Siljansbygden

60°52′48″N 14°44′31″E

Map of Siljansbygden

Siljansbygden is the region around lake Siljan in the Dalarna province in Sweden. The folk culture around the lake is known as an archetype of Swedishness, with many icons, such as the Midsummer pole, the Dala Horse, the Mora Knives, and hard bread.

• 61.00425114.5366991 Mora — The only city in the area, known for the finish line of Vasaloppet, and the Dala Horse factory.
• 61.11688614.6218432 Orsa — Home to the Orsa spelmän folk music crew, and Europe's largest bear park.
• 60.88748615.1230293 Rättvik — Sweden's longest pier, as well as the Dalhalla amphitheatre, can be found here.
• 60.73181914.9912584 Leksand — Best known for ice hockey and crisp bread.
• 60.5915.0430565 Gagnef — Where the rivers Västerdalälven and Österdalälven flow together to Dalälven. The fäbod farms survive here since 400 years back.

• 60.82607614.9921 Tällberg — A traditional village and tourist resort, with an enormous Midsummer festival.
• 60.88631714.5440062 Gesunda — With a Santa Claus theme park and an alpine ski resort.

Dalarna has had an important role in Swedish history before modern times. Many rebellions started here; Gustav Vasa's campaign to liberate Sweden from Denmark in the 1520s might be the most significant.

As nationalist sentiment swept Europe in the 19th century, folklorists travelled to Siljan to seek Swedish folk culture, supposedly less adulterated by cosmopolitan influences of the nobles and the bourgeois. Siljansbygden still has a living folk music heritage.

Many cultural expressions of Siljansbygden have become icons of Sweden as a whole: the Dala Horse, the Midsummer celebration, fiddle music, red cabins, crisp bread, and Vasaloppet.

The Mora airport has very sparse regular traffic.

SJ runs a rail line between Stockholm and Mora, calling at Rättvik, Tällberg, Leksand, Insjön, Gagnef, Djurås and Borlänge.

MasExpressen coach service operates between Stockholm and Mora, stopping at Rättvik and Leksand.

While rail transport reaches the settlements mentioned above, driving is the most practical transportation in the countryside.

Manufacturing of Dala Horses in Nusnäs, Mora.

• Vasaloppet - the ultimate cross country skiing race, attracting thousands of brave souls on the first Sunday in March.
• Watch ice hockey games in Leksand and Mora.
• Dalhalla outdoor concert hall in Rättvik, an open-air theatre in a decommissioned open-pit mine, is a sign of the living folk music heritage of the region. Concerts throughout the summer.

Beware of cold weather.

• Dalabergslagen, the historical heartland of the Swedish mining industry
• Västerdalarna with the deep forests and tall mountains.
  • Sälen, in the trace of Gustav Vasa (see Vasaloppet).