GEFLE, Latinized as GevaUa, a seaport town of Sweden, at the head of the Gefleborglân, about a mile from the shore of the gulf of Bothnia, near the mouth of the Gefle-Â, 50 miles E. of Fahlun, and about the same distance N. of Upsala. With the former city it has been connected by railway since 1859, and with the latter and Stockholm since 1874. As the river at that place is divided into three channels, the town consists of four portions, communicating with each other by wooden bridges. In 1869 it was almost destroyed by fire, but it has been rebuilt, and may still be reckoned one of the prettiest, as it is certainly one of the busiest, of Swedish towns. The principal buildings are the castle, originally founded in the 16th century by King John III., but rebuilt since its destruction by fire in 1727; a beautiful council-house erected by Gustavus III., who held a diet in the town in 1792; a hospital, an exchange, and a freemason’s lodge in the Gothic style. An orphan asylum, a gymnasium, removed to Gefle from Stockholm in 1668, and a public library may also be mentioned. Possessing an excellent harbour, and recently restored wharves to which large vessels have easy access, Gefle is the great port for the Dalecarlian district, and thus ranks in Sweden next to Stockholm and Gottenburg. It has about 100 ships of its own, and carries on a good trade in the export of timber, tar, flax, and linen, and in the import of grain, salt, coal, &c. The manufactures of the town include sailcloth and linen, tobacco, leather, iron wares, and machinery. In 1873 the population was 16,265.