Vilhelmina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vilhelmina Vualtjere
Vilhelmina's town centre
Vilhelmina Location in Västerbotten Show map of Västerbotten Vilhelmina Location in Sweden Show map of Sweden
Country	Sweden
Province	Lapland
County	Västerbotten County
Municipality	Vilhelmina Municipality
Area
• Total	3.54 km2 (1.37 sq mi)
Population  (31 December 2010)
• Total	3,657
• Density	1,033/km2 (2,680/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	8376

Vilhelmina (which is Vualtjere in Southern Sami) is a town in Sweden. It is the main town in Vilhelmina Municipality. You can find it in Västerbotten County, which is part of the Lapland area. In 2010, about 3,657 people lived there.

Vilhelmina is located by a lake called Volgsjön, which is part of the Ångerman River. There's also a smaller lake, Baksjön, to the east. Important buildings like Vilhelmina Church and Volgsjö School are in the town.

Vilhelmina's Past: A Look Back

The town of Vilhelmina started as a small settlement called Volgsjö. It was founded in the 1770s by Daniel Danielsson. He came from a place called Torvsjö. He got permission to set up his home on October 7, 1776.

Soon after, the people living there asked for a small church, called a chapel. They wanted a preacher to stay there permanently. The main church in Åsele was too far away. Daniel Danielsson's home was chosen as a good place for the preacher to live. Danielsson was offered another piece of land in Åsele, which he accepted. He moved, and in the summer of 1782, work began on building the chapel in Volgsjö.

In 1804, Volgsjö got a new name: Vilhelmina. This name honored Queen Frederica Dorothea Wilhelmina. She was the wife of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden. Two other parishes, Fredrika and Dorotea, were also named after her first names.

The Big Fire of 1921

Vilhelmina became a "church town" in 1916. This meant it had many small cottages where people stayed when they came to church. But in 1921, a terrible fire hit the town. More than half of the church town was destroyed.

The fire started on the morning of September 5, 1921. It began in a cottage south of Storgatan, a main street. The old wooden houses caught fire very quickly. The flames spread fast from one house to another. People tried to save their belongings by throwing furniture out of their homes. But these items then caught fire, making the blaze even worse.

There were only three small fire pumps to fight the huge fire. By five in the afternoon, over 50 buildings south of Storgatan had burned down. The investigation found that a faulty chimney wall caused the fire.

Saving Old Buildings

The church cottages on the north side of Storgatan were getting old and damaged. People realized these buildings were important for the town's history. So, in the 1960s, Vilhelmina Municipality started buying the old houses. They wanted to fix them up and save them.

The restoration work was finished in 1975. These buildings used to be just homes or shops. Now, they are also used for renting rooms to visitors. The church town, along with the church nearby, is very important for preserving cultural heritage in Sweden.

How Vilhelmina is Governed

Vilhelmina has always been the main village for Vilhelmina Parish. After a big change in how local areas were run in 1862, it became part of Vilhelmina rural municipality. On March 23, 1917, Vilhelmina got its own special local government area.

In 1947, Vilhelmina and its nearby areas became a separate market town. Then, in 1965, it joined back with the rural municipality. Finally, in 1971, the market town became part of the larger Vilhelmina Municipality. Since then, Vilhelmina has been the main town for the whole municipality.

For church matters, the town has been part of Vilhelmina Parish since April 26, 1783. Before that, it was part of Åsele Parish. The town's legal system also changed over time. Since 1971, Vilhelmina has been under the Lycksele District Court.

Vilhelmina's Weather

Vilhelmina has a subarctic climate. This means it gets very cold, especially in winter. However, it's not as harsh as some other places at the same latitude that are far from the coast.

Because Vilhelmina is higher up, its summers are cooler than coastal areas like Skellefteå. But its winters are a bit milder. This is because warm air from the Atlantic Ocean, carried by the North Atlantic Current, helps to warm things up a little.

See also

In Spanish: Vilhelmina para niños