Åmål Municipality

Åmål Municipality
Åmåls kommun
Municipality

Coat of arms
Country Sweden
County Västra Götaland County
Seat Åmål
Area[1]
 • Total 889.71 km2 (343.52 sq mi)
 • Land 481.12 km2 (185.76 sq mi)
 • Water 408.59 km2 (157.76 sq mi)
  Area as of January 1, 2014.
Population (June 30, 2016)[2]
 • Total 12,680
 • Density 14/km2 (37/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code SE
Province Dalsland
Municipal code 1492
Website www.amal.se

Åmål Municipality (Åmåls kommun) is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Åmål.

The present municipality was created in 1971 through the amalgamation of the former City of Åmål and the former rural municipality of Tössbo (the latter created in 1952).

Geography and natural resources

The city of Åmål is located in a scenic bay of Lake Vänern, the largest lake in Sweden. The municipality has a small archipelago with some 30 islands, called Tösse skärgård, to the south of the city. The islands are protected as a nature preserve; many of the islands are wooded, but a few are used for farming. They provide habitat for a number of bird species, including heron, osprey, mallard, goldeneye, goosander, the black-throated diver and hobby in the bays; on the cobs are colonies of herring gull, seagull and the common tern; while on the fir-covered islands are capercaillie, woodpeckers and other birds.

Fishing was once a major industry, as indicated by the fish appearing on the bottom of the coat of arms. Logging was also of importance. In recent years tourism, especially activities connected to the use of the lake, have increased.

Sister cities

Åmål has seven twin towns:

Finland Loimaa, Finland
Estonia Türi, Estonia
Norway Drøbak, Norway
Denmark Grenaa, Denmark
Germany Gadebusch, Germany
United States De Pere, Wi, United States
Bulgaria Kubrat, Bulgaria

References

  1. ↑ "Statistiska centralbyrån, Kommunarealer den 1 januari 2014" (Microsoft Excel) (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  2. ↑ "Folkmängd i riket, län och kommuner 30 juni 2016" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016.

Coordinates: 59°03′N 12°42′E / 59.050°N 12.700°E / 59.050; 12.700

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