Åtvidaberg

Åtvidaberg is a locality and the seat of Åtvidaberg Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,859 inhabitants in 2010.[1]

Åtvidaberg
Åtvidaberg
Coat of arms
Åtvidaberg Show map of Östergötland Åtvidaberg Show map of Sweden
Coordinates: 58°12′N 16°00′E
Country	Sweden
Province	Östergötland
County	Östergötland County
Municipality	Åtvidaberg Municipality
Area [1]
• Total	5.42 km^2 (2.09 sq mi)
Population  (31 December 2010)[1]
• Total	6,859
• Density	1,265/km^2 (3,280/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)

History

Copper was mined in the area from the 14th century, and the name "Åtvidaberg" was originally the name of a bergslag (a type of mining community). The earliest known use of the place name is from 1467, as a compound of the words Åtvid, which was the name of the parish, and berg, literally "mountain", but in this context referring to a mine.[2]

The town's development was to be directed by the noble family Adelswärd. Through investments in the 19th and early 20th century the town developed into a modern industrial town.

In the 1970s the industry was dominated by Facit, making calculators. It was a major sponsor of the football team Åtvidabergs FF, one of Sweden's strongest team in the 1970s. When Facit went bankrupt in the second half of the 1970s, it led to the downfall and degradation of the team.

At the end of the 19th century almost one third of the population of Åtvidaberg Municipality in Sweden emigrated to Ishpeming, Michigan in the United States as copper mines in the Åtvidaberg area closed down.[9] In 1994 this was commemorated by a plaquette at the Mormorsgruvan mine of Åtvidaberg.

References

1. "Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km² 2005 och 2010" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
2. "Åtvidaberg". Nationalencyklopedin.