Småland

Småland lies at the very edge of the north European forest line and in the south of Sweden. The multitude of lakes, forests and the stony earth have shaped people´s lives in the region.

Few swedish authors have discribed their native surroundings as lovingly as Vilhelm Moberg. His emigration trilogy belongs at the highest level of world literature and has become a part of cultural identity. The history of emigration is possible to experience at the world-unique Swedish Emigrant Institute.

In the 19th century, Småland was characterized by powerty and had a substantial emigration to North America, which additionally hampered its development. The majority of the emigrants ended up in Minnesota with a geography resembling Sweden.

Småland is dominated by a forested high plain where the soil is mixed with sand and small boulders, making it barren in all except the coastel areas, and unsuited for aggriculture except in some certain locations. The province is rich in lakes and bogs. The coast consists of an archipelago of islands and bays in the north and cultivated flatlands in the south. 

In the picture above you se the castle of the town Kalmar

More about Småland? Well click here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sm%C3%A5land