Dalarna

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  Dalarna is a historical province in central Sweden that carries a different name depending on who you ask. English speakers have long called it Dalecarlia, or simply the Dales. Swedes from the south think of it as the place to escape in summer, a landscape of fishing lakes, campgrounds, and forests. But beneath that holiday image lies something harder and older.

  The people of Dalarna have a name for themselves: Dalecarlians, or in Swedish, dalkarlar for the men and kullor for the women. They have been described, across centuries, as famously independent in their attitude toward authority. That reputation was not built on words. Three of the most consequential popular rebellions in Swedish history began here, starting in 1434 and running through 1743. The last of them was the final major peasants' uprising in the country.

  Why did revolt keep finding its way back to this particular province? What is it about this landscape, these people, and their crafts that made Dalarna a place apart? Those questions run through everything that follows.

• 2. The Land Itself

  ›

  The Old Norse name for part of this province was Járnberaland, meaning "the land of the iron carriers." That name points to something essential. Dalarna divides into two distinct landscapes. The northern portion is dominated by mountains and vast open terrain. The southern part belongs to the Bergslagen region, a place of plains, hills, and forested areas where copper mines were sunk deep into the earth.

  The most notorious of those mines is the Falun Mine, located in the south. UNESCO has recognized the mining area of the Stora Kopparberg, or Great Copper Mountain, in Falun as a World Heritage Site. The province's highest point is Storvätteshågna, reaching 1,204 metres above sea level. Its lowest point, in the southeast, sits at 55 metres.

  Two major rivers, the Västerdal River and the Österdal River, converge at Lake Siljan, Dalarna's largest lake, in the middle of the province, before continuing as the Dal River. Dalarna's second largest lake, Runn, lies between the cities of Falun and Borlänge. At 66.6 square kilometres of water and with more than 50 islands, Runn draws visitors as a destination in its own right.

  Dalarna shares borders with five other Swedish provinces: Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland, and Värmland. To the west, it borders Norway directly. That western edge, near the village district of Lima, is also where some inhabitants still speak Dalecarlian, a traditional dialect. In the valley town of Älvdalen, a separate tongue called Elfdalian survives, one that linguists note is very distinct from Swedish, Norwegian, or Danish.

• 3. Rebellion and History

  ›

  In 1434, miners in Dalarna rose against the officers of Eric of Pomerania, led by Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson. That uprising opened a pattern that would repeat, with variations, across three centuries.

  The second sequence began in 1519, when Gustav Vasa came looking for allies in his revolt against the Kalmar Union under King Christian II. He found his first and most committed supporters among the Dalecarlian miners. By 1523 that campaign had succeeded. Yet within a year, the same miners who had backed Vasa turned against him. From 1524 to 1533, Dalecarlians and local nobles staged three successive uprisings against Gustav's increasingly autocratic rule and his reformist religious policies. All three were suppressed brutally. Some of the leaders were executed on the charge of having collaborated with King Christian during the earlier liberation war.

  The last major eruption came in 1743, a rebellion against the Hats, a Swedish political faction. It was the final significant peasants' uprising in the country's history. By 1841, the population of Dalarna stood at 121,208, a figure that gives a rough sense of the human scale behind these repeated confrontations with central power.

  Dalarna's coat of arms, which dates formally to 1560, carries two crossed Dalecarlian arrows. The symbol itself is older. As early as 1525, those arrows appeared on a seal. The same arms were later granted to Kopparberg County in 1936. That county was renamed Dalarna County in 1997.

• 4. Folk Culture and Craft

  ›

  Dalarna held on to the Runic alphabet longer than any other Swedish province. A local dialect of those runes, known as Dalecarlian runes or Dalrunes, survived in use into the 19th century.

  The province's folk culture is most recognizable today through a single object: the Dalecarlian horse, called the Dalahäst in Swedish. It is a painted and decorated wooden horse, a handicraft that became one of the most durable symbols of the region. Folk music and distinctive local painting traditions also developed here, contributing to what the historical record describes as a rich and unique folk culture.

  The natural environment played a direct role in one of Dalarna's more unexpected traditions. The high level of calcium in the soil favoured horse breeding, and sulky racing became common across the region. Midsummer celebrations, held in mid-June, fill the small villages and larger cities alike, featuring music and dancing. Some Swedes who visit or own second homes here tend vegetable gardens and apple trees, part of a domestic culture that reinforces Dalarna's identity as somewhere apart from the urban south.

  Since the 19th century, some members of the Swedish royal family have been granted the nominal title of Duke of Dalarna, a recognition, in ceremonial form, of the province's distinct historical standing.

• 5. Notable Natives

  ›

  Nicklas Lidström, one of the most decorated ice hockey players in the sport's history, was born in Dalarna. So were Jenny Kallur and Sanna Kallur, both sprinters, and Lars Frölander, a competitive swimmer.

  The painter Carl Larsson came from the province, as did Anders Zorn, another painter whose work is closely associated with Swedish rural life. Gustaf de Laval, inventor and engineer, was also a native. The economist and politician Gunnar Myrdal was born here too.

  In music, the province has produced a wide range of voices. Opera singer Jussi Björling was born in Dalarna. Björn Skifs, entertainer and musician, grew up here. Kalle Moraeus and Gunde Svan, the latter a cross-country skier who also became a television presenter, are from the region. Kristian Matsson, who records under the name The Tallest Man on Earth as a folk musician, is a native. Mando Diao, an alternative rock band, and Sabaton, a power metal band, both originate from the province.

  The Vasaloppet, a cross-country skiing race held annually on the first Sunday of March, runs 90 kilometres between Sälen and Mora. It is described as the world's longest cross-country ski race. The event commemorates the ski escape of Gustav Eriksson Vasa from Danish troops in 1520, the same figure who would later become King Gustav I of Sweden and whose reign the Dalecarlians would both enable and resist.