Kristinehamn 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

Kristinehamn Municipality Kristinehamn Municipality (''Kristinehamns kommun'') is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Värmland County in west central Sweden. Its seat is located in the stad (Sweden), city of Kristinehamn. The present municipality was created in 1 ...

Värmland County Värmland County (''Värmlands län'') 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 Viken and Innlandet to the west. Prince Carl P ...

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 ...

, with 17,839 inhabitants in 2010.

Geography

Kristinehamn is situated by the shores of lake

Vänern Vänern ( , also , ) is the largest lake in Sweden, the largest lake in the European Union and the third-largest lake of all Europe after Ladoga and Onega in Russia. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmland i ...

where the small rivers ''Varnan'' and ''Löt'' drain into the lake. It has a harbour and is a railroad and road transportation center. Nearby towns include

Karlskoga Karlskoga () is a locality and the seat of Karlskoga Municipality, Sweden. Located within Örebro County, 45 km (28 mi) west of Örebro, and 10 km (6 mi) north of Degerfors. With a 2020 population of 27,386 distributed over 10.55 square miles (27. ...

and

Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 65,856 inhabitants in 2020 with 95,167 inhabitants ...

and are located exactly in the middle of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

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 ...

with 250 km to each of them.

History

The location has had a resident population for centuries, at least since the stone age. The town was then built alongside the bridge over river Varnan. Its name was ''Broo'' (or Bro) until 1642, and "Bro" literally means "Bridge" in Swedish. Kristinehamn got a

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 ...

for the first time in 1582 but lost it in 1584, and regained it in 1642, and changed its name in honour of the monarch Queen Christina of Sweden. It thus qualifies as one of Sweden's historical

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

. Its city arms were designated with a ''bojort'', which is a Dutch ship in use in the 17th century.

Sites of interest

*By the shores of lake

stands this 15 meter high

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

statue at since 1965. The statue was designed by Picasso, but built and inaugurated without him visiting the construction site. Picasso never visited Kristinehamn. Its 15 meters make it the tallest Picasso Sculpture in the world (except for the Chicago sculpture that is actually 15.2 Meters in height.) *The oldest

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...

in the county of Värmland, the

Järsberg Runestone The Järsberg Runestone is a runestone in the elder futhark near Kristinehamn in Värmland, Sweden. Inscription It contains the following runic text: : The text as transliterated into Latin letters: :...ubaz hite ÷ h=arabana=z ¶ h=ait... ¶ ...

with origin back to 500 AC, is located about 1 km outside the town of Järsberg. The latest interpretation of the runes was made by Sven B. F. Jansson (1906-1987). Quotation: "My name is "Ljuv". My name is "Ravn". Me "Eril" am making the runes". A pearl from the same period of time has been found in the area. * Kristinehamn Church (''Kristinehamns kyrka'') was designed by professor

Carl Georg Brunius Carl Georg Brunius (23 March 1793 – 12 November 1869) was a classical scholar, art historian, archaeologist and architect. He served as a professor and rector at Lund University. During 1833-59, he led the restoration work of Lund Cathedr ...

(1793–1869) and was first opened in 1858. The church also has a museum in the sanctuary gallery that is worth a visit because of its unique architecture.

Sports

The following sports clubs are located in Kristinehamn: *

IFK Ölme IFK Ölme is a Swedish football club located in Kristinehamn in Värmland County. Background Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Ölme were formed in 1942. The most famous football player to play for IFK Ölme is Magnus "Ölme" Johansson, who played ...

Notable people

* Bo Christian Larsson (1976-), an artist who works mostly with large-sized drawings, installations, and performance art. * Torsten Palm (1947-), former

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

driver.

Gallery

StadshotelletKristinehamn2.JPG, Kristinehamn City Hotel KristinehamnMusikskola1.JPG, Kristinehamn Music School Wallnerska villan, Kristinehamn 1.jpg , Wallnerska villa Kristinehamn Picasso statue.jpg, Pablo Picasso statue ÄlvdalenKhamn.JPG, Villa Älvdalen

References

{{authority control Populated lakeshore places in Sweden Populated places in Värmland County Populated places in Kristinehamn Municipality Municipal seats of Värmland County Swedish municipal seats