Lapland · Västerbotten County
Åsele
A town on the Ångermanälven river that for one weekend a year becomes the largest popular festival in Norrland. The rest of the year: 2 658 inhabitants on 4 544 km², 57 nature reserves, a national park with pines older than Sweden as a state, and Fredrika 60 km to the east.
The map is simplified, but the boundary, lakes and places are real.
Åsele in brief
- Province
- Lapland
- County
- Västerbotten
- Municipal area
- 4 544 km², of which 4 223 km² land
- Population
- 2 658 in the municipality, 1 633 in the town
- Rivers
- Ångermanälven and Gideälven
- Location
- 64°10′ north, on national roads 90 and 92
- The market
- The third weekend in July, since 1648
- National park
- Björnlandet, 2 369 hectares
- Airport
- Vilhelmina flygplats (South Lapland Airport), just over 70 km
Driving distances
- Dorotea50 km
- Fredrika59 km
- Vilhelmina71 km
- Lycksele89 km
- Sollefteå141 km
- Örnsköldsvik143 km
- Umeå163 km
- Östersund222 km
- Stockholm627 km
Population figures from Statistics Sweden, 31 July 2026 for the municipality and locality statistics 2023 for the town. Distances calculated on OpenStreetMap data.
The year in Åsele
Four seasons, not three
The same river, four different places. Summer belongs to the market and the fishing, autumn to the hunt and the cloudberries. Winter is split in two here: the dark half from November, with dog sledding and the winter market, and the late winter of March and April when the sun is back, the snow remains and Åsele-Nappet fills lake Stamsjön.
June to August
Summer
The market on the third weekend in July, fishing in the river and swimming at Stamsjön.
September to October
Autumn
Elk hunting, cloudberries around Fredrika and the old pine forest of Björnlandet without mosquitoes.
November to February
Winter
Dog sledding, ice fishing, the winter market and northern lights over the river.
March to April
Late winter
Åsele-Nappet on Stamsjön, snowmobile trails in sunshine and crusted snow in the morning.
The third weekend in July
The market
Around 200 stallholders on about 900 market pitches, a funfair, a stage, folkrace and auctions. Four days when the town grows into a city and accommodation is booked a year in advance.
The market is older than most things in Norrland. It counts its beginning from 1648, when the first church was built and Åsele was a Sámi trading place, and for several hundred years it was held in winter, because heavy loads were easier to move on snow. Since the turn of the twentieth century it has been a summer market.
More about the market
Photo to come
The market street in the heritage area
Two places
The river and the old forest
Åsele is two things. The town on the Ångermanälven river, with the church on the hill, the heritage area and Torvsjö mills some 20 km away. And Fredrika, 60 km to the east on lake Viskasjön, with Björnlandet National Park, where pines that sprouted in the 1500s still stand, fire-scarred and alive. In between, 57 nature reserves, 20 fishing conservation areas and villages such as Gafsele, Lomsjö and Tallsjö.
This site gathers what there is: where to stay, where to eat, what to do and how to get here. Every detail is checked against a source, and what we could not verify is not here.
Common questions
- When is Åsele market?
- Always the third weekend in July, four days from Thursday to Sunday. In 2026 it was held on 17–20 July 2026. The market counts its history from 1648, the year the first church was built, and is one of the oldest in the country still held.
- Where is Åsele?
- In southern Lapland, in Västerbotten County, where national road 90 from Ångermanland meets national road 92 between Dorotea and Umeå. The Ångermanälven and Gideälven rivers run through the municipality. The neighbouring municipalities are Dorotea, Vilhelmina, Lycksele, Bjurholm, Örnsköldsvik and Sollefteå.
- What is Björnlandet?
- A national park of 2 369 hectares about 20 km south-west of Fredrika, established in 1991 and enlarged in 2017. It protects one of Sweden's most valuable old-growth pine forests, with trees over 450 years old and traces of the great fire of 1831.
- How do you get to Åsele?
- By car along national road 90 or 92. By bus on route 44 from Umeå or Dorotea. The nearest airport is Vilhelmina flygplats (South Lapland Airport), just over 70 km away, and the nearest railway station with daily services is Umeå.
- How many people live in Åsele?
- 2 658 in the municipality according to Statistics Sweden (population on 31 July 2026), of whom 1 633 live in the town. It is the only urban locality; Fredrika and Norrstrand count as smaller localities.
About this site
Asele.nu
An independent site about the town and the municipality, run together with vilhelmina.nu and dorotea.nu. We list businesses, gather events and try to answer what people actually want to know. Run something here and want to be listed? Get in touch.