Umeå

In the sparsely populated Swedish province of Norrland, the 80,000-inhabitant town of Umeå has the status of the largest city. Nearly 40,000 students attend the country's two northernmost universities there. Located about 20 km from the Gulf of Bothnia, the city is called the "City of Birches" ("Björkanas stad") because of its striking number of birch avenues.The origin for the birch splendor is related to the devastating city fire of 1888. The white-black trunked trees, which were considered fire protection because of their tissue moisture, were planted en masse during the reconstruction of Umeå.

The density of cultural institutions in Umeå is commensurate with its importance as a university town. In 2014, Umeå was even able to shine as the European Capital of Culture. The open-air sculpture park in Umedalen, for example, exhibits novelties and classics of modern sculpture, such as the Tony Cragg work "Early Forms" (1999) or Sean Henry's "Trajan's Shadow" (2001). History and folklore of the province of Västerbotten can be experienced up close in the open-air museum Gammlia. Known as a dorado for cyclists and vegans, Umeå is also an epicenter of the Swedish rock music scene. The city's hip clubs fit the bill, as does the guitar museum, with its 500 string-sounding exhibits on display. A visit to Umeå can also be used for a trip to Finland on the ferry to Vaasa departing from the nearby port of Holmsund. The trip on this shortest ferry connection between Sweden and Finland takes about four hours.