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Sweden – County/Cattle Breeding Award Medal
1929 Bronze Medal 44mm (37.18 grams)
Reference: Cf. Ehrensvärd 130 | By A. & E. Lindberg.
FÖR BOSKAPSAFVELNS BEFRÄMJANDE PRISBELÖNING, Banner, bull standing slightly right between calf and heifer lying down in foreground.
SÖDERMANLANDS • LÄNS • K • HUSHÅLLNINGSSÄLLSKAP, county coat-of-arms.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
 Södermanland, locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a historical province or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanland and Uppland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea.
Södermanland means “(The) Land of the Southern Men”, where the “southern men” (södermännen) were the people living south of Uppland.
The traditional provinces of Sweden serve no administrative or political purposes, but are historical and cultural entities. There is a corresponding administrative Södermanland County. However, the bulk of the population is within Stockholm County.
The coat of arms was granted in 1560. The arms is represented with a ducal coronet. Blazon: “Or, a Griffin rampant Sable beaked, langued, membered and armed Gules.” The same CoA was granted for the county in 1940.
 Södermanland is situated between lake Mälaren to the north and the Baltic Sea to the south and east. In the south, the border to Östergötland is comprised by the Kolmården forest.
The terrain is flat, with its highest altitude being Skogsbyås at 124 m (407 ft) elevation. The terrain largely consists of water filled hollows covered with woods on the heights.
There are three major water regions. One in the west, where lake Hjälmaren drains into Mälaren. There is a second water region on Södertörn, which is rather small in size and has no larger lakes. Smaller lakes in that region include Bornsjön (6.5 km2 (2.5 sq mi)), Orlången (2.5 km2 (0.97 sq mi)), and Magelungen (2.9 km2 (1.1 sq mi)). The third region is to the south towards Kolmården.
Both the city of Stockholm and Stockholm County are divided in the middle between Södermanland (southern part) and Uppland (northern part).
The population of Södermanland is 1,320,477 as of 31 December 2016. It is distributed over three counties as follows:
Södermanland is, with 160 inhabitants per square kilometre (410/sq mi), the most densely populated of the provinces. A great part of Stockholm urban area is situated within its limits.
Södermanland is one of the ancient Swedish provinces. People probably settled there in the early Stone Age, from which time the earliest remains date. There are a total of 96,000 known ancient remains such as grave fields, coins, knives, etc. There are prominent finds especially from the Neolithic, but also a substantial amount from the Nordic Bronze Age. From the early Iron Age, before 1 AD, the finds are however more sparse. Then from the 5th and 6th centuries AD, the finds are again plenty, now of gold. In 1774, a treasure of 12 kg (26 lb) of gold from that time was found on a farm in Tureholm.
From the Viking Age 300 runestones remain, second only to Uppland in quantity. The oldest, which is dated from the late 6th century, is the Skåäng Runestone.
The earliest recorded history is generally of the legendary kind. Before the 7th century it is deemed to have been governed by petty kingdoms. This period ended when Ingjald the Ill-Ruler allegedly had a number of local rulers arsoned around 640.
The oldest city with the historical city status in Södermanland was Södertälje, a privilege granted around 1000. Nyköping received the privilege in 1187. In the 13th century, Stockholm was granted the privilege; in the 14th century followed by Strängnäs, Torshälla and Trosa.
Around 1100, Strängnäs became the episcopal seat with a bishop and cathedral. It was for a long time the only diocese of the province. In 1942 the Diocese of Stockholm was established, claiming parts of the Strängnäs territory.
The first affirmative records date from the 13th century. King Magnus Ladulås was given the province in 1266, and settled himself on the manor at Nyköping. Nyköping became one of the most important cities in Sweden. In 1317, Nyköping become the location of the infamous Nyköping Banquet where King Birger had both his brothers murdered to take possession of the crown and avenge earlier wrong-deeds.
In 1523 the King Gustav Vasa, referred to as the Sweden’s Father of the Nation, was crowned in Strängnäs. The date, 6 June, eventually is commemorated as the national holiday. Charles IX, a son of Gustav Vasa, favoured the province, fortifying castles and establishing early industries.
The largest of very many paintings made by David von Krafft is the Hildebrand family portrait from 1713 (at Nynäs Manor, in Södermanland), depicting the merchant and industrialist Henrik Jacob Hildebrand and his wife Anna Sofia Amya on the occasion of their 50th anniversary surrounded by their over twenty children and grandchildren, as well as some deceased relatives in paintings on the wall in the background.
 Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway and Finland, and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of over 9.8 million. Sweden consequently has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometre (54/sq mi), with the highest concentration in the southern half of the country. Approximately 85% of the population lives in urban areas. Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the geographical area of Fennoscandia.
 Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear and constituting the sea peoples known as the Norsemen. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, beginning with the annexation of present-day Finland by Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union.
Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining an official policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Sweden’s current borders. Though it was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995, but declined NATO membership.
Today, Sweden is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy, with the Monarch as the head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country. Legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the Government, chaired by the Prime Minister. Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities.
Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens. It has the world’s eighth-highest per capita income and ranks highly in numerous metrics of national performance, including quality of life, health, education, protection of civil liberties, economic competitiveness, equality, prosperity and human development. Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1 January 1995, but declined Eurozone membership following a referendum. It is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
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