Skepplanda Explained

Official Name:Skepplanda
Pushpin Map:Sweden Västra Götaland#Sweden
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Sweden
Subdivision Type3:Municipality
Subdivision Name3:Ale Municipality
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Västra Götaland County
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Västergötland
Area Footnotes:[1]
Area Total Km2:1.04
Population As Of:31 December 2010
Population Total:1,803
Population Density Km2:1737
Timezone:CET
Utc Offset:+1
Timezone Dst:CEST
Utc Offset Dst:+2
Coordinates:57.9833°N 24°W

Skepplanda is a locality situated in Ale Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 1,803 inhabitants in 2010.

Despite the size of the village, it has a swimming facility, a tennis court and a sports centre. Skepplanda has two different schools: Garnvindeskolan (pre-school and grades 1 to 3), Alboskolan (for grades 4 to 6), as well as a daycare centre.The town square, "Albotorget", is the core of Skepplanda. There, one can find a grocery shop, a hairdresser, a pizza place, a library and a café, as well as a clinic. Across from it, there is a parish.

Skepplanda has its own church, founded in the 17th century. It is situated on a hilltop overlooking the main part of the village. The area around Skepplanda mainly consists of forests, meadows, some minor farmland and plains. The town itself is in a valley of sorts, which is open to the southwest. The international road E45, which is one of the longest roads in Europe, passes through some kilometres away.When students in Skepplanda finish the middle school at Alboskolan, most of them continue their studies in a town nearby called Älvängen. Älvängen is just ten minutes away by bus, and there are many more stores and boutiques there than in Skepplanda.

History

During the 1960-70s the village was extended into a residential area, being mainly farmland before that.In the years 1962–1975, it grew from being a rural church village into a small town. A short industry epoch followed in the 1970s, with the placement of floor tile industry. Nowadays, the business has been largely relocated to nearby towns.

Vikings in Skepplanda

Skepplanda is in an area where many Viking remnants have been found. On a hill, called Stugåsberget, in the woods of Skepplanda, a rock carving of a ship can be found. This is the largest rock carving of the county and depicts a ship and a sun wheel. The sun wheel is also common in Bohuslän and is a symbol for sun worship.Except for the stone carving, traces from what is believed to be a Viking ship has been found.

”Krokodilen” Stone carving on Stugåsberget

Sports clubs

SBTK – Skepplanda bordtennisklubb – Handball, soccer, hockey

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km2 2005 och 2010 . 14 December 2011 . . Swedish . https://web.archive.org/web/20120127055525/http://www.scb.se/Statistik/MI/MI0810/2010A01/Tatorternami0810tab1_4.xls . 27 January 2012 . live . 10 January 2012 .