Swedish provinces

Before the formation of a single state, the territory of modern Sweden was divided into spheres of influence, small kingdoms. After uniting them all under the authority of one monarch, each province retained its own laws and thing - a combined political and judicial assembly. The provinces that were originally part of the kingdom had the status of duchies. . Later, the annexed provinces received the status of a duchy or county, depending on their importance.

Of the conquests made after Sweden left the Kalmar Union in 1524 , only a few territories were annexed as provinces. The most significant acquisitions were made at the conclusion of the Roskilde Peace in 1658 , when the former Danish provinces of Skåne , Blekinge and Halland , as well as the Norwegian provinces of Bohuslän , Emtland and Herjedalen , took over Sweden. Other conquered territories received the status of dominions and were ruled by the Swedish monarch, in some cases for two to three centuries. Norway was in personal union with Sweden during the 19th century , but was never included in Sweden.

As a result of the defeat in the war against Russia in 1809, Sweden lost Finland . The provinces of Westerbotten and Lappland , which were then part of the Westerbotten County , were at the same time divided, since parts of them were located in Finland. In the eastern part of Lappland, a separate Lappi province was formed (different from the modern Lappi province ). The eastern part of Westerbotten, which departed to Russia, was small, therefore, it was considered part of the Finnish province of Pohyanmaa (Ostrobothnia, Osterbotten). In addition, the new Norrbotten County was formed, occupying the northern territories of the Westerbotten County. Over time, many began to consider these territories as a separate province of Norrbotten , and in 1995 she even got her own coat of arms. This served her full recognition.

At the funeral of King Gustav Vasa in 1560, the coats of arms of all the provinces were first shown all together, coats of arms were provided to many provinces only for this reason. After the separation of Sweden and Finland, the traditions of heraldry also divided. The most influential was the decree of the State Council of Sweden of January 18, 1884 , which stipulated that the emblems of all Swedish provinces should depict ducal crowns , while the emblems of the Finnish provinces remained divided by status into duchies and counties. The fact is that the images of the Finnish ducal and count crowns resembled the images of the Swedish crowns of lower statuses, namely count and baron. The division of the province of Lappland into Swedish and Finnish ( Lappi ) parts required a distinction in the images of the Swedish and Finnish emblems.

Gotaland consists of ten provinces.

Svealand consists of six provinces.

Modern Norrland consists of eight provinces.

In the territory of modern Finland there is one province.

Esterland consisted of seven provinces that were located on the territory of modern Finland.