Säffle

Story

Säffle is a locality and the seat of Säffle Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 9,150 inhabitants in 2016.In 1951 the town of Säffle was officially awarded City status, the last place for this to occur in Sweden. This was abolished in 1971 and Säffle is now the seat of the much larger Säffle Municipality.HistorySäffle's main growth as a town took place after the building of a canal in 1837 which allowed boats to safely bypass a section of turbulent water and rapids in the Byälven river.In 1879 the railway came, linking Säffle with both the west and east coasts, the capital Stockholm and the busy port of Gothenburg. This enabled Säffle to transport her wood products and the village soon became a thriving town.In 1882 Säffle had a population of 700 inhabitants. Today, Säffle municipality has 16,077 inhabitants (1 January 2005).According to legend, the Viking Olof Trätälja settled and lived in Säffle. Streets, churches, and a lot of other places are named after him.Cultural referencesMost parts of the Kanal 5 reality series Lite sällskap, hosted by Swedish comedians Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson were recorded in Säffle.TourismSports associations Säffle Hockey Club - Ice hockey SK Sifhälla - football Säffle FF - football