![[Flag of West Bothnia]](../images/s/se-vbott.gif)
Last modified: 2005-06-03 by phil nelson
Keywords: sweden | west bothnia | vasterbotten | bothnia | reindeer |
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by Elias Granqvist
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This is the flag of West Bothnia, a historical province in Sweden. The
reindeer is a characteristic animal of the Bothnian fauna.
Elias Granqvist, 25 December 2001
West Bothnia (in Swedish: Västerbotten) was originally all Swedish land west
of the Gulf of Bothnia (while the Swedish land east of this gulf was East
Bothnia, or Ostrobothnia (Österbotten)). The land of the Laps (the Samis) were
however considered a province of its own as soon as it was possible to
positively see it as a part of the Swedish realm, and this was called Lapland
(in Swedish Lappland, in Finnish Lappi). The original eastern border of the
province was at the Kemi and Ounas Rivers, but in the peace treaty of Hamina
(Fredrikshamn) in 1809, the border between Sweden and Russia was drawn along the
Torne River. During the 20th Century, many people has come to see the northern
part of the province as a province in its own right, called North Bothnia
(Norrbotten).
Elias Granqvist, 25 December 2001
Official blazon in Swedish: "I med 6-uddiga stjärnor av guld bestrött blått fält en springande ren av silver med röd beväring."
Blazoned in English: "Azure Seme of Mullets Or a Reindeer in full course
Argent attired and hoofed Gules."
English blazon by Željko Heimer, 4 October 2000