Gävleborg Region

Population 276.500 – Gävleborg County is strategically located in the middle of Sweden, and offers great diversity in business, culture, education and living. The population was 276,500 people at the beginning of 2011. Gävleborg have 10 municipalities and Gävle is the largest town.
The nature and the varied landscape, with mountains, sea, lakes, the archipelago, forests and wilderness makes the county totally unique.
Many families choose to move to Gävleborg for the high quality of life, the affordable housing and the beneficial leisure for all ages. In contrast to the ultra-modern housing, there is rural housing including old farmhouses in beautiful settings. They were built about 200 years ago and are still used as homes. The farmers adorned their homes with beautiful wall paintings that often still remain, extremely well preserved.
The county has much to offer children. Popular attractions are the activity centre Mulle Meck in Hudiksvall, the wildlife park Järvzoo in Järvsö, the fairytale forest Trolska skogen in Mellanfjärden, plus the theme park and zoo Furuviksparken, the family bathing centre Fjärran Höjderbadet and the Railway Museum in Gävle.
Worldclass steel and engineering industries and a number of solid companies in forestry and wood and paper manufacturing have formed the backbone of the county’s economy for a long time. The private service sector has expanded in recent years, and is today the fastest growing sector in terms of numbers of employees. The region is also a leader in fibre optics, geographic information systems and radio systems.
Many Swedes today recognise the names Sandvik, Gevalia, Läkerol, Järvsö, Mackmyra, Ockelbo, Brynäs, SAIK and Edsbyn. Not to mention the Christmas Goat …
People associate Gävle with its magnificent straw goat, which also has a history of being burnt down. This was hardly the scenario Stig Gavlén had in mind when he initiated the first “goat-building” in 1966. However, the goat and its red-hot history have put both Gävle and Sweden on the world map. The Christmas Goat has appeared both in films and in the Guinness Book of Records. Despite major efforts by the fire brigade to make the goat increasingly fireproof, mischief-makers have often – but not always – been able to set fire to the goat. Over the years, the towering Christmas Goat that looks out from Slottstorget has become a literally hot legend and an eagerly awaited feature in Gävle in December.