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.
A large 8 daler copper plate from 1658 (the British Museum)
From 1644 to 1776, Avesta was the largest part of the Swedish Mint,[clarification needed] manufacturing mainly copper plate money. The world's largest – a 10 daler plate – is exhibited in the Avesta Myntmuseum, and weighs 19.4 kilograms (43 lb).
European bison (wisent) in captivity, Avesta Visentpark, Dalarna, Sweden.
In Stubbsveden, just west of the town Avesta, is a wildlife park for European bison (wisent). 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.
Wisent 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. In 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 World's largest dalahäst.
The largest Dalecarlian horse (Dalahäst) in the world is located in Avesta. It is 13 metres (43 ft) tall and weighs 67 tons.
Notable natives
Mats Åhlberg, ice hockey player, born 1947 in Avesta.
Pär Aron Borg (1776–1839), pedagogue for the blind and deaf, born in Avesta.
Mattias Ekström, racing driver, born 1978 in Falun, raised in Snickarbo, Avesta municipality.
Calle Jularbo, Karl Oskar Jularbo (1893–1966) born Karlsson. Accordionist and composer, raised in Östanbyn, Avesta.
This is a demographic table based on Avesta Municipality's electoral districts in the 2022 Swedish general election sourced from SVT's election platform, in turn taken from SCB official statistics.[4]
In total there were 22,893 inhabitants, including 17,253 Swedish citizens of voting age.[4] 47.4 % voted for the left coalition and 51.2 % for the right coalition. Indicators are in percentage points except population totals and income.
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.
