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57-570: Skövde ( Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɧœ̂vːdɛ] ) is a locality and urban centre in Skövde Municipality and Västra Götaland County , in the Västergötland (Western Gothland region) in central southern Sweden . Skövde is situated some 150 km northeast of Gothenburg , between Sweden's two largest lakes, Vänern and Vättern . It lies on the eastern slope of a low mountain ridge, Billingen (304 m), which cuts through

114-728: A "city" in 1948. From 1965 only "non-administrative localities" are counted, independently of municipal and county borders. In 1971 "city" was abolished as a type of municipality. Urban areas in the meaning of tätort are defined independently on the division into counties and municipalities, and are defined solely according to population density. In practice, most references in Sweden are to municipalities, not specifically to towns or cities, which complicates international comparisons. Most municipalities contain many localities (up to 26 in Kristianstad Municipality ), but some localities are, on

171-451: A grid pattern. The city only had a small population until the railway between Stockholm and Gothenburg was laid through the city, leading to an industrial and population boost. Skövde's patron saint, Saint Elin (also known as Saint Helena) , lived in the 12th century. According to legend, she was murdered on the way to a church consecration. She was canonized on 30 July 1164 by Pope Alexander III and Archbishop Stefan of Sweden. During

228-502: A large indoor riding arena, but after new bids from Skövde, the town emerged victorious. Since 1896 the Husarernas rekrytskola ('Hussars Recruit School') has been located in Skövde. The latter half of the 20th century was characterised by furious redevelopment. This brought parking lots and the creation of monumental buildings, some arguably more beautiful than others. Centuries-old features of

285-540: A restaurant and cafe. There are thousands of free parking spaces including 200 in the garage. Elin's Esplanade was opened on 28 November 2008. Stallsikens commerce precinct is an entirely new bulk retail area built for big new stores to open in Skövde. Tenants include auto parts store Biltema , garden store Plantagen, furniture retailer Mio, discount retailer Ö&B, furniture and home decor store Chili, home and leisure department store Rusta and electronics store Media Markt . The inauguration took place in stages, starting in

342-560: A trail following the river Ätran , stretching from the Kattegat strait in the west an inwards the country, connecting with other roads leading eventually to the eastern cities Sigtuna and Uppsala . In 1520, the Battle of Bogesund took place on the ice of the lake Åsunden . In 1741, it was renamed Ulricehamn in honour of Queen Ulrica Eleonora . Following a fire in 1788 it encountered a recession, but several textile industries were established in

399-747: A year. In 2021, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency approved a grant of SEK 144 million for the conversion of part of the Skövde plant to produce powertrains for electric vehicles . In 2011, the two plants combined had over 4,000 permanent employees (2,100 employees at Volvo Group Truck Operations ). Skövde is a diversified industrial centre, and includes companies such as CEJN AB (pneumatic, hydraulic and high pressure hydraulic quick connect couplings), Furhoffs Rostfria ('Furhoff's Stainless Steel' – sinks and drainage), Cementa (cement) and Grahns Konfektyr ('Grahn's Confectionery' – sweets). Skövde has many public service employers and

456-530: Is a local initiative right beside Loke in the Kulturhus (Skövdes Civic Culture Centre), which sees established bands play, such as Mustasch and Hardcore Superstar . In wintertime, Arena Skövde is usually used for major artists that attract large audiences. In summer, Karstorp recreation area or Boulognerskogen ('Boulogner Forrest') are often used. Theatre productions can be seen at the City Theatre, located in

513-480: Is a major contributing factor to Skövde having become a game development centre. The many varied employment opportunities in Skövde have meant an increase in daily commuting to the city from neighboring municipalities. Skövde is a shopping town with a large selection. The city centre is Skaraborg's largest shopping centre with over 40 shops and restaurants. It is located directly adjacent to Hertig Johans Torg and Sandtorget ('Sand Square') and has its own car park. In

570-501: Is influenced by being in the slope of a hill, which leads to warmer overnight lows than in Skara on the western side of the same higher area. In July 2018, Skövde recorded a 22 °C (72 °F) mean during the 2018 European heat wave . This makes it one of the very few stations in Sweden to have met the Köppen definition of a hot summer at any point in recorded weather history. Even so, Skövde

627-430: Is located 180 m.a.s.l. During wintertime, Ulricehamn has become something of a skiing centre for the southwestern parts of Sweden. For alpine skiing , there are 7 lifts and 6 slopes; while for cross-country skiing there are some 25 kilometers of prepared courses. The town centre on the lake is less likely to build up a snow cover due to the milder weather. Being in the interior but also influenced by maritime westerlies,

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684-400: Is located at Simsjön outside Skövde and is operated by a non-profit organisation. Its purpose is to preserve the buildings, furniture and appliances from the allotment system time and make the collections accessible to the public. Musical events are often organised in the city, such as Loke, a local initiative organising amateur nights when amateurs can play and even borrow instruments. Valhall

741-850: Is located at the Göta Logistic Regiment in Skövde and works together with the Armed Forces Logistics Regiment Centre of Excellence in Logistics. After the recent decision by Defence, Skövde's garrison's role in the Armed Forces has increased, with smaller units being moved to Skövde, including the Armed Forces Engine School and Logistics School. Urban areas in Sweden In 2018, there were nearly two thousand urban areas in Sweden, which were inhabited by 87% of

798-520: Is not frequently warm during an average year. On average, summers are cooler than on the east coast of the country. This is due to strong low pressure systems from the North Atlantic bringing plenty of rainy days along with an elevation of 150 metres (490 ft). Skövde does still have a lower precipitation total than areas to its south such as Borås and areas in Halland that are affected even more by

855-532: Is the only remaining building from the great fire affecting the city in 1759, which essentially destroyed the whole town. Helénsgården was probably built in the beginning of the 18th century and is today protected as a cultural preservation. Its park is used widely as a meeting place and for events such as Sweden's National Day celebration. At the Skövde garrison there is the Garnisonsmuseet ('Garrison Museum'), which has military and soldier exhibits from throughout

912-621: Is trialling a three-year update period. The number of urban areas in Sweden increased by 56 to 1,956 in 2010. A total of 8,016,000 – 85 per cent – of the Swedish population lived in an urban area; occupying only 1,3 per cent of Sweden's total land area, and the most populous urban area is Stockholm at 1,4 million people. Ulricehamn Ulricehamn is a locality and the seat of Ulricehamn Municipality , Västra Götaland County , Sweden , with 9,787 inhabitants in 2010. Ulricehamn, originally known as Bogesund , has been populated at least since

969-565: Is unknown, but it can be assumed to be sometime around the year 1400 when the city was mentioned in a tax roll. At the beginning of the 16th century, King Gustav Vasa confirmed the town's charter in a letter. If the 15th century was marked by success, then the 16th century saw an emergent decline for the city. The main reason for this was the Reformation and the transition to the Lutheran faith . They wanted to cleanse out all forms of idol worship in

1026-456: The Köppen climate classification . The climate in Ulricehamn differs slightly from surrounding areas. Situated on the slopes on the south side of Lake Åsunden it reaches up to 350 m.a.s.l. making the climate considerably colder than low-lying cities on the plains somewhat further north. Annual temperature in altitudes over 300m is further cooler in winter compared to data, since the weather station

1083-639: The Land Warfare Centre (MSS). P 4 trains primarily mechanized shooting units and tank units while TrängR trains logistics units of various types. The Land Warfare Centre is for the training of officers in land combat as well as development methods and evaluation practice. The Logistics School is a joint armed school that develops the skills of students and staff from the Army , Navy and Air Force within disciplines of military science, military technology, leadership and individual combat fighting. The Logistics School

1140-474: The Medieval Age . In Skövde's city coat of arms is the image of Saint Elin (also known as Saint Helena) , who was considered a pious woman from Skövde. She was born about 1101, and was canonized in 1164. Of the medieval houses that once existed virtually nothing remains, as a fire in 1759 burned down the entire city except for some houses called Helensgården. After the fire, the city was rebuilt according to

1197-430: The municipal entity were normally almost congruent. Urbanization and industrialization created, however, many new settlements without formal city status. New suburbs grew up just outside city limits, being de facto urban but de jure rural. This created a statistical problem. The census of 1910 introduced the concept of "densely populated localities in the countryside". The term tätort (literally "dense place")

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1254-456: The pollarded meadows in Berg, beeches on Ingasäter and Mölltorp's alum works. When on 27 June he reached Skövde, he did not have much positive to say, 'Skövde town, quarter before six from Berg, was a very small spot, located on the east side of Billingen , without any lake or particular feature, the houses were small, streets irregular and Cemetery on set with lovely boxes. This city has once been

1311-407: The 19th century, the first half of the year had six or seven markets in Skövde. 1847 saw the introduction of market square days, which soon came to have the character of regular market days. The market came to be limited to two times a year, one in spring and one in autumn. An important market was the remounting market ( remonterinsmarknaden ), or horse market, that occurred annually on 19 September. It

1368-460: The 19th century. Together with its first railroad in 1874 the town's importance as a center of trade increased. The town is located on the slopes of a lakeside, where the river Ätran flows into lake Åsunden . The geography is signified by the scenic nature of trees and water, which offers popular activities such as bicycling, inlining and boat trips. Ulricehamn has a transitional climate between maritime ( Cfb ) and humid continental ( Dfb ) on

1425-532: The Kulturhus (Skövdes Civic Culture Centre). There you can see everything from revues to children's theatre. Eric Ugglas Theatre is another, in Eric Ugglas plats ('Eric Uggla's Place'), slightly south of Skövde's city centre. The Food Festival is a festival of Skövde which started in 1990 and is always the last weekend in August. The festival's focus is on food that is served in small portions from different restaurants in

1482-580: The Middle Ages, people made pilgrimages to Elin's grave, and this contributed to the city's development and growth. During the Middle Ages Skövde was a successful city, the economy thriving and Skövde eventually developed into a city of significant importance. Adjacent to the city were three churches: The City Church, The Elin Chapel directly south of the city, and Holy Birgitta's Chapel in the north. The city

1539-436: The Middle Ages. The town has had city privileges since at least the 15th century. There are still several old buildings from the 17th and 18th century and the picturesque main street Storgatan has existed in its present form for centuries. Among other historical structures, there is the city hall , located at the market square, a yellowish rococo building from 1789. The town is situated on Ätranstigen ("The Ätran path"),

1596-565: The Swedish population. Urban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort . The official term in English used by Statistics Sweden is, however, " locality " ( Swedish : ort ). It could be compared with " census-designated places " in the United States . Until the beginning of the 20th century, only the towns/cities were regarded as urban areas. The built-up area and

1653-591: The ages. Additionally, the central soldier register proves an invaluable tool for genealogy. Skövde Sport History Museum, the newest museum in Skovde, from 2001, is located in the basement of Billingehus. Here you will find the city's sports history in sounds, images, old trophies and sports equipment. The Volvo Museum tells of the start of Sköfde Gjuteri och Mekaniska Verkstad ('Skövde Foundry and Mechanical Workshop') in 1868 and its transformation to today's automotive industry. Ryttmästarbostället ('The Stablemaster's Residence')

1710-484: The centre are several major brands and a variety of smaller shops. In October 2008, the newly renovated shopping mall Vasaporten was finished (formerly Göfab Huset) with a dozen shops, a new entrance to Willys grocery store and 500 parking spaces in the adjoining car park. Norrmalm's commerce precinct contains about twenty shops along Gustavus Adolphusgatan. Here lies a big, new shopping centre, Elins Esplanad (formerly Maxi-house), with 30 shops, an Ica Maxi Supermarket and

1767-529: The city's development for a long time. At the start of the 1860s, the city's area was limited to what is now called the old city. Some major industries did not exist yet; handicrafts, trade and agriculture were the only industries that were practiced. Agriculture and animal husbandry were the primary industries for the inhabitants right up to the 1850s, while the actual town's urban bourgeoisie industries were developed. The policemen in Skövde, or 'the magistrate's henchmen' as they were known in formal terms of

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1824-485: The city. The restaurants also compete to see who makes the best cuisine as decided by the festival's visitors. The Food Festival also has an amusement park that is located on Sandtorget and a market hall that is located on Hertig Johans Torg. The armoured corps regiment Skaraborg Regiment (P 4) and the logistics corps regiment Göta Logistic Regiment (T 2) are both located in Skövde, as is the Army Combat school. Around

1881-431: The cityscape were erased, in particular all the old wooden housing settlements in the old town's western part. Otherwise the 20th century in Skövde was characterised greatly by the presence of the military . Military-dressed men have been a marked feature of Skövde's streets, even if drastically less so at the end of the 20th century and into the new millennium. Skövde has a maritime - continental hybrid climate. The town

1938-477: The cultural reserve Helénsparken. The oldest house in the park, Helénsstugan ('Heléns cottage') is from the early 18th century. Next to Hertig Johan's Torg ('Duke Johan's Square') is Saint Helena's Church and church park. Skövde recovered after the fire. The social life began to flourish, balls and theatrical performances followed one another. The inhabitants of the city lived a safe and hopefully pleasant small-town life. However, new winds would blow that would change

1995-471: The effect of Skövde experiencing a short period as a spa resort. The spa, founded by Dr. Lars G Dovertie, was busily frequented by during the 1870s and 1880s. Since 1992, the spa has been a student union building. In 1884, a company was formed to meet the need of an indoor riding arena. The city voluntarily donated a spot just north of the city. The riding school was later to become a key player in future discussions about placing regiments in Skövde. 1889 brought

2052-477: The first documented setback took place for Skövde. The Danish King, Kristian II , undertook his third military campaign against Sweden. One of the Danish armies swept through Västergötland (Western Götland) and burned down Skövde, Falköping , Skara and Bogesund (now Ulricehamn ). It was only in the 17th century that figures of how many people lived in Skövde could be estimated with any fair degree of certainty. For

2109-474: The form of saintly cults from the churches; these churches were emptied of treasures and relics, and Skövde itself did not escape. Pilgrims ceased to travel here and a large part of the city's revenue disappeared practically overnight. King Gustav Vasa also had plans to move the city together with some other cities of the West Göta region to Hornborgasjön ('Lake Hornborg') in order to build a great city. In 1520

2166-408: The issue of trying to get Life Regiment Hussars 's recruit school to Skövde. It was suggested that this would see a shift from a ' tenement soldier ' regiment (soldiers from Sweden's allotment system) to an enlisted troupe. In 1891, it was decided that Skövde would get the regiment in two years, but at the end of 1894 Örebro emerged as a competitor to Skövde. Örebro had certain advantages, for example

2223-491: The largest of them in Skövde Municipality . Other public service employers include the Swedish Armed Forces , Skaraborg Hospital, Kärnsjukhuset (also known as KSS – The Central Hospital), The university, Skaraborgs District Court ( Skaraborgs Tingsrätt ), Swedish Police and Västtrafik . Few places can match Skövde's development in recent years as a commercial centre. Retail sales in the city have increased by 40% over

2280-687: The maritime patterns. Aurobay (formerly part of Volvo Cars ) and Volvo Group Truck Operations (a company within the Volvo Group ) jointly operate one of the world's largest automotive foundries in Skövde, and are Skövde's two largest employers. The Volvo Group Truck Operations plant is AB Volvo's largest producer of industrial diesel engines worldwide (producing engine blocks , cylinder heads and flywheels as well as engine mounts and disk brakes ). Aurobay produces sustainable, efficient, hybrid engines for Volvo Cars and will eventually do so other customers. Aurobay has capacity for 600,000 powertrain solutions

2337-516: The museum, there are letters, legal documents, maps, theatre posters and newspaper clippings. In the archive, there are even tens of thousands of photographs from Skövde and numerous portrait photos from the 19th century. In storage, there are nearly 40,000 objects, though nobody really knows how many as not all are yet catalogued. There is also an external exhibition in the city centre: Helénsgården ('Helén's farm' or also Helénsstugan – 'Heléns cottage' or Petter Heléns stuga – 'Petter Heléns cottage'). It

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2394-522: The other hand, multimunicipal. Stockholm urban area is spread over 11 municipalities. When comparing the population of different cities, the urban area ( tätort ) population is preferred to the population of the municipality. The population of, e.g., Stockholm should be accounted as about 1.6 million rather than the approximately 990,000 of the municipality, and Lund rather about 94,000 than about 130,000. Before 2015 delimitation of localities were made by Statistics Sweden every five years, since then it

2451-468: The past 10 years. This contributes to the relatively large trade sector bringing many jobs in small and medium enterprises. Skövde is a centre for game development and games for training. In the business park Gothia Science Park, there are dozens of game companies that have both developed and produced games in Skövde. The proximity to the relatively large gaming development program at the University of Skövde

2508-544: The plain between the lakes. The Western Main Railway ( Västra Stambanan ) was built through Skövde in the 1850s, which gave the town a dramatic industrial and population boost. Today, Skövde is home to the headquarters for Skaraborg's District Court and is the Västra Götaland's fourth-largest urban area as well as Sweden's 32nd biggest locality (by population) with 39,580 inhabitants in 2020. Skövde traces its history back to

2565-452: The seat of St. Helena.' His journey continued southerly, the next stop being Skultorp . Once again Linnaeus was compelled to share his experiences, describing women's hats, farmhands' courtship and the magnificent view from Skultorp's Nabbe. The year 1759 saw the destruction of central Skövde in a large fire. A block of old wooden houses are preserved, and together with a botanical garden, form

2622-443: The spring of 2008. Skövde has three trading areas: The centre, Norrmalm and Stallsiken, which are all within easy reach of the city. In addition, there are more specific traders in several other areas of Skövde: Aspelund, Hasslum, Mariesjö, Hallenbergrondellen ('Hallenberg'ss roundabout'), Karstorpsrondellen ('Karstorp's roundabout') and Billingesluttningen ('The Billinge Hillside'). Skövde Kulturhus ('Skovde's Civic Cultural Centre')

2679-505: The time, were few in number during the first part of the 19th century. The city's police force consisted of one permanent employee. The uniform cap showed his power and authority, while his armament consisted of a truncheon. His task was to carry out the punishment when someone was convicted to be flogged. In the early 19th century, the town was dominated by one-storey houses. The roofs were usually covered with straw, reeds, peat or boards. Only in 1850 did it become common to use brick. During

2736-413: The town hall's civil rules one can read that the number of prisoners was now so great that every citizen had to now take care of a prisoner. In 1718, there were up to 90 Danish prisoners, in other words, the number of prisoners of war came to dominate the small Skövde. In 1746, Carl von Linné was out on his journey through Västra Götaland , where he also visited tracts of Skövde. He talks in detail about

2793-511: The town has just 154 inhabitants, but only 50 years later had the population risen to 381. In 1770 the population had risen up to 500 people. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Swedish towns and country districts had to take care of prisoners of war captured by Karl XII's armies. It was the Saxons, Germans, Danes, Norwegians, Poles and Cossacks who lived in enforced internship in Skövde. In 1708, there were up to 56 prisoners of war in Skövde. In

2850-406: The year 1655, the city presented a census of 134 people, 34 farmers, 38 housewives, 12 sons, 3 daughters, 2 farmhands, 8 maids, 10 boarders, 14 boatmen, and 13 described as '63 years old', i.e. contemporary retirees. During the 1660s there was some growth, and in 1669 the city had a population of 168 people. At the beginning of the 18th century, Skövde was one of the county's smallest towns. In 1700,

2907-688: The year 1900, several Swedish Army units became stationed in Skövde. In 1913 the Skaraborg Regiment also moved there, costing the city a lot of money but also contributing to increased consumption and business. Today the garrison is one of the largest in Sweden. There are several military units in Skövde, Skaraborg Regiment (P 4) and the Göta Logistic Regiment (T 2) with the Swedish Armed Forces Logistics and Motor School ( Försvarsmaktens logistik och motorskola , LogS) and

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2964-565: Was at this time probably not especially great in area or population, rather its greatness lay in that it was once home to the Patron Saint of the Diocese, St. Elin. The pilgrims travelled here to visit the Saint's origin and burial place, and the commerce around the pilgrims came to be an important prerequisite for Skövde's development in the ensuing century. The exact year when Skövde got its town charter

3021-475: Was built in 1964 and is Sweden's first cultural centre to bring together diverse cultural disciplines under the one roof. The cultural centre was designed by architect Hans-Erland Heineman, and houses the art gallery, art museum, library, theatre and cinema. Skövde's City Museum was previously situated in Gamla Rådhuset ('The Old Town Hall') at Hertig Johan's Torg. After 2005 the museum was moved to Norrmalm. In

3078-422: Was called Sköfde Tidning ( Skövde Newspaper ) and was published every Saturday. The first issue came out on 13 November 1858. In 1960, the paper, then known as Västgöta Korrespondenten Skövde Tidning (VK – The West Göta Correspondent ), joined with Skaraborgs Läns Annonsblad (SLA – Skaraborg County Advertiser , founded in 1884). On 18 June 1870, a hydrotherapy spa opened nearby the railway station, which had

3135-399: Was introduced in 1930. The municipal amalgamations placed more and more rural areas within city municipalities, which was the other side of the same problem. The administrative boundaries were in fact not suitable for defining rural and urban populations. From 1950 rural and urban areas had to be separated even within city limits, as, e.g., the huge wilderness around Kiruna had been declared

3192-650: Was not long before street addresses completely broke through, though even in the 1930s plot numbers were sufficient to use as post addresses. In 1858, the population of the city increased and soon the railway stood finished. In 1859, the Västra stambanan ('Western Main Line') was inaugurated. Discussions on a newspaper began to take off. They got in touch with the editor of Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning ( Gothenburg Trade and Maritime News Journal ), S.A. Hedlund , who promised to provide news content and editorials. The newspaper

3249-404: Was widely known, even beyond the country's borders. Buyers came from the cavalry and artillery regiments, but also individual buyers from Norway, Denmark and Germany, to buy young horses. The trade was so great that several thousand horses could change hands in a single day. On 2 April 1832, it was decided that the streets would be named. Previously, all the plots of land were only numbered. But it

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