Alingsås () is a
locality
Locality may refer to:
* Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England
* Locality (linguistics)
* Locality (settlement)
* Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...
and the seat of
Alingsås Municipality
Alingsås Municipality (''Alingsås kommun'') is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the stad (Sweden), city of Alingsås.
The present municipality was formed in 1974 then ...
in
Västra Götaland County
Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden.
The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. It had 24,482 inhabitants in 2010.
Geography
Geographically the city is situated by the outlet of the small rivulet
Säveån into lake
Mjörn. Transportation links are provided by the western main line railway (''
Västra stambanan
The Western Main Line ( sv, Västra stambanan) is the main state-owned railway line between Stockholm and Gothenburg in Sweden. Its construction began in 1856 and it opened for service in 1862.Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
and
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
, and by motorway through the
European route E20
European route E20 is a part of the United Nations International E-road network. It runs roughly west–east through Ireland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, and Russia.
Its length is but it is not continuous; at three points, a ...
. Next to Alingsås you can also find a small village called
Sollebrunn.
History
Alingsås was founded as inhabitants from the city
Nya Lödöse were made homeless as Danish troops burnt it down.
Gustavus Adolphus
Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
granted Alingsås its
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
in 1619, which makes it older than Västra Götaland's largest city
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
(which was granted its charter in 1621).
Among its historical inhabitants is
Jonas Alströmer
Jonas Alströmer (7 January 1685 – 2 June 1761) was a pioneer of agriculture and industry in Sweden.
Born Jonas Toresson (later changed to Alström) in the town of Alingsås in Västergötland, in 1707 he became a clerk for Stockholm merchan ...
, who was born in Alingsås in 1685. Alströmer is credited for introducing the
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
plant to Sweden. He also established a large scale
draper
Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher.
History
Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, ...
's industry there, which before long became Sweden's largest. However, some too-optimistic calculations, devastating fires and political setbacks finally forced its closure in 1779.
In April 2021, archaeologists announced the discovery of 2,500-year-old
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
ornaments which can be related with a woman of high status. Some of the necklaces, chains and pins, discovered by chance by the cartographer Tomas Karlsson, are very well preserved.
Historical sites
![Suecia 3-045 , Allings åås - Alingsås](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Suecia_3-045_%2C_Allings_%C3%A5%C3%A5s_-_Alings%C3%A5s.jpg)
In different locations in Alingsås you can find several round craters carved in the rock. These are called Giant's Kettles, and can vary a lot in size and depth. The biggest ones are in
Brobacka, which is located on the way to
Gräfsnäs. The Giant's Kettles are common visiting sites for secondary school classes.
Gräfsnäs slottsruin is a castle ruin located by the lake
Anten, just outside Alingsås. It was built in 1550 by Count
Sten Eriksson Leijonhufvud
The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cost ...
, who already owned a castle on the other side of the lake, in
Loholmen.
After Eriksson's death, 1568, his wife
Ebba Månsson Leijonhufvud took care of the castle, and it would stay in the family until 1724. In 1634 the castle burnt to the ground, but was rebuilt as a magnificent castle in late
renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
style. In 1734 it burned down again, but the owner at that time rebuilt it to match what it had been. In 1834, exactly two hundred years after it had burnt for the first time, the castle was sold to Otto Ulfsparre for 110 000 barrels of schnapps. The day that the papers on the purchase were to be signed, the castle burnt - for the third time, with exactly 100 years between each of the three occasions. The last person to make the castle his permanent home was fisherman Nils Andersson, who paid his rent in fish. After his death, the roof was eventually removed to prevent the partying that the youths in the village were doing in the old castle. In 1911 the castle was restored by
Västergötland-Göteborgs Järnvägs AB, and since 1930 it is cared for by
Alingsås Municipality
Alingsås Municipality (''Alingsås kommun'') is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the stad (Sweden), city of Alingsås.
The present municipality was formed in 1974 then ...
.
Alingsås museum was founded in 1928, and contains memorial collections of photographs and the municipal archives, as well as hosting several exhibitions. It has been closed to the public since spring 2010, due to rearrangement with the premises.
Culture
Alingsås is known for its cafes, 26 in total (in 2010), and is often called "The Capital of Fika". Three of the cafes are included in the White Guide.
Karin Boye
Karin Maria Boye (; 26 October 1900 – 24 April 1941) was a Swedish poet and novelist. In Sweden she is acclaimed as a poet, but internationally she is best known for the dystopian science fiction novel '' Kallocain'' (1940).
Career
Boye wa ...
, a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
writer, committed suicide in a forest in the Alingsås city district of Nolby in 1941. The place is now a memorial, and a popular visiting site for schoolclasses, taking the "Karin Boye tour".
Alingsås has an art gallery, libraries and a museum.
Yearly events
Alingsås has a rich cultural life, and hosts a few different cultural events throughout the year. In October,
Lights in Alingsås is held for one month; 6 European lighting designers get to light up selected sections of the city as they please.
To help them, they get about 65 international students of architecture, and together they have one week to create the vision of the lightning designers, who act as workshop leaders. The public can then either walk the tour themselves or in guided groups, and it has over the years become very popular internationally. The project is a cooperation between Alingsås Kommun and
Professional Lighting Designers' Association
The Professional Lighting Designers' Association (PLDA), formerly known as European Lighting Designers' Association (ELDA+), is an international association of architectural lighting designers. Based in Gütersloh, Germany, the organisation was o ...
since 2000.
In the summer, a festival is hosted by Alingsås Kommun, called
Potatisfestivalen (the Potato Festival). It is a city festival with different activities, such as concerts and performances.
Education
*
Alströmergymnasiet - high school
Sports
Alingsås has several sports associations. Swimming, figure skating, ice hockey, track and field, orienteering, soccer, handball and floorball are some of the more popular sports. There are two health centres, which host different types of group training as well as providing training machines.
AHK, the handball association of Alingsås, yearly hosts a tournament where teams from all over the country can join and play against each other. It is, according to the city's history and nickname, called Potatiscupen (the potato tournament).
The teams use the different schools in the area for accommodation.
Alingsås FC United, a women's team, is the town's most reputable football club. The team currently competes in the
Elitettan
Elitettan ( en, The Elite First) is the second highest division of Swedish women's football. Contested by 14 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are ...
, the Swedish second tier of women's football below the
Damallsvenskan
The Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ''ladies all-Swedish'' and also known as OBOS Damallsvenskan for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is also referred to as the women's Allsvenskan. The term Allsvenskan ...
.
Two men's football clubs also exist in the city,
Holmalunds IF
Holmalunds IF is a Swedish football club located in Alingsås.
Background
Since their foundation in 1933 Holmalunds IF has participated mainly in the middle and lower divisions of the Swedish football league system. The club currently plays in ...
and
Alingsås IF
Correct logo: https://www.svenskalag.se/alingsasiffotboll/dokument/beca3313-2b92-4ed4-8fd9-71567e9a4822/BEAA5CD1-F7F8-41C9-A19B-805416F4C376.png
Alingsås IF is a Swedish football club located in Alingsås in Västra Götaland County.
2023 Alings ...
, both competing in the regional
Division 3 Mellersta Götaland, in the fifth tier of Swedish football.
City districts
* Hjälmared
* Röhult
* Rosendal
* Dammhultet
* Västra Ängabo
* Östra Ängabo
* Gråbo
* Dammen
* Prästeryd
* Klinten
* Hjortgården
* Alefors
* Grimsholmen
* Nolby Kapell
* Kristineholm
* Holmalund
* Stampen
* Brogården
* Nolby
* Noltorp
* Enehagen
* Tegelbruket
* Nolhaga
* Sörhaga
* Kulingsberg
* Alfhem
* Lövekulle
* Eriksberg
* Mariedal
* Stadsskogen
Other
There is a
data center here.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alingsas
Municipal seats of Västra Götaland County
Swedish municipal seats
Populated places in Västra Götaland County
Populated places in Alingsås Municipality