About Sandviken municipality
Sandviken is a municipality in Gävleborg County in the province of Gästrikland. The municipality has an area of 1 165 km² and a population of approximately 39 000.
Infrastructure
Sandviken has good infrastructure and a good logistics location along the E16 and close to the E4. The region is an industrial region and has been so for many years. Since our industrial sector has long been strongly production-oriented, the region has very expansive infrastructure with a road network stretching in all directions to be able to supply the industrial sector with raw materials and enable outbound delivery of final products.
Large investments are being be made in the IT and technique sectors within the framework of the municipality´s long-term plans. Amongst the main beneficiaries will be our schools and local government and private sector activities in the area.
Culture in Sandviken
The winter sport, bandy, at the elite level - the local team Sandvikens AIK (SAIK) - has deep roots in Sandviken and has become part of the local culture. The same applies to musical activities: Kulturskolan (extramural music, dance and drama training), Sandviken Big Band, Sandviken Symphonic Orchestra and the large number of musicians in the region. Sandvikens Art Gallery shows throughout the year various interesting exhibitions. Amongst the many popular tourist attractions in the municipality, the following must be singled out for special mention: the attractive old, carefully restored industrial village sin Gysinge and Högbo with their forges and smithies, handicraft, manor houses and possibilities they offer for outdoor recreation. During the winter months the downhill skiing facilities and the Snowpark at Kungsberget attract a large number of visitors from near and far.
History
The town of Sandviken was founded in 1862 by Göran Fredrik Göransson who built an ironworks along the sandy bay on the northern shore of the lake Storsjön. Four years earlier Göransson had pioneered the application of the Bessemer process on an industrial scale at Högbo Bruk, which lies to the north of present day Sandviken.
The steel from the ironworks gave the company a prominent position and placed Sandviken (Sandvik AB) on the world map. Abreast of the success of the company, the town also expanded. Today Sandviken is a modern town with a full range of private and public sector services.
How Sandviken Municipality is governed
All municipalities in Sweden have a municipal council, which is the highest decision-making body in the municipality. A municipal council is made up of elected political representatives who are responsible for taking decisions concerning government of the municipality. These can involve a wide range of issues, from building public swimming baths to passing a budget or formulating long- term plans regulating the scope and extent of activities within the municipality´s different sectors.
On the level immediately below the municipal council are the political committees.
About the organisation
The employees of the municipality shall, in their respective areas of activity, implement decisions taken by the political committees. The chief executive officer is the municipality´s most senior non-political official and has the overall managerial responsibility. The different activities within the municipality are organised in departments under the chief executive officer´s office, which is responsible for overarching issues.