Karlstad is a
cityUrban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort. The official term in English, used by Statistics Sweden, is, however, locality. There are 1,940 localities in Sweden . They could be compared with census-designated places in the United States.A tätort in Sweden has a minimum of...
, the seat of
Karlstad MunicipalityKarlstad Municipality is a municipality in Värmland County in west central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Karlstad....
and the capital of
Värmland CountyVärmland County is a county or län in west central Sweden. It borders the Swedish counties of Dalarna, Örebro and Västra Götaland, as well as the Norwegian counties of Østfold, Akershus and Hedmark to the west.- Province :...
in
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
. It has 58,544 inhabitants in 2005 out of a municipal total of 83,500. Karlstad has a
UniversityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
and a
CathedralA cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
.
Karlstad is built on the river delta where Sweden's longest river,
KlarälvenKlarälven is a river flowing through Norway and Sweden. Together with Göta älv, which it is called as the river has passed through the lake Vänern, thus regarded as an entity, Göta älv-Klarälven is the longest river in Scandinavia and in the Nordic countries and its Swedish part the longest river...
, runs into Sweden's largest lake,
VänernVänern is the largest lake in Sweden and the third largest lake in Europe. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmland.- History :...
. It has the second largest lake port in the country after
VästeråsVästerås [vɛstər'oːs] is a city in central Sweden, located on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province Västmanland, some 100 km west of Stockholm...
.
Karlstad is often associated with sunshine and the symbol for Karlstad is a happy sun.
Karlstad is a
cityUrban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort. The official term in English, used by Statistics Sweden, is, however, locality. There are 1,940 localities in Sweden . They could be compared with census-designated places in the United States.A tätort in Sweden has a minimum of...
, the seat of
Karlstad MunicipalityKarlstad Municipality is a municipality in Värmland County in west central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Karlstad....
and the capital of
Värmland CountyVärmland County is a county or län in west central Sweden. It borders the Swedish counties of Dalarna, Örebro and Västra Götaland, as well as the Norwegian counties of Østfold, Akershus and Hedmark to the west.- Province :...
in
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
. It has 58,544 inhabitants in 2005 out of a municipal total of 83,500. Karlstad has a
UniversityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
and a
CathedralA cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
.
Karlstad is built on the river delta where Sweden's longest river,
KlarälvenKlarälven is a river flowing through Norway and Sweden. Together with Göta älv, which it is called as the river has passed through the lake Vänern, thus regarded as an entity, Göta älv-Klarälven is the longest river in Scandinavia and in the Nordic countries and its Swedish part the longest river...
, runs into Sweden's largest lake,
VänernVänern is the largest lake in Sweden and the third largest lake in Europe. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmland.- History :...
. It has the second largest lake port in the country after
VästeråsVästerås [vɛstər'oːs] is a city in central Sweden, located on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province Västmanland, some 100 km west of Stockholm...
.
Karlstad is often associated with sunshine and the symbol for Karlstad is a happy sun. Karlstad is reputed to be one of the sunniest towns in Sweden and a local waitress, known as "Sola i Karlstad" (
Sun in Karlstad) for her sunny disposition, is also commemorated with a statue.
History
On Karlstad's largest islet, there was a place of counsel called Tingvalla in the medieval age, which had roots from the
Viking AgeViking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the eighth to eleventh centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
before 1000 AD. It was also used as a
market placeA thing or ting was the governing assembly in Germanic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...
.
Karlstad was granted its city charter on March 5, 1584 by the Swedish
Duke Charles, who would later be crowned King
Charles IX of SwedenCharles IX , was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, brother of Eric XIV and John III of Sweden, and uncle of Sigismund III Vasa king of both Sweden and Poland...
. The city derives its name from the King – Karlstad literally means
Charles' city. The Duke also granted Karlstad the right as a governmental seat in the region, and gave it a substantial amount of land.
The Duke built his own house in the city, which is referred to as
Kungsgården (
The King's Manor). Karlstad's Cathedral was built on the location Kungsgården in 1724 - 1730 by Christian Haller.
A significant
coup d'étatA coup d'état , or coup for short, is the sudden unconstitutional deposition of a legitimate government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another, either civil or military...
of modern Swedish history had its beginning in Karlstad. During the night of 7 March 1809,
Georg AdlersparreCount Georg Adlersparre was a Swedish army commander.Adlersparre was born in Hovermo . Having entered the army at the age of 15, he received from King Gustav III, in 1791, a secret commission to excite the Norwegians to rebellion...
used the part of the western army that was stationed in Värmland to occupy Karlstad. From there he officially proclaimed a revolution, and during 9 March, he and his soldiers began their successful march toward the capital to end the reign of king Gustav IV Adolf.
Karlstad has suffered four major fires. Only the cathedral and a few houses remained after the last fire on July 2, 1865. Karlstad was thereafter rebuilt according to a
grid patternThe grid plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. In the context of the culture of Ancient Greece the grid plan is called Hippodamian plan.-Ancient grid plans:...
with wide streets surrounded by trees.
In 1905, the agreement to dissolve the union between Norway and Sweden was signed in Karlstad.
Sport and recreation
The
ice hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
team
Färjestads BKFärjestads BK is a Swedish professional ice hockey team based in Karlstad. Färjestad has had 18 Swedish Championship final appearances, winning eight times since Elitserien was started in 1975...
(home arena
Löfbergs Lila ArenaLöfbergs Lila Arena is an arena in Karlstad, Sweden, situated just above the river delta of Klarälven. It is primarily used for ice hockey, and is the home arena of Färjestads BK. It opened in 2001 following a complete overhaul and major expansion of the previously existing arena. It has a...
) has won the Swedish Championship several times, most recently in 2009.
The
International Ice Hockey FederationThe International Ice Hockey Federation is the worldwide governing body for ice hockey and in-line hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 68 members...
announced that the 2010 Men's World Inline Hockey Championships will be hosted by Karlstad.
Lofbergs Lila ArenaLöfbergs Lila Arena is an arena in Karlstad, Sweden, situated just above the river delta of Klarälven. It is primarily used for ice hockey, and is the home arena of Färjestads BK. It opened in 2001 following a complete overhaul and major expansion of the previously existing arena. It has a...
will be the primary site of the tournament.
Boltic-Göta is a
bandyBandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a soccer field. Each team has eleven...
club formed in 2000 by the merger of two of the historically most successful bandy clubs in Sweden,
IF BolticIF Boltic was a Swedish sports club from the town Karlstad. It existed from 1946 to 2000. In 2000, IF Boltic was merged with IF Karlstad-Göta and formed the new club BS BolticGöta.-Men's team:...
and IF Karlstad-Göta. Their home arena, Tingvalla Isstadion, is claimed to be Europe's largest artificially frozen area.
OK TyrOK Tyr is an orienteering club in Karlstad. In membership numbers it is one of the larger orienteering clubs in Sweden. The club was formed in 1936. The name was not, as may be thought, derived directly from the Norse god Tyr. One of the founding members, Anders Forsell, was inspired by a Canadian...
is one of the largest
orienteeringOrienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain. Participants are given a map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they use to find control points...
clubs in Sweden. OK Tyr won
TiomilaTiomila is an orienteering race held annually in Sweden since 1945. It is a 10 man relay which includes both night and daytime legs. The women's race consists of 5 daylight legs.Tiomila attracts club teams from all the major orienteering nations...
in 1989 and 1990.
IF Hellton
IF Göta have a number of international athletes and host the annual athletics meet Götagalan. There is an outdoor athletics track at
Tingvalla IPTingvalla Idrottsplats, Tingvalla IP, is a stadium in Karlstad, Sweden and is the home ground of the football team Carlstad United and the American football team Carlstad crusaders. It is also used for athletic events and other sports and gatherings....
and an indoor track (200 m) in Våxnäshall. There are many sawdust jogging trails, some of which are lit.
Klarälvsbanan, a 90 km, asphalted
railway lineRail tracks are the surface structures that support and guide trains or other rail-guided transportation vehicles.Most familiarly they consist of* two steel rails on which the vehicle wheels run,...
, runs from Karlstad to
HagforsHagfors is a locality and the seat of Hagfors Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 5,403 inhabitants in 2005.Its history is traced to 1873, when it was decided to build two blast furnaces at the location....
. It is popular amongst cyclists, inlines skaters and roller skiers.
There are a large number of open-air bathing places, both in
VänernVänern is the largest lake in Sweden and the third largest lake in Europe. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmland.- History :...
and other lakes in the municipality. Sundstabadet has a 25 m indoor swimming pool.
The Swedish RallyThe Uddeholm Swedish Rally , formerly the Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in Värmland, Sweden in early February. First held in 1950, when it was called the Rally to the Midnight Sun with start and finish at separate locations, seventeen years later both start and finish...
, with world championship status, is held annually in Värmland and Karlstad is a regular host of start, finish and special stages.
Education
Several upper secondary schools (gymnasium) offer the most common range of courses usually available throughout
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
, including the
IB Diploma ProgrammeThe International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme for students aged 16–19 that aims to provide an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education and is recognised by many universities worldwide....
. The majority of students in Värmland need to commute or move to Karlstad for their upper
secondary educationSecondary education is the stage of education following primary school. Secondary education is generally the final stage of compulsory education. However, secondary education in some countries includes a period of compulsory and a period of non-compulsory education. The next stage of education is...
.
Tertiary educationHigher education refers to a level of education that is provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic...
is offered by
Karlstad UniversityKarlstad University is a state university in Karlstad, Sweden. The university, being a former university college was granted university status in 1999 by the Government of Sweden. Originally the university was a branch of University of Gothenburg...
, which was granted university status in 1999.
Twin towns — Sister cities
Karlstad is
twinnedSister cities, also known as town twinning, is an agreement between towns, cities and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties...
with:
JõgevaJõgeva is a small town in Estonia with a population of around 6000 people. It is the administrative centre of Jõgeva County.Jõgeva became a borough in October 13, 1919 and a town in May 1, 1938. It is known as the coldest place in Estonia...
in
EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...
External links