Säffle

Säffle
View from south over the floodgate
Säffle
Coordinates: 59°08′N 12°56′E / 59.133°N 12.933°ECoordinates: 59°08′N 12°56′E / 59.133°N 12.933°E
Country	Sweden
Province	Värmland
County	Värmland County
Municipality	Säffle Municipality
Area[1]
• Total	7.35 km^2 (2.84 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2010)[1]
• Total	8,991
• Density	1,223/km^2 (3,170/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Säffle (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈsɛfˈlɛ]) is a locality and the seat of Säffle Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 8,991 inhabitants in 2010.^[1]

In 1951 the town of Säffle was officially awarded City status, the last place for this to occur in Sweden. This was abolished in 1971 and Säffle is now the seat of the much larger Säffle Municipality.

History

Säffle's main growth as a town took place after the building of a canal in 1837 which allowed boats to safely bypass a section of turbulent water and rapids in the Byälven river.

In 1879 the railway came, linking Säffle with both the west and east coasts, the capital Stockholm and the busy port of Gothenburg. This enabled Säffle to transport her wood products and the village soon became a thriving town.

In 1882 Säffle had a population of 700 inhabitants. Today, Säffle municipality has 16,077 inhabitants (1 January 2005).

According to legend, the Viking Olof Trätälja settled and lived in Säffle. Streets, churches, and a lot of other places are named after him.

Cultural references

Most parts of the Kanal 5 reality series Lite sällskap, hosted by Swedish comedians Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson were recorded in Säffle.

Tourism

Sports associations

• Säffle Hockey Club - Ice hockey
• SK Sifhälla - football
• Säffle FF - football

Art & museum

• Viking Trail Society
• The Viking center of Värmland - The Viking museum outside Säffle

Trade & industry

Säffle Bus

The economy of Säffle is largely based on industry. Säffle has continued to grow as the pulpwood industry has expanded in Sweden. The pulp mill in Säffle has been a major driving force in the local economy.

In the early 19th Century there was also a brickworks in Säffle, which supplied the town with facing bricks. This you can see on all of the buildings from this period in central Säffle.

The biggest companies in Säffle today are:
SOMAS
Nordic Paper Seffle AB
Säffle Karosseri / Volvo Buses
BTG
CCI
MOELVEN

Famous people from Säffle

• Gunnar Andersson, football player
• Daniel Carlsson, rally car driver
• Anders Jacobsson, member of the gothic/doom metal band Draconian
• Johan Ericson, multinstrumental musician member of Draconian, Doom:VS and Shadowgarden
• Annichen Kringstad, orienteer
• Torsten Källe, inventor
• Jonas Rimeika, actor
• Esaias Tegnér, writer and bishop
• Tina Thörner, rally car co-driver

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.