Jämtland

Jämtland (help·info), or Jamtland (IPA: [ˈjamtˌlanː], in Jamtish), is a historical province or landskap in the center of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders to Härjedalen and Medelpad in the south, Ångermanland in the east, Lapland in the north and Trøndelag and Norway in the west. Jämtland covers an area of 34 009 square kilometres, 8.3 per cent of Sweden's total area and is the second largest province in Sweden. It has a population of 113 000 and the majority is living in Storsjöbygden, the area surrounding lake Storsjön. Östersund is the largest and only city in the province.

Jämtland was originally an autonomous peasant republic,^[1] its own nation^[1] with its own law, currency and parliament. However, Jämtland lacked a public administration and is thus best regarded as an anarchy,^[2]Norway in 1178 and stayed Norwegian for over 450 years until it was ceded to Sweden in 1645. The province has since been Swedish for roughly 350 years, though the population did not gain Swedish citizenship until 1699. The province's identity is manifested with the concept of a republic within the kingdom of Sweden, though this is only done semi-seriously. in its true meaning. Jämtland was conquered by

Carl XVI Gustaf became the Duke of Jämtland after his christening, a nominal title he still retains,^[3] even though he now is the King of Sweden.

Historically, socially and politically Jämtland has been a special territory between Norway and Sweden. This in itself is symbolized in the province's coat of arms where Jämtland, the silver moose, is threatened from the east and from the west. During the unrest period in Jämtland's history (1563-1677) it shifted alignment between the two states no less than 13 times. Jämtland has been linked to the lands west and east of itself, which has been in complete contrast to the competitive Dano-Norwegian and Swedish state's interest. These historical and cultural bonds to Trøndelag and Härjedalen have expressed themselves in the name Øst-Trøndelag, in addition to the fact that the Jamts historically never considered themselves to be Norrlanders.^[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamtland