Uppland

Uppland  is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea. On the small uninhabited island of Märket in the Baltic, Uppland has an extremely short and strangely shaped land border with Åland, an autonomous province of Finland.

The name literally means up land, a name which is commonly encountered in especially older English literature. Its Latinised form, which is occasionally used, is Uplandia. Uppland is famous for having the highest concentration of Runestones in the world, with as many as 1,196 inscriptions in stone left by the Vikings.

Administration
The traditional provinces of Sweden serve no administrative or political purposes, but are historical and cultural entities. The corresponding administrative county, or län, is Uppsala County, which occupies the larger part of the territory. The bulk of the population, however, is within Stockholm County. Minor parts of the province are also in Västmanland County, Gävleborg County and Södermanland County.

Heraldry
Uppland's arms were granted in 1560, distinctive in its depiction of a Globus cruciger. Historically, Uppland ranked as a duchy and the coat of arms is represented with a ducal coronet. Blazoned thus: "Gules, a Royal Orb Or gemmed of the field and Azure with the cross bottoned Argent." Despite the fact that the Uppsala län has a different name and a smaller territory it was granted the same coat of arms in 1940.

Geography
Uppland was historically divided into chartered cities and districts. Within Roslagen they were called skeppslag (which roughly means "ship district"), and in the rest of the province hundreds. The abovementioned districts and cities have no administrative function today.

Cities

 * Djursholm (1913)
 * Enköping (approximately 1300)
 * Lidingö (1926)
 * Norrtälje (1622)
 * Sigtuna (approximately 990)
 * Solna (1943)
 * Stockholm (1252)
 * Sundbyberg (1927)
 * Uppsala (1286)
 * Vaxholm (1652)
 * Öregrund (1491)
 * Östhammar (approximately 1300)

Districts
• Bro Hundred

• Bälinge Hundred

• Frösåker Hundred

• Färentuna Hundred

• Hagunda Hundred

• Håbo Hundred

• Lagunda Hundred

• Ly Hundred

• Lång Hundred

• Norunda Hundred

• Närding Hundred

• Oland Hundred

• Rasbo Hundred

• Seming Hundred

• Simtuna Hundred

• Sju Hundred

• Sollentuna Hundred

• Torstuna Hundred

• Trögd Hundred

• Ulleråker Hundred

• Vaksala Hundred

• Vallentuna Hundred

• Våla Hundred

• Åsunda Hundred

• Ärling Hundred

• Örbyhus Hundred • Bro and Vätö Ship District

• Danderyd Ship District

• Frötuna and Länna Ship District

• Väddö and Häverö Ship District

• Värmdö Ship District

• Åker Ship District

Facts

 * Highest mountain: Upplandsberget at Siggeforasjön, 117 metres
 * Largest lake: Mälaren
 * Archipelago: Roslagen
 * National Parks: Ängsö, Färnebofjärden

Population
The population of Uppland was 1,602,652 as of December 31, 2016. The provincial population corresponds to the different overlapping counties as follows:

History
Uppland is the birthplace of Saint Brigitta of Sweden. Bridget of Sweden (1303 – 23 July 1373); born as Birgitta Birgersdotter, is also known as Birgitta of Vadstena, or Saint Birgitta (Swedish: den heliga Birgitta), was a mystic. after the death of her husband of twenty years, she founded the Bridgettines nuns and monks. She later was canonized as a saint.

The earliest unambiguous mention of the province of Uppland comes from the 1296, when it was mentioned that it included the Folklands of Fjärdhundraland, Attundaland, Tiundaland and Roslagen. The Swedish capital of Stockholm is divided between two provinces. The southern half lies in Södermanland and the northern half in Uppland.

Dukes and duchess

 * Prince Waldemar (1310-1318 – also Öland)
 * Princess Ingiburga, his wife (1312-1318 – also Öland)
 * Prince Gustav (1827–1852)
 * Prince Sigvard (1907-1934 only as per royal court)

Religion
Uppsala is the seat of the only archbishop of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. Before the Protestant Reformation, the archdiocese and archbishop were within the Roman Catholic Church.

Culture
The archaeological site Birka and the castle of Drottningholm are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Sports
Football in the province is administered by Upplands Fotbollförbund. Bandy is also popular, with IK Sirius.