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Boden Municipality: Encyclopedia BETAFree Encyclopedia |
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Boden Municipality (Finn: Puuti) is a Swedish municipality in Norrbotten County, in northern Sweden. Its seat is in the town Boden, with 20,000 inhabitants at a height of 14 meters. GeographyThe closest large city is Luleå, which is located some 30 kilometers south-east by the shore. Luleå is the largest city in Norrbotten County and hosts the main campus of Luleå University of Technology, whose health science campus is located in Boden.The main northern railway line, Norra Stambanan, has its final destination in Boden, which thus connects Luleå to the rest of the country, rail-wise. LanguageIn Boden, as in all of Sweden, there is no "official" language, but Swedish is by far the mostly used one. Some people are also, due to the proximity to the Finnish border, proficient in Finnish, and a few speak Sami. Nowadays, due to immigration, a lot of languages from around the world can also be heard.HistoryAccording to recent finds, the oldest settlements are believed to be from around 5,000 BC. From this early time nothing is known (except some scarce finds). First accounted-for sources are from the 16th century, when Boden is referred to as Bondebyn or Bodarna, which may refer to the farmers ("Bonde" means "farmer") or sheds ("Bod" means "shed"). In 1543 there were seven farmers in the town (each farmer at that time might have several workers and a family). It was also mentioned that native Sami people were living in the proximity.The town of Boden started as a railway junction where the Northern Line (Norra Stambanan) met with the Ore Line (Malmbanan) from the rich orefields in northern Sweden. The town was boosted when the Boden Fortress, the very strong border fortification, was constructed in the beginning of the 20th century. The purpose of the fortress was to defend Sweden from attacks from the east, where Russia was considered the most dangerous opponent. Boden received its privileges in 1919 becoming a City in Sweden. The coat of arms depict the fortress. IndustryToday Boden is still a military stronghold, and houses the largest garrison of the Swedish Army.The army and the municipality are the two largest employers in Boden. As the military is continuously disarming, with the five regiments united into one garrison, the population has decreased by 2,000 people over the past ten years. Sister citiesBoden has three sister cities:* Alta, Norway, * Uleåborg, Finland * Apatity, Russia.All of these are northerly located, only Uleåbord being on a more southern latitude than Boden. Notable natives*Eyvind Johnson, author (Nobel Prize in Literature 1974)*Peter Englund, author, historian (tenth member of the Swedish Academy) See also*English Canal*Boden Fortress *Luleå Upper Court District Source* Corresponding article on Swedish wikipedia.* Official Web Site. External links*Boden - Official site*Experience Boden - Official Tourist site
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