Umeå

History

People have lived in the Umeå river valley for at least three thousand years. The oldest rock carvings near Umeå, ten kilometers west of the city at Norrforsen, are from about 3,000 BCE. The coast was permanently settled by Germanic peoples who traveled north along the Bothnian Bay by boat, which explains the Germanic names of towns and villages along the coast. Southern Västerbotten (including Umeå and Skellefteå) has had permanent Germanic settlements since at least the 14th century, and possibly since the Viking Age, or even earlier. Umeå initially developed as a parish, with a wooden church and a trading post located in what is now known as Backen (or Kyrkbacken). Its location near the coast and by a river was probably one of the reasons that people chose to settle there. For the next few centuries, Umeå remained a collection of scattered parishes where merchandise originating from the Sami people was traded. It was the last inhabited area before the northern wilderness. However, no proper town was built at the location selected by the king, and Umeå lost its town privileges in the 1590s. By 1638, it had about 40 houses. In 1874, the town plans were improved following a government mandate. Umeå had already begun making structural changes when, on 25 June 1888, a fire devastated the eastern parts of the town, leaving at least 2,300 of its 3,000 inhabitants homeless. During the restoration, almost 3,000 silver birch trees were planted along wide avenues to prevent future fires from spreading. For this reason Umeå is sometimes known as "Björkarnas Stad", the "City of Birches". The name of the Umeå ice-hockey team, Björklöven, translates to "The Birch Leaves".

Geography

Umeå is situated on the inlet of the Gulf of Bothnia at the mouth of the Ume River, in the south of Västerbotten. Umeå is about north of Stockholm and about south of the Arctic Circle. It is the largest city north of the Stockholm-Uppsala region, and is sometimes referred to as the regional centre of northern Sweden. The nearby community of Holmsund serves as Umeå's port, with a ferry line connecting it to Vaasa () in Finland. This close connection to Finland influences Umeå's population, with many Sweden Finns residing in the city. * Berghem * Centrum * Fridhem * Gammlia * Haga * Sandbacka * Umestan * Väst på stan * Öbacka * Öbacka Strand * Östermalm * Öst på stan * Backen * Grisbacka * Grubbe * Klockarbäcken * Kronoparken * Kungsänget * Lundåkern * Rödäng * Sandåkern * Umedalen * Västerslätt * Västerhiske * Ytterhiske * Alvik * Böle * Böleäng * Röbäck * Röbäcksdalen * Söderslätt * Teg * Ön * Carlshem * Carlshöjd * Carlslid * Gimonäs * Lilljansberget * Sofiehem * Tavleliden * Tomtebo * Tunnelbacken * Universitetsområdet * Ålidbacken * Ålidhem * Ålidhöjd * Ersboda * Ersmark * Marieberg * Mariedal * Mariehem * Mariestrand * Nydalahöjd * Olofsdal * Sandahöjd Umeå has a subarctic climate (Dfc), bordering on a humid continental climate (Dfb) with short and fairly warm summers. Winters are lengthy and freezing but usually milder than in areas at the same latitude with a more continental climate. Average January temperature is about , July is . Considering its proximity to a major water body and its latitude, summers are warmer than would be expected. The record high of was recorded on 23 July 2014, during a very warm summer in Sweden. The record low of was recorded on 15 February 1978.

Most-observed species

• Common Redpoll

  Acanthis flammea (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,965
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  19,244
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,635
• Brambling

  Fringilla montifringilla Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  14,245
• Great Spotted Woodpecker

  Dendrocopos major (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,571
• Eurasian Bullfinch

  Pyrrhula pyrrhula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,807
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  10,893
• Willow Warbler

  Phylloscopus trochilus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,799

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2010-06-15
  13 km S of Bureå, Sweden
• M 2.7 — 2007-05-22
  19 km SW of Burträsk, Sweden