Welcome to Umeå!
Umeå, called Ume by locals, is a city near the mouth of the Ume River. It is the capital of Västerbotten County in northern Sweden, and with about 110,000 citizens it is the largest city in Norrland. Umeå is known for its university and many birch trees, giving it the nickname "Björkarnas stad", or the "Town of Silver Birches".
Umeå (Finnish: Uumaja, Ume Sami: Ubmeje, Southern Sami: Upmeje, Northern Sami: Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County.
Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest locality in Norrland and the thirteenth largest in Sweden, with 130,224 inhabitants in 2020. When Umeå University was established in 1965, growth accelerated, and the amount of housing has doubled in the last 30 years. As of 2011, 700 to 800 new apartments are constructed each year. Umeå is a university town and center of education, technical and medical research in northern Sweden, with two universities and over 39,000 enrolled students. CRISPR gene editing was developed by researchers at Umeå University, being awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Umeå was the European Capital of Culture in 2014, along with Riga in Latvia. Consulates from ten countries can be found in Umeå (2021): Denmark (from 1848), Finland (from 1921), France (from 1989), Iceland (from 2002), Italy (from 2012), Latvia (1939–1940, again from 2014), Lithuania (from 2012), Norway (from 1963), and the Republic of Seychelles (from 2001).