Swedish Kommun

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The Kommun is translated to be Municipality. The term Kommun has its origin with the latin term “communis” which means common. A municipality is a geographic administrative area that usually falls into 2 categories: (1) a single settlement, city, town or village, or (2) a land area similar to a township that is typically governed by a mayor and a council.

Swedish Kommun
Beginning in 1863 Kommuner were formed in Sweden. Historically the parishes in Sweden served as an entity for both the spiritual and worldly needs of the people residing in the parish. The Kommun essentially replaced the civil authority of the parish. There were different forms of municipalities in Sweden: städer, köpingar and landskommuner. The modern Kommuner were created in 1971 when the concept of städer and köpingar kommuner was replaced with a general concept of Kommun.

Tips

 * Knowing the Kommun for a location will help you find records in the collections of the Länstyrelsen (the county administration.)


 * Often place names in modern gazetteers refer to the Kommun that the place belongs to. Understanding this helps to interpret the gazetter entry.