Avesta Municipality is one of 290 municipalities of Sweden. It is in Dalarna County, in the central part of the country, and its seat is in the town of Avesta. The municipality in its present size was created in 1967 when the four surrounding municipalities were joined with the then City of Avesta. In 1971 it became a municipality of unitary type. Avesta borders to the municipalities of:
1644–1776, Avesta was the largest part of the Swedish Mint, manufacturing mainly copper plate money. The World's largest - a 10 daler plate - is exhibited in the Avesta Myntmuseum, and weighs 19.4 kg. In Stubbsveden, just west of the town Avesta, is a wildlife park for European bison. Guided tours are conducted around and in between the confinements in the summer season. Occasionally, individuals from this and other Swedish animal parks are relocated to the reserve herds in Poland and Romania to widen their DNA pool. statue made of stainless steel, located in Avesta City park The city's largest industry is its steel mill, today owned by the Finnish company Outokumpu Oyj. Iron production started here in the 16th Century, was industrialized in the 17th, but was surpassed by the copper plate producing Swedish Mint factory from 1644. However, production was maintained during the centuries, and in 1823 a forge was added. 1924, production of stainless, acid proof, and fire-resistive steels was initiated. In the 1960s, these were still the main products, but twenty years later, the cold- and hot-rolled stainless qualities dominated. In 1991, British Steel Stainless merged with the Avesta firm, and in 2001 Outokumpu took over the majority of the ownership. The largest Dalecarlian horse in the world is located in Avesta. It is 13 meters tall and weighs 67 tons.
Notable natives
Tony Rickardsson, rally driver, and former speedway driver. Born 1970 in Avesta.
This table lists the national results at Avesta's municipal level since the 1972 Swedish municipality reform. The results of the Sweden Democrats from 1988 to 1998 were not published by the SCB at a municipal level due to the party's small size nationally at the time.
Blocs This lists the relative strength of the socialist and centre-right blocs since 1973, but parties not elected to the Riksdag are inserted as "other", including the Sweden Democrats results from 1988 to 2006, but also the Christian Democrats pre-1991 and the Greens in 1982, 1985 and 1991. The sources are identical to the table above. The coalition or government mandate marked in bold formed the government after the election. New Democracy got elected in 1991 but are still listed as "other" due to the short lifespan of the party. "Elected" is the total number of percentage points from the municipality that went to parties who were elected to the Riksdag.
