Mariestad () 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

Mariestad Municipality Mariestad Municipality (''Mariestads kommun'') is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Mariestad. The present municipality was formed in 1971, when the ''City of Mariestad'' was amalgama ...

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 16,611 inhabitants in 2019. Until 1997 it was the capital of the former Skaraborg County and an

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

in the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

between 1583 and 1646.

History

The city was founded in 1583 by Duke Charles, who later became King

Charles IX of Sweden Charles IX, also Carl ( sv, Karl IX; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I () and of his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King Eric X ...

. The city is named after the his wife Marie of Pfalz. The coat of arms for Mariestad, an ox stepping out of the water, is said to be what Marie of Pfalz saw by the bay of

Tidan Tidan is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality situated in Skövde Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 935 inhabitants in 2010. References

Populated places in Västra Götaland County Populated places in Skövde Municipali ...

in Mariestad when she first arrived there.

Diocese

Mariestad is one of two Swedish cities with a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

without a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

's seat, the other being Kalmar. For political reasons, the diocese of Mariestad was presided over by a superintendent rather than a bishop from 1583 until 1646, when the superintendent was moved to

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 the diocese of Mariestad was absorbed by that of Skara.

Notable natives

* Gustavus Schmidt (1795–1877), American lawyer and lecturer *

Axel Lindahl Axel Theodor Lindahl (27 July 1841 – 11 December 1906) was a Swedish photographer notable for his early photography of Norwegian landscapes. Lindahl was born in Mariestad in southwestern Sweden. With his brother Udo he opened his own pho ...

(1841–1906), photographer * Dag Wennlund (born 1963), javelin thrower *

Evelyn Mok Evelyn Mok (born 29 November 1987) is a Swedish-born Chinese stand-up comedian and actress. Early life Mok was born in Sweden to a Chinese immigrant family. Her father came from British Hong Kong, and her mother is Chinese and grew up in India. ...

(born 1987), actress and comedian * Helena Andersson *

Anni Dewani Anni may refer to: * The popular name of Mohamed Nasheed (born 1967), third president of the second republic of the Maldives * Ani, Armenia * Anni Anwander, former West German slalom canoeist * Anni Dewani (1982–2010), Swedish female murder vic ...

Sports

The following sports clubs are located in Mariestad: * IFK Mariestad * Mariestads BK *

Mariestad BoIS HC Mariestad BoIS HC is an ice hockey club from Mariestad, 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 Ge ...

* IBK Lockerud Mariestad

Climate

Mariestad has a maritime climate influenced by its position on 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 in ...

and the relative proximity to the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

. The town has warmer weather than elsewhere in western Sweden due to the influence of Vänern counterbalancing the low-pressure systems from further west. Mariestad is also shielded behind the archipelago and the peninsula to its west, which makes it warmer than areas further southwest on the lake shore. This leads to sunny summers with average afternoon temperatures being about . Summer nights are very mild by inland standards due to the lake influence. Winters are often mild with infrequent snow cover with the lake being large enough to provide further moderation of cold snaps compared to towns on the east coast like

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...

and

Nyköping Nyköping () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the ...

on the same latitude. Vänern often remains in a liquid state during winters due to mild temperatures.

References

Populated lakeshore places in Sweden Populated places in Västra Götaland County Populated places in Mariestad Municipality Municipal seats of Västra Götaland County Swedish municipal seats Populated places established in 1583 {{VästraGötaland-geo-stub