Send Gift Baskets to Umea, Sweden

The first written mention of Umeå is from the 14th century. Before this time, the northern parts of Sweden, including the counties of Västerbotten and Norrbotten, were primarily settled by nomadic Sami, though not necessarily permanently. There is a theory that the name derives from the Old Norse word ma, which means roaring in the English language. Thus, “The Roaring River” would be the town’s name.

Germanic people settled the Westrobothnian coast by moving upward on the Bothnian Bay by boat, hence the Germanic names of towns and villages. There has been a Germanic settlement in southern Westrobothnia (Ume and Skellefte) since the 14th century, probably as early as the Viking period.

At its beginning, Ume was a parish with a wooden church and a trading post in what is now known as Backen (or Kyrkbacken). The fact that it was located near the coast and on a river contributed to its popularity.

It was the last inhabited place before the northern wilderness took over and included scattered parishes that traded goods originating with the Sami people. However, the king’s chosen location was never developed into a city, and it lost its town privileges in the 1590s.

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, 1622, founded a new city. Approximately 40 houses were there in 1638. In 1714, the town was attacked by the Russians, and in 1720, it was burned to the ground during the Russian Pillage of 1719-1721. The Russian Army took Ume under Barclay de Tolly in June and August 1809.

After it became a requirement of the government, the town improved the plans for its structure in 1874. The fire of Jun 25, 1888, destroyed much of the eastern parts of Umeå, and at least 2,300 of the 3,000 inhabitants became homeless. Nearly 3,000 silver birch trees were planted along wide avenues following the fire to prevent future fires from spreading. The city is sometimes known as “Björkarnas Stad” or “City of Birches” because of this. As the name suggests, Björklöven means “Birch Leaves” in the language of ice hockey.