Siljansbygden

Siljansbygden is the region around lake Siljan in the Dalarna province in Sweden. The folk culture around the lake is known as an archetype of Swedishness, with many icons, such as the Midsummer pole, the Dala Horse, the Mora Knives, and hard bread.

Cities

• 1 Mora — The only city in the area, known for the finish line of Vasaloppet, and the Dala Horse factory.
• 2 Orsa — Home to the Orsa spelmän folk music crew, and Europe's largest bear park.
• 3 Rättvik — Sweden's longest pier, as well as the Dalhalla amphitheatre, can be found here.
• 4 Leksand — Best known for ice hockey and crisp bread.
• 5 Gagnef — Where the rivers Västerdalälven and Österdalälven flow together to Dalälven. The fäbod farms survive here since 400 years back.

Other destinations

• 1 Tällberg — A traditional village and tourist resort, with an enormous Midsummer festival.
• 2 Gesunda — With a Santa Claus theme park and an alpine ski resort.

Understand

Dalarna has had an important role in Swedish history before modern times. Many rebellions started here; Gustav Vasa's campaign to liberate Sweden from Denmark in the 1520s might be the most significant.

As nationalist sentiment swept Europe in the 19th century, folklorists travelled to Siljan to seek Swedish folk culture, supposedly less adulterated by cosmopolitan influences of the nobles and the bourgeois.

Many cultural expressions of Siljansbygden have become icons of Sweden as a whole: the Dala Horse, the Midsummer celebration, fiddle music, red cabins, crisp bread, and Vasaloppet.

Get in

The Mora airport has very sparse regular traffic.

SJ runs a rail line between Stockholm and Mora, calling at Rättvik, Tällberg, Leksand, Insjön, Gagnef, Djurås and Borlänge.

MasExpressen coach service operates between Stockholm and Mora, stopping at Rättvik and Leksand.

Get around

While rail transport reaches the settlements mentioned above, driving is the most practical transportation in the countryside.

See

Manufacturing of Dala Horses in Nusnäs, Mora.

Do

• Vasaloppet - the ultimate cross country skiing race, attracting thousands of brave souls on the first Sunday in March.
• Watch ice hockey games in Leksand and Mora.

Stay safe

Beware of cold weather.

Go next

• Dalabergslagen, the historical heartland of the Swedish mining industry
• Västerdalarna with the deep forests and tall mountains.
  • Sälen, in the trace of Gustav Vasa (see Vasaloppet).