Öland (help·info) is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but at midsummer over 500,000 people reside on it. It is separated from the mainland by the Kalmar Strait and connected to it by the Öland bridge, which opened in 1972.
The traditional provinces of Sweden ser...
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Öland (help·info) is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but at midsummer over 500,000 people reside on it. It is separated from the mainland by the Kalmar Strait and connected to it by the Öland bridge, which opened in 1972.
The traditional provinces of Sweden serve no administrative or political purposes, but are historical and cultural entities. Öland is part of the administrative county Kalmar County (Kalmar län) and is divided in two municipalities, Borgholm Municipality and Mörbylånga Municipality. There was an Öland County in the short period between 1819 and 1824; otherwise, the island has been part of Kalmar County since 1634.
Öland was granted provincial arms in 1560, but it would not be until the 1940s that the province was assigned its proper ones. The arms granted to Öland had been mixed up...
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