Härjedalen Province, Sweden Genealogy

History
Härjedalen Province (landskap) along with Jämtland Province make up Jämtland County (län).

In 1645 Härjedalen became a province of Sweden as part of the Treaty of Brömsebro. Until the mid-17th century Härjedalen was ruled by the Norwegian king as a province of Denmark-Norway. One legend indicates Härjedalen received it's name from a powerful Norseman who fled because of killing one of Norwegian King Halfdan Svarte's men with a horn. After fleeing east he served Svea King Anund until eloping with the king's sister Helga. According to legend they dissapeared, settling in the remote location which became his namesake. That region's first population migrated there around 7,000 BC surviving by hunting and fishing. The area is known for large rock paintings of people, moose, reindeer and bear. Helga and Härjulf were ancestors of the first Norseman (Bjarni Herjólfsson) credited with seeing the "new world" while blown off-course on his voyage to Greenland. During the 1800's a vast number of Härjedalen's residents emigrated to Northwestern Minnesota in America. The population of Härjedalen was roughly 10,000 people in 2009.