Borlänge

Borlänge, city (1990 pop. 39,150), Kopparberg co., S central Sweden, on the Dalälven River; chartered 1944. It has major factories manufacturing iron, steel, and paper and also has sawmills, machine shops, slaughterhouses, leather goods factories, and a school of engineering.

Borlänge is a city (pop.47 756 ) in Dalarna, Sweden and the seat of Borlänge Municipality, Dalarna County.

History

Originally Borlänge had been the name of a tiny village and the first noted information regarding Borlänge is from 1390. The village was insignificant up until 1870. In 1875 the railway between Falun and Ludvika, via Borlänge was inaugurated and at the same time the construction of Domnarfvets Jernverk, the ironworks of a neighbouring village Domnarvet, had started. Thanks to the railway station the village of Borlänge became of high service importance to the ironworks.

In 1898, Borlänge became a town in its own right, "köping", with 1 300 inhabitants. But up until this day, Borlänge still belongs to the parish of Stora Tuna. In circa 1900 Stora Kopparbergs Bergslag, the owners of the ironworks in Domnarvet, built a papermill in the contiguous village of Kvarnsveden. Many of the residents of Borlänge emigrated to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 1944, the City of Borlänge of Borlänge was incorporated after the market town of Borlänge joined the industrial towns of Domnarvet and Kvarnsveden. In 1971 the municipality of Borlänge were establish when the municipality of Stora Tuna merged with the City of Borlänge.

During all of the 20th century Borlänge has been a typical industrial city with a relatively good economic growth, but today the service industry is spreading.

Industry

Borlänge has always been an industrial town surrounding the iron mill of Domnarvet (SSAB) and the paper mill of Kvarnsveden (Stora Enso). The city has two state authorities: the department of rails (Banverket) and the department of roads (Vägverket). Suitable for a city which structure is severely divided by rails and roads, with a modern city centre.

Shopping

Borlänge promotes itself as The Number One Shopping City in Dalarna. This is possible due to the Kupolen area, situated about 1 kilometer west of the city centre. The Kupolen area includes Kupolen ('The Dome') Shopping Centre (Kupolen Köpcentrum in Swedish) and the surrounding region. Though the district was first built to catch the interest from bypassers it has withdrawn the focus from the nearby downtown area and has overtaken the role as the heart of Borlänge.

Sport

The city boasts a football team that has been successful in the past, although it is currently going through some hard times. IK Brage, named after the Norse god of poetry, has a history of 18 seasons in the Swedish Premier Division (Allsvenskan). Brage play in green and white and host their home games at Domnarvsvallen Stadium in Borlänge with a seating capacity of 6,500.

Music

Music is an important part of Borlänge. It has been the hometown of many new young musicians in Sweden such as Mando Diao, Sugarplum Fairy and Miss Li and offers the possibility to get a degree in popular music at BoomTown Music Education, a bransch of the School of Music at Luleå University of Technology.

Located in Borlänge is also Peace & Love, one of Sweden’s biggest festivals and the only one with an outspoken message of Solidarity, Diversity and Understanding.

Notable natives

• The Lance, rock'n'roll band
• Jussi Björling, tenor
• Lars Frölander, swimmer
• Mando Diao, rock band
• Sugarplum Fairy, rock band
• Per Fosshaug, bandy player
• Dozer (band), stoner rock band
• Erik Eriksson, Centre Party's first chairman
• Lars Jonsson, hockey player
• Sator, rock band
• Caesars, rock band
• Cryonic Temple, metal band

Education

• Dalarna University College
• Soltorgsgymnasiet

References