The Counties of Sweden are the first level administrative and political subdivisions of Sweden

Subdivisions of Sweden

There are several series of subdivisions of Sweden.* Judiciary*# Supreme Court , Supreme Administrative Court...

. Sweden is divided into 21 counties. The counties were established in 1634 on Count Axel Oxenstierna

Axel Oxenstierna

Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre , Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of first Gustavus Adolphus and then Queen Christina.Oxenstierna...

's initiative, superseding the historical provinces of Sweden

Provinces of Sweden

The provinces of Sweden, landskap, are historical, geographical and cultural regions. Sweden has 25 provinces and they have no administrative function, but remain historical legacies and the means of cultural identification....

  to introduce a modern administration. At that time, they were what the translation of län into English literally means; fiefdom

Fiefdom

A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...

s. The county borders often trail the provincial borders, but the Crown

The Crown

The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...

 often chose to make slight relocations to suit their purposes.