During the
Middle Ages, Norrbotten was considered to be
terra nullius ("no man's land"). The area was populated by
Sami,
Kvens and different people related to the
Finns. From the
Middle Ages on, the Swedish kings tried to
colonise and
Christianise the area. However; even today, Tornedalians and Sami people still live in the area and maintain their own culture and customs. In the first half of the 17th century, several ore deposits were discovered in what is now known as Norrbotten County. The
silver of Nasafjäll was discovered during the autumn of 1634 Following the
Finnish War in 1809,
Västerbotten County was split between Sweden and Finland, with the larger part remaining within the Swedish borders. In 1810, the county was divided again when
Norrbotten County was created out of the northern part, on the Swedish side. Most people in Norrbotten County still refer to the entire county, including the areas in Swedish Lapland, when they say '
Norrbotten'. The
natural resources (
hydroelectricity,
timber, and
minerals, especially
iron) of Norrbotten have played a key role in the
industrialization of Sweden. The 20th century saw strong mobility in and out of the county, with many young people moving south and people from other parts of the country moving in. In the 1970s and 1980s, the drainage of (mostly young) workers due to high unemployment was considerable, and people in the area began to voice feelings of being misunderstood or economically abused by the south and especially the capital
Stockholm.
Heraldry The
coat of arms of Norrbotten County combines the arms of the provinces
Västerbotten and
Lappland and was granted in 1949. Since 1995 the province
Norrbotten has a coat of arms of its own, but the county arms have not been changed accordingly. When it is shown with a royal crown, it represents the County Administrative Board. Blazon: "Quartered, the arms of Västerbotten and the arms of Lappland."
Culture Many different cultures can be found in Norrbotten County, including
Sami culture,
Tornedalian/Kven culture and the Swedish settler-culture. Many of the old local Swedish and Finnic dialects have survived in the area. The people of Norrbotten County have a saying: "I am not a Swede; I am a Norrbothnian". A local way of speaking, coupled with understated irony, is also sometimes used as a means to exclude southerners. These contrasts are well known throughout Sweden and often appear in TV, films, literature and folklore connected to Norrbotten, for characterizing, satiric or dramatic purposes (e.g. some characters in the books of
Eyvind Johnson or the police detective Einar Rönn in the crime novels of
Maj Sjöwall and
Per Wahlöö). The coast has the historical cities of
Luleå and
Piteå. Luleå's
Gammelstad ("Old town"), which is 10 km north of the present downtown, has been declared a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. Apart from the
Swedish language,
Sami,
Meänkieli, and
Finnish may be used in dealing with
government agencies,
courts,
municipalities,
preschools and
nursing homes in parts of Norrbotten County. The Sami languages have official minority language status in
Kiruna,
Gällivare,
Jokkmokk,
Luleå,
Arjeplog and
Arvidsjaur municipalities. Meänkieli and Finnish have the same status in Gällivare,
Haparanda, Kiruna,
Pajala, and
Övertorneå, Luleå and
Kalix municipalities. == Administration ==