Editing Provinces of Sweden (section)

== Heraldry ==
[[File:Västerbottens vapen crowned.svg|thumb|upright=0.8|Västerbotten's arms with a ducal coronet]]
At the funeral of King [[Gustav I of Sweden|Gustav Vasa]] (Gustav I) in 1560, the arms for 24 provinces of Sweden, including Finland, were displayed together for the first time, most of them created for that occasion.<ref name=ne>{{cite encyclopedia |last=von Konow |first=Jan |encyclopedia=Nationalencyklopedin |title=Landskapsvapen |trans-title=Regional arms |url=https://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/landskapsvapen |language=Swedish |year=1993 |publisher=NE Natnionalencyklopedin |series= |volume=10 |location= |id= |isbn=978-91-976240-9-1}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> [[Erik XIV of Sweden]] modelled the funeral processions on those of German [[duke]]s, who in turn may have styled their displays after [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles V]]'s funeral, where a host of banners represented each entry in the King's long list of titles. Gustav Vasa's title only had three entries – "King of [[Svealand|Sweden]], [[Götaland|the Goths]] and [[Wends|the Wends]]" – so banners were created for each Swedish province for a better display.

Some of these arms were short-lived, such as the beaver for [[Medelpad]] (changed in the 1570s),<ref name=":0" /> the wolverine for [[Värmland]] (changed in 1567)<ref name=":0" /> and the roses on [[Småland]]’s arms. [[Östergötland]] was represented by two different arms, one with a ''Västanstång'' dragon and one with a ''Östanstång'' lion. The current arms for Östergötland (see below) were created in 1884.<ref name=":0" />

The current arms for Småland were created for the coronation of [[John III of Sweden|John III]] in 1569. The wild man representing [[Lapland (Sweden)|Lapland]] was created for the funeral of [[Charles IX of Sweden|Charles IX]] in 1612.<ref name=":0" /> Arms for Jämtland were created when Norway ceded the province to Sweden in 1635. Arms for Härjedalen were created later. The arms for Blekinge, Bohuslän, Halland and Skåne were created for the funeral of [[Charles X Gustav]] in 1660. The Arms for Norrbotten were created as late as 1995.<ref name=":0" />

At [[Erik XIV]]'s coronation in 1561, a division of the provinces into 'duchies' ({{lang|sv|hertigdom}}) and 'counties' ({{lang|sv|grevskap}}) was introduced. However, this system never achieved lasting stability. In 1884, the [[King in Council (Sweden)|King in Council]] gave all provinces the right of use to a ducal coronet for their coat of arms.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nevéus |first=Clara |url=https://archive.org/details/nysvenskvapenbok0000neve/ |title=Ny svensk vapenbok |date=1992 |publisher=Streiffert |isbn=978-91-7886-092-0 |location=Stockholm |pages=16–17 |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Landskapens vapen |last=Hildebrandt |first=Hans |journal=Antiqvarisk/Antikvarisk tidskrift för Sverige / Nionde delen|url=https://runeberg.org/antiqtid/9/0058.html |pages=54–57 |language=sv}}</ref><ref name=ne/> Some of the [[Historical provinces of Finland|Finnish provinces]], which were separated from Sweden in 1809, still feature a count's coronet.

=== Götaland ===
[[Götaland]] comprises ten provinces in the southern part of Sweden. Until 1645, [[Gotland]] and [[Halland]] were parts of Denmark. Also, until 1658 [[Blekinge]] and [[Scania]] were parts of Denmark, and [[Bohuslän]] was part of [[Norway]]. [[Värmland]] was counted as part of Götaland until 1812.

{{gallery|mode=packed|height=115|style=font-size:88%|noborder=y
| Bohusläns vapen.svg            | [[Bohuslän]]
| Dalslands vapen.svg            | [[Dalsland]]
| Västergötlands vapen.svg       | [[Västergötland]]
| Östergötland vapen .svg        | [[Östergötland]]
| Smålands vapen.svg             | [[Småland]]
| Ölands vapen.svg               | [[Öland]]
| Gotlands vapen.svg             | [[Gotland]]
| Hallands vapen.svg             | [[Halland]]
| Skåne landskapsvapen.svg       | [[Scania]] (''Skåne'')
| Blekinges vapen.svg            | [[Blekinge]]
}}

=== Svealand ===
[[Svealand]] comprises six provinces in central Sweden. Until 1812, Värmland was counted as part of Götaland instead.

{{gallery|mode=packed|height=115|style=font-size:88%|noborder=y
| Dalarnas vapen.svg      | [[Dalarna]]
| Värmlands vapen.svg     | [[Värmland]]
| Västmanlands vapen.svg  | [[Västmanland]]
| Närkes vapen.svg        | [[Närke]]
| Upplands vapen.svg      | [[Uppland]]
| Södermanlands vapen.svg | [[Södermanland]]
}}

=== Norrland ===
[[Norrland]] today comprises nine provinces in Northern and central Sweden. Until 1645 the provinces of [[Jämtland]] and [[Härjedalen]] were parts of Norway. In 1809, when Sweden ceded Finland to the [[Russian Empire]], the old province of [[Laponia (historical province)|Lapland]] was split into [[Swedish Lapland]] and [[Lapland, Finland|Finnish Lapland]]. [[Norrbotten]] was separated from [[Västerbotten]] at the same time, and developed its own provincial identity during the 19th century.{{gallery|mode=packed|height=115|style=font-size:88%|noborder=y
| Lapplands vapen .svg    | [[Swedish Lapland|Lapland]]
| Norrbottens vapen.svg   | [[Norrbotten]]
| Västerbottens vapen.svg | [[Västerbotten]]
| Jämtlands vapen.svg     | [[Jämtland]]
| Ångermanlands vapen.svg | [[Ångermanland]]
| Medelpads vapen.svg     | [[Medelpad]]
| Härjedalens vapen.svg   | [[Härjedalen]]
| Hälsinglands vapen.svg  | [[Hälsingland]]
| Gästrikland vapen .svg  | [[Gästrikland]]
}}