Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of

Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...

, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County and the

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 ...

of the

Diocese of Växjö The Diocese of Växjö ( sv, Växjö stift) is one of the 13 dioceses or regional units of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. It was also a former Roman Catholic bishopric. Lutheran diocese Diocese of Växjö is situated in southern Sweden and i ...

and the location of Växjö Cathedral. The town is home to

Linnaeus University Linnaeus University (LNU) ( sv, Linnéuniversitetet) is a state university in the Swedish historical province (''landskap'') Småland, with two campuses located in Växjö and Kalmar respectively. Linnaeus University was established in 2010 b ...

Etymology

The city's name is believed to be constructed from the words ("road") and ("lake"), meaning the road over the frozen

Växjö Lake Växjö lake ( sv, Växjösjön) is a lake in Växjö Municipality Växjö Municipality (''Växjö kommun'') is a municipality in Kronoberg County in southern Sweden, where Växjö is the seat. The municipality was created in 1971 by the amalga ...

that farmers used in the winter to get to the marketplace which later became the city.

History

In contrast to what was believed a century ago, there is no evidence of a special pre-Christian significance of the site. The pagan cultic center of Värend may have been located at Hov, a nearby village. An

since the 11thcentury, the city did not get its city charter until 1342, when it was issued by Magnus Eriksson. The cathedral of St Sigfrid dates from about 1300, and has been subsequently restored. Otherwise, during the Middle Ages, Växjö did not have many pious institutions. A

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

monastery was established in 1485. A hospital of the Holy Ghost was first mentioned in 1318. In the 14th century Växjö got its first school,

Växjö katedralskola Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...

. In 1643 it received gymnasium status. At the beginning of Gustav Eriksson's war of liberation, the peasantry joined forces, under the guidance of the union-hostile bishop Ingemar Pedersson, with the mountain men and peasantry of

Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norwa ...

, Hälsingland, and

Gästrikland Gästrikland () is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Uppland, Västmanland, Dalarna, Hälsingland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Gästrikland is the southernmost of the Norrland provinces. Other f ...

, who urged fidelity to their leader Gustav Eriksson. During the

Dacke War The Dacke War ( sv, Dackefejden) was a peasant uprising led by Nils Dacke in Småland, Sweden, in 1542 against the rule of Gustav Vasa. Dacke and his followers were dissatisfied with the heavy tax burden, the introduction of Lutheranism, and t ...

, a peasant uprising, the city was under the authority of Nils Dacke and his supporters from the summer of 1542 until after New Year 1543. Växjö from plane

Several times during the

Northern Wars "Northern Wars" is a term used for a series of wars fought in northern and northeastern Europe from the 16th to the 18th century. An internationally agreed-on nomenclature for these wars has not yet been devised. While the Great Northern War is g ...

and the

Scanian War The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...

s, and thereafter, the city was affected by fire (in 1277, 1516, 1570, 1612, 1658, 1690, 1749, 1753, 1799, 1838 and 1843). After the last fire in 1843, when 1,140 citizens were rendered homeless, Växjö received its current street plan.

Modern times

The Barbarella nightclub was opened in the 1970s. Växjö is the city in which the photograph "''

A Woman Hitting a Neo-Nazi With Her Handbag ''The Woman with the Handbag'' ( sv, Kvinnan med handväskan; also , "The lady with the handbag") is a photograph taken in Växjö, Sweden on 13 April 1985 by photojournalist Hans Runesson. It depicts a 38-year-old woman, Danuta Danielsson, hi ...

''" was taken in 1985 by . In its December 2015 report,

Police in Sweden The Swedish Police Authority ( sv, Polismyndigheten) is the national police force (''Polisen'') of the Kingdom of Sweden. The first modern police force in Sweden was established in the mid-19th century, and the police remained in effect under lo ...

placed the Växjö district Araby in the most severe category of urban areas with high crime rates. During 2015 Växjö suffered a series of arson incidents.

Historic buildings

Växjö Cathedral is located near the centre of the city. Immediately north of Växjö is

Kronoberg Castle Kronoberg Castle (Swedish: ''Kronobergs slott'') is a medieval ruined castle (''slottsruin'') located on an island in Helgasjön ("the Helga Lake"), north of Växjö in Kronoberg County, which is named after the castle. The castle ruin is open ...

, a ruined

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

constructed in the 15th century. This castle was used as a base by the rebel, Nils Dacke, during the

. The fortress has thick walls and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during si ...

portals that face north towards lake Helgasjön. Teleborg Castle is also located near the city. It was built near the

in 1900, it now functions as a hotel and conference facility.

Amenities

The Swedish Emigrant Institute was established in 1965 and is housed in the House of Emigrants near Växjö Lake in the heart of the city. It contains archives, a library, a museum, and a research center relating to the

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...

period between 1846 and 1930, when 1.3million (or 20%) of the Swedish population emigrated, mainly to the United States. Archives dating to the 17thcentury contain birth and death records, as well as household records, that are available on microfiche. Since 2016, Fortnox Arena has held a video game

speedrunning Speedrunning is the act of playing a video game, or section of a video game, with the goal of completing it as fast as possible. Speedrunning often involves following planned routes, which may incorporate sequence breaking and can exploit gl ...

event in July. The event aims to raise money for the

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

charitable foundation. Over 400 attendees were expected to turn up for ESA in 2017.

Industry

Industries include

GE Power GE Power (formerly known as GE Energy) is an American energy technology company, owned by General Electric. Structure As of July 2019, GE Power is divided into the following divisions: * GE Gas Power (formerly Alstom Power Turbomachines), bas ...

and Aerotech Telub, as well as Volvo Articulated Haulers which is located in Braås , north of Växjö. One of the best-known service providers is Fortnox and Visma. Växjö houses Sweden's National Glass Museum and claims to be the capital of the "

Kingdom of Crystal The Kingdom of Crystal (Swedish: ''Glasriket'', ''The glass realm'') is a geographical area today containing a total of 14 glassworks in the municipalities of Emmaboda, Nybro, Uppvidinge, and Lessebo in southern Sweden. (in Swedish) The two ...

" as well as of the " Kingdom of Furniture".

Education

The city has three municipality-run

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s ("gymnasiums"):

Teknikum Teknikum is an upper secondary school (in Swedish called '' gymnasieskola'') located in Växjö, Sweden. The school was founded in 1961 as an engineering school, offering three-year programs in mechanical, chemical, electrical and constructio ...

, Katedralskolan, and Kungsmadskolan.

had a student body of 42,000 students (including its

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

campus) or 15,000 students (

full-time equivalent Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit that indicates the workload of an employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to measure a ...

s) .

Demography

Population numbers by city districts

* Teleborg: 12,834 * Hovshaga: 9,541 * Hov: 8,020 * Araby: 6,520 * Norr: 4,518 * Väster: 4,829 * Öster: 4,489 * Söder: 3,694 * Sandsbro: 3,090 * Högstorp: 2,710 * Öjaby: 2,213 * Centrum: 2,086 * Räppe: 1,260 * Kronoberg/Evedal: 279 * Regementstaden: 88 * Västra mark: 69 * Norremark: 29

Transport

The Coast to Coast track cuts through the municipality from north-west to south-east. SJ's long-distance trains travel between Gothenburg, Alvesta (with connections to the southern trunk line) and Kalmar, with stop in Växjö. Öresundståg's long-distance trains travel the Kalmar – Alvesta – Malmö - Copenhagen route. Regional trains Krösatågen travel the Växjö – Jönköping route. Trunk roads 23, 25, 27, 29, 30 and 37 meet in the municipality. In air transport, the city is served by the nearby Växjö/Kronoberg Airport.

Environmental policy

In 1996 the city adopted a policy for the elimination of the use of fossil fuels by 2030. This decision was taken in reaction to pollution and

eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phyt ...

in the lakes that surround the town.

Greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor (), carbon dioxide (), methane ...

emissions were cut by 41% from 1993 to 2011, and were reduced by 55% by 2015. The city's economy has grown during this time. By 2014, Växjö's CO₂ emissions had dropped to 2.4tonnes per capita, well below the EU average of 7.3tonnes.

The Greenest City in Europe

Växjö has called itself "The Greenest City in Europe" since 2007. It has its foundation in a long history of commitment to environmental issues, and ambitious goals for a green future. It is a vision shared with the citizens and the local companies. In 2017 Växjö was awarded the European Green Leaf Award 2018 by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

. The prize is awarded to cities with less than 100 000 inhabitants that show good results and ambitions in terms of environment and are committed to generate green growth.

Notable people

Joachim Björklund Joachim Björklund (born 15 March 1971) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He is the assistant coach of Sarpsborg 08 in the Norwegian Eliteserien. Beginning his playing career with Östers IF and SK Bran ...

, footballer * Jonas Björkman, tennis player with 50 doubles titles including Grand Slams *

Karl-Birger Blomdahl Karl-Birger Blomdahl (19 October 1916 – 14 June 1968) was a Swedish composer and conductor born in Växjö. He was educated in biochemistry, but was primarily active in music and by his experimental compositions he became one of the big names ...

, 20th century music composer *

Maria Cederschiöld (deaconess) Anna Maria Cederschiöld (20 November 1815 in Växjö - 7 January 1892 in Lund) was a Swedish noble deaconess and nurse. She was a pioneer in the education of deaconesses and nursing in Sweden, and the first head of the first Deaconess institution ...

* Bjorn Englen, bass player of

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...

's Rising Force * Knute Heldner, 20th-century

Swedish American Swedish Americans ( sv, svenskamerikaner) are Americans of Swedish ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants. Today, ...

artist * Emil Johansson (ice hockey), Ice Hockey player for the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R ...

of the AHL *

Stefan Johansson Stefan Nils Edwin Johansson (born 8 September 1956) is a Swedish racing driver who drove in Formula One for both Ferrari and McLaren, among other teams. Since leaving Formula One he has won the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans and raced in a number o ...

, Formula 1 racing driver *

Jonas Jonasson Pär-Ola Jonas Jonasson (born Per Ola Jonasson; 6 July 1961) is a Swedish journalist and writer, best known as the author of the best-seller ''The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared''. Biography The son of an ambul ...

, writer *

Owe Jonsson Owe Jonsson (23 November 1940 – 29 September 1962) was a Swedish sprinter, ice hockey player and bandy player. Jonsson mostly competed in 100–400 m sprint events, winning seven national titles in 1960–1962. His favorite distance was 200 ...

, track and field athlete and European champion *

Martin Kellerman Martin Kellerman (born 1973 in Växjö) is a Swedish cartoonist, known for the comic strip ''Rocky''. He was influenced by American and Swedish underground cartoonists such as Peter Bagge, Max Andersson, Robert Crumb, Harvey Pekar, Joe Matt and ...

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

creator * Carolina Klüft, track and field athlete and Olympic gold medalist at

Athens 2004 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

* Pär Lagerkvist, author and winner of the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

, 1951 * Otto Lindblad, 19th century music composer *

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

, botanist, physician and zoologist *

Melody Club Melody Club is a Sweden, Swedish band from Växjö formed in January 2000. Their breakthrough came in 2002 with the song ''Palace Station'', which was also a big success in Germany. The band has frequent radio airplay in Sweden, Germany, Japan, Nor ...

, rock band *

Christina Nilsson Christina Nilsson, Countess de Casa Miranda, also called Christine Nilsson (20 August 1843 – 22 November 1921) was a Swedish dramatic coloratura soprano. Possessed of a pure and brilliant voice of first three then two and a half octaves tra ...

, 19th century soprano celebrity * Andreas Ravelli, footballer *

Thomas Ravelli Thomas Ravelli (; born 13 August 1959) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His 21-year professional career was almost exclusively associated with Öster and Göteborg, for whom he appeared in a combined 416 A ...

, football

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

Sophie Sager Sophie (or Sofie) Sager, (Växjö, Sweden, 1825 – New York City, United States, 1902), was a Swedish writer and feminist. She was one of the first feminist activists and speakers for the modern women's movement in Sweden. She is also known for ...

, 19th century writer and feminist * Peder Sjögren, 20th century author and playwright * Jonas Swensson, President of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church *

Håkan Syrén General Håkan Erik Gunnar Syrén (born 31 January 1952) is a retired officer of the Swedish Coastal Artillery/Swedish Amphibious Corps and former Chairman of the European Union Military Committee. He was the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Arm ...

, a military

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

and Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces *

Esaias Tegnér Esaias Tegnér (; – ) was a Swedish writer, professor of the Greek language, and bishop. He was during the 19th century regarded as the father of modern poetry in Sweden, mainly through the national romantic epic ''Frithjof's Saga''. He has b ...

, poet and bishop of Växjö * Mats Wilander,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

player with seven Grand Slam victories 1982–1988 * Björn Wirdheim, racing driver * The Ark, rock band

Sports clubs

The following sports clubs are located in Växjö: * Östers IF – football * Hovshaga AIF – football, floorball, and tennis * Växjö BK – football * Växjö Lakers – ice hockey * Växjö Vipers – floorball * Wexjö RK – rugby * Växjö Ravens BBK - basketball * – orienteering * Växjö DFF – football * Växjö United FC – football * Växjö VK – Volleyball

Climate

Växjö has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(''

Dfb DFB may refer to: * Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city * Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas * Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia * Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate * Distributed-feedback ...

''), using temperature data from 1961 to 1990. Temperatures have risen in recent years, and using the -3 Celsius isotherm, it can also be classified as an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(''Cfb'') with 2002-2015 temperature data. It is milder, wetter, and cloudier than the rest of the country, with the number of hours of sunshine being associated more with the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isl ...

than with areas further north in Sweden. Considering its relative distance to all three coasts surrounding South Sweden, the climate is markedly maritime, with winter temperatures being relatively mild for an inland location. When compared with sunnier inland areas further north, Växjö has relatively cool summers.

References

External links

Växjö Municipality
– Official site
Växjö tourist information in english
in

Nordisk familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their co ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaxjo County seats in Sweden Populated lakeshore places in Sweden Populated places in Kronoberg County Populated places in Växjö Municipality Municipal seats of Kronoberg County Swedish municipal seats Cities in Kronoberg County Värend