Leksand Municipality

Infobox_Kommun2
fullname=Leksands kommun


county=Dalarna County
province=Dalarna
capital=Leksand


arearank=76th
area=1,419.12
arealand=1,225.88
populationrank=142nd
population=15,450
densityrank=217th
populationdensity=12.6
website=http://www.leksand.se/
footnotes=Area & population from SCB as of December 31, 2006

Leksand Municipality ("Leksands kommun") is a municipality in Dalarna County in central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Leksand.

In 1974 "old" Leksand was amalgamated with "Ål" and reunited with "Siljansnäs" (which had been separated from it in 1875).

Geography

The municipality is located alongside the Dalälven, ("Dalecarlia River"), and the town is at the southern shore of lake Siljan.

The culture is marked by being in the heart of the culture rich Dalarna. There is a substantial old town section in Leksand, with preserved old cottages as a landmark.

Localities

* Alvik
* Djura
* Häradsbygden
* Insjön
* Leksand (seat)
* Siljansnäs
* Tällberg
* Västanvik

Industry

Most companies are small enterprises, covering several sectors. To the larger belong:
*Clas Ohlson (Swedens largest department store chain, which was founded in Insjön)
* Leksandsbröd (Swedish crispbread)
* Bergkvist-Insjön (Wood factory)
*Tomoku Hus (Houses for export to Japan)
* Leksands IF (Sport organization)
* Ejendals

In the 2002 list of Swedish Industry Climate, Leksand Municipality was ranked 15 of 289 investigated municipalities.

Notability

One of Sweden's most popular ice hockey team is Leksands IF. NHL goalkeeper Johan Hedberg, also hails from Leksand.In addition, one of Sweden's best baseball teams (Leksand Lumberjacks) plays in Leksand.The town, along with Mora co-hosted the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The European Go Congress was held in Leksand in 2008.

Sister cities

Leksand has seven sister cities:
*Hørsholm, Denmark
*Lillehammer, Norway
*Oulainen, Finland
*Karksi-Nuia, Estonia
*Aurora, Ontario, Canada
*Tōbetsu, Hokkaidō, Japan
*Brainerd, Minnesota, U.S.

External links

* [http://www.leksand.se/ Leksand Municipality] – Official site