Vilhelmina Municipality


Vilhelmina Municipality is a municipality in Västerbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Vilhelmina.

History

In 1804 the parish of Volgsjö was renamed Vilhelmina in honour of Queen Frederica Dorothea Wilhelmina of Sweden.
In 1947 the locality Vilhelmina was detached from the rural municipality with the same name, forming the market town of Vilhelmina. The two entities were reunited in 1965.

Geography

Like the northern parts of Sweden, it is scarcely populated due to its inhospitable conditions and cold climate, but is superb for those who like wildlife and untouched nature.
The village of Malgovik, about 20 km north of Vilhelmina, holds the record for the lowest temperature ever recorded in Sweden. It was set on December 13, 1941 when the temperature dropped down to -53 °C.

Localities

There is only one locality in Vilhelmina Municipality:
#LocalityPopulation
1Vilhelmina3,633

Culture

Every July the town of Vilhelmina holds a festival called Hembygdsdagarna Vilhelmina. In addition to popular and folk music performances, tradition holds that a local engaged couple is selected each year to get married during the festival. The bride and groom lead a parade of fiddlers and other traditionally dressed Swedes through town to the church where the marriage is performed in front of all who wish to attend. They are not always able to find a couple willing to get married, however, so some years they hold the parade without an engaged couple, and hold a public church service instead of a wedding.