Solvang, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Solvang is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. The city of Solvang is one of the communities that make up the Santa Ynez Valley. The population was 5,332 at the 2000 census.
Solvang means "Sunny Field" in Danish. It was founded in 1911 on 9,000 acres (36 km²) of formerly Spanish land by a group of Danish educators. The settlers of this city left for the west to escape midwestern winters. The city is home to several bakeries, restaurants, and merchants offering a taste of Denmark in California. The architecture of many, even most, of the buildings follows traditional Danish styles. There is a copy of the famous Little Mermaid statue from Copenhagen, as well as one featuring the bust of famed Danish fable writer Hans Christian Andersen.
Mission Santa Ines, one of the California missions, is both a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark. It is located near the center of the town, at the junction of California State Highway 246 and Alisal Road.
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[edit] Geography
Solvang is located at (34.593793, -120.139656)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.4 km² (2.5 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 5,332 people, 2,185 households, and 1,415 families residing in the city. The population density was 826.8/km² (2,143.3/mi²). There were 2,288 housing units at an average density of 354.8/km² (919.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.24% White, 0.43% African American, 0.66% Native American, 1.05% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 5.51% from other races, and 4.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 19.86% of the population.
There were 2,185 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,799, and the median income for a family was $57,703. Males had a median income of $41,429 versus $30,175 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,363. About 2.7% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Popular Media
Much of the Oscar-winning 2004 film Sideways was filmed in Solvang and in nearby Buellton.
[edit] External links
- Solvang, CA
- Solvang, CA
- Tours to Solvang
- Shopping in Solvang
- The Danish Soul of That Town in 'Sideways'
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
