancestors of these two companies are of huge importance for the city. M-Real (ex-MoDo) is running one of Europes largest pulp mills in Husum, 30 km north of the city while Hägglunds is split into several companies, owned mostly by British companies such as Alvis.

The name comes from Governor Per Abraham Örnsköld (1762-1769). There are traces of human activity from as early as 7000-8000 years ago.

Education

In Örnsköldsvik there are at present local branches of two universities, Mid Sweden University and Umeå University.

Notable natives

• Per Abraham Örnsköld
• Peter Forsberg
• Markus Näslund

See also

• MODO Hockey
• 1976 Winter Paralympics

External links

• Örnsköldsvik - Official site
• Mid-Sweden University College at Örnsköldsvik
• Umeå University at Örnsköldsvik
• Örnsköldsvik airport