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| Missing image Umeċ_in_Sweden.png See also:Municipalities of Sweden | Coat of arms Missing image Umeċ_City_Arms.gif | |
| Seat | Umeċ | |
| County | Västerbotten County | |
| Province | Norrbotten | |
| Area Rank | 2,331.4 km² 37th of 290 | |
| Population Rank | 109,390 (2005) 11th of 290 | |
| Density | 46.9/km² | |
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Umeċ Municipality Template:Audio [˘ʉməoː] is a municipality in northern Sweden named after the largest City and seat of government Umeċ.
Geography
Umeċ is located some 600 km north of Stockholm at Template:Coor dm. It is situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Bothnia at the mouth of the Ume älv. It is the largest city north of Uppsala, and is sometimes referred to as the regional centre of Norrland. The nearby town of Holmsund serves as its port.
History
The first mention of Umeċ is from the 14th century. The northern parts of Sweden, including Umeċ, were largely unexplored at that time, but Umeċ did form a parish with a wooden church. Umeċ functioned as an outpost to the wildlife of Norrland. Partly this was due to its location at the coast.
For the next couple of centuries Umeċ was a place consisting of scattered parishes, where merchandices from the Sami people were traded through, and the last inhabited place before the northern wildlife prevailed. This made it significant, and King John III of Sweden granted it a charter in 1588, requesting a coalition of the parishes into a city. However, no proper city was built at the location selected by the King, and the city rights were lost in the 1590's.
In 1621 a new city charter was granted, and a city was also built. In 1638 it had about 40 houses.
On the 25 June 1888 a fire devastated the eastern parts of Umeċ and 2300 of the 3000 inhabitants became homeless. In the restorations after the fire, birches where planted along wide avenues to prevent future fires from spreading. Because of this Umeċ is sometimes called the 'City of Birches'.
Today
Umeċ University is the only university north of of Uppsala, and has about 25,000 students. Umeċ also has a large hospital serving the entire region.
The establishment of the university in the mid 1960s led to a population expansion from about 50,000 inhabitants to today's 110,000. The expansion continues and it has made Umeċ a modern, somewhat intellectual town in contrast to the more industrialised ones surrounding it.
Umeċ also has some notable industries, principally the production of timber, wood-pulp, machines and furniture.