Dalsland Province, Sweden Genealogy

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History
Information about the Landskap, its location and history.

The Province of Dalsland historically belonged to Älvsborg County. It is believed that the original name of Dalsland was "Dal". Dalsland was not probably used until the 19th century. The description "Lives on Dal" has been used by the inhabitants to describe where they live, instead of the usual "lives in ...". This could be due to the remote and the isolated location of Dalsland. In the 13th century the inhabitants were called "The West gothics west of lake Vänern" by King Magnus Ladulås. The provincial law of 1442 called them "The West Gothics of Dal". Sources refer to them as – remote – part of the Västergötland (West Gothia) province. The area has about 5,000 localized ancient remains. The origin of the inhabitants typically come from the south and the province Bohuslän. This is supported by dialectal studies and social aspects.

Its location near the Norwegian border, which made it open to invasion, although to a lesser degree than the southern Bohuslän and Västergötland. It appears to be first conquered around 1100 by the Norwegian Magnus Barefoot. Later, King Valdemar Atterdag redrew the provincial borders for his purposes.

In addition, the Nordic Seven Years' War was particularly hard on this region. Between 1568 when 281 farms were burnt. Feuds that had a negative for Dalsland were those of 1611-1612, 1644-1645 and 1675–1679.

The population of Dalsland province was roughly 50,604 in 2016.