Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the
Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative
provinces of Sweden
The 25 provinces of Sweden () are historical, geographical and cultural regions. They have no administrative function, but retain their own cultural identities, dialects and folklore.
Several were administrative subdivisions until 1634, when t ...
(''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
.
Västergötland is home to
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
, the second largest city in Sweden, which is situated along a short stretch of the
Kattegat
The Kattegat (; ; ) is a sea area bounded by the peninsula of Jutland in the west, the Danish straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the Swedish provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Scania in Swede ...
strait. The province is bordered by
Bohuslän
Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...
,
Dalsland
Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, ...
,
Värmland
Värmland () is a ''Provinces of Sweden, landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west.
Name
Several Latinized version ...
,
Närke
Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the sou ...
,
Östergötland,
Småland
Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...
and
Halland
Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Skåne, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Br ...
, as well as the two largest Swedish lakes
Vänern and
Vättern
Vättern ( , ) is the second-largest lake in Sweden, after Vänern, and the sixth-largest lake in Europe. It is a long, finger-shaped body of fresh water in south central Sweden, to the southeast of Vänern, pointing at the tip of Scandinavia. ...
.
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden is Duchess of Västergötland.
Administration
The
provinces of Sweden
The 25 provinces of Sweden () are historical, geographical and cultural regions. They have no administrative function, but retain their own cultural identities, dialects and folklore.
Several were administrative subdivisions until 1634, when t ...
serve no administrative function. Instead, that function is served by
counties of Sweden
The counties of Sweden () are the first-level administrative subdivisions of Sweden. There are twenty-one counties; however, the number of counties has varied over time, due to territorial changes and to divisions or mergers of existing counti ...
. From the 17th century up until 31 December 1997, Västergötland was divided into
Skaraborg County
Skaraborg County ( ) was a Counties of Sweden, county of Sweden from 1634 until 1997. It was disestablished at the end of 1997 when it was merged with the counties of Gothenburg and Bohus County, Gothenburg and Bohus and Älvsborg County, Älvs ...
,
Älvsborg County and a minor part of
Gothenburg and Bohus County. From 1 January 1998 nearly all of the province is in the newly created
Västra Götaland County
Västra Götaland County () 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 1,616,000 amounts to 17% of S ...
, with the exception of
Habo Municipality and
Mullsjö Municipality, which were transferred to
Jönköping County, and smaller parts of the province which are in
Halland County
Halland County (, ) is a county ('' län'') on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Halland. The capital is Halmstad. Prince Julian, the son of Prince Carl Philip, is Duke of Halland.
...
and
Örebro County.
Heraldry
Västergötland was granted its arms at the time of the funeral of King
Gustav Vasa in 1560. The province is also a duchy and the arms can be represented with the ducal coronet. Blazon: "Per bend sinister Sable and Or, a Lion rampant counterchanged langued and armed Gules between two Mullets Argent in the Sable field."
Geography
The southern and eastern part of the province is dominated by hills, belonging to the
southern Swedish highlands. In
geological
Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...
terms southern Västergötland is made up of northward tilted surfaces of the
Sub-Cambrian peneplain
The sub-Cambrian peneplain is an ancient, extremely flat, erosion surface (peneplain) that has been exhumed and exposed by erosion from under Cambrian strata over large swathes of Fennoscandia. Eastward, where this peneplain dips below Cambrian an ...
making up the flank of the
Southern Swedish Dome.

The northern and western portions of the province belong to the
Central Swedish lowland, which in this part is referred to as the Västgöta-plains or . Characteristic for these lowlands in Västergötland is that they contain hills made up
Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...
-aged
sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...
. These are;
Kinnekulle,
Halleberg,
Hunneberg and
Billingen.
Along the
Kattegat
The Kattegat (; ; ) is a sea area bounded by the peninsula of Jutland in the west, the Danish straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the Swedish provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Scania in Swede ...
lies the archipelago usually known as the
Gothenburg archipelago. The southern part of it, belonging to
Gothenburg Municipality
Gothenburg Municipality ( or ) is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Gothenburg.
When the first Swedish local government acts were implemented in 1863 the City of Gothenburg, founde ...
, is part of Västergötland.
The northwestern border is demarcated by Sweden's largest lake
Vänern, and the north-eastern border is demarcated by Sweden's second largest lake
Vättern
Vättern ( , ) is the second-largest lake in Sweden, after Vänern, and the sixth-largest lake in Europe. It is a long, finger-shaped body of fresh water in south central Sweden, to the southeast of Vänern, pointing at the tip of Scandinavia. ...
. Within the province the shoreline of Lake Vänern is long, and along Vättern it is . The largest river is
Göta älv which drains
Vänern to the east shore and the
Kattegat
The Kattegat (; ; ) is a sea area bounded by the peninsula of Jutland in the west, the Danish straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the Swedish provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Scania in Swede ...
strait; along the river several important cities and towns have been situated for centuries.
The average rainfall is near the coast and in the plains. The average temperature is in January and in July.
* Highest mountain: Galtåsen 362 meters (1188')
* National parks:
Tiveden,
Djurö
Population
As of 31 December 2016, Västergötland had a population of 1,328,128 distributed over four counties:
History
Prehistory and middle ages
There are many ancient remains in Västergötland. Among the most notable of these remains are the
dolmen
A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...
s from the
Funnelbeaker culture
The Funnel(-neck-)beaker culture, in short TRB or TBK (, ; ; ), was an archaeological culture in north-central Europe.
It developed as a technological merger of local neolithic and mesolithic techno-complexes between the lower Elbe and middle V ...
, in the
Falköping area south of lake
Vänern.
Finnestorp, near
Larv, was a weapons sacrificial site from the
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
.
The population of Västergötland, the ''
Geats
The Geats ( ; ; ; ), sometimes called ''Geats#Goths, Goths'', were a large North Germanic peoples, North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the Late Middle Ages. They are one of ...
'' appear in the writings of the Greek
Ptolemaios (as ''Goutai''), and they appear as ''Gautigoths'' in
Jordanes
Jordanes (; Greek language, Greek: Ιορδάνης), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat, claimed to be of Goths, Gothic descent, who became a historian later in life.
He wrote two works, one on R ...
' work in the 6th century. The province of Västergötland represents the heartland of
Götaland
Götaland (; also '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, with the deep wo ...
, once an independent
petty kingdom
A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into t ...
with a long line of
Geatish kings. These are mainly described in foreign sources (Frankish) and through legends. It is possible that Västergötland had the same king as the rest of Sweden at the time of the monk
Ansgar
Ansgar (8 September 801 – 3 February 865), also known as Anskar, Saint Ansgar, Saint Anschar or Oscar, was Archbishopric of Bremen, Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in the northern part of the Kingdom of the East Franks. Ansgar became known as the ...
's mission to Sweden in the 9th century, but both the date and nature of its inclusion into the Swedish kingdom is a matter of much debate. Some date it as early as the 6th century, based on the
Swedish-Geatish wars in ''
Beowulf
''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...
'' epos; others date it as late as the 12th century.
Västergötland received much early influence from the
British Isles
The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, 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 Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
and is generally considered to be the
bridgehead of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
's advance into Sweden. Recent excavations at
Varnhem suggest that at least its central parts were Christian in the 9th century. Around 1000, King
Olof Skötkonung
Olof Skötkonung (; – 1022), sometimes stylized as Olaf the Swede, was King of Sweden, son of Eric the Victorious and, according to Icelandic sources, Sigrid the Haughty. He succeeded his father in c. 995. He stands at the threshold of record ...
is held to have received
baptism
Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
in
Husaby, near lake
Vänern. However, the Christianization was met with heavy opposition in the rest of his kingdom, and so Olof had to restrict the Christian activities to Västergötland. The Christian faith spread, and by the time the provincial law ''
Västgötalagen'' was written in the 13th century, Västergötland had 517 churches. The seat of the area's
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
seems to originally have been Husaby, but since 1150 the city of
Skara (just some 20 kilometers; 10 miles south) held that distinction.
From the election of King
Stenkil in the 11th century, Swedish and Geatish dynasties vied for the control of Sweden during long civil wars. For instance, the Swedish king
Ragnvald Knaphövde was elected king by the Swedes, but when he entered Västergötland, he chose not to demand hostage from the powerful Geatish clans and was slain by the Geats near Falköping. Several times, Västergötland was independent from Sweden with kings such as
Inge I of Sweden
Inge the Elder (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Inge Stenkilsson''; Old Norse: ''Ingi Steinkelsson''; died c. 1105–1110) was a king of Sweden. In English literature he has also been called ''Ingold''. While scant sources do not allow a full pictur ...
and
Magnus the Strong. In later years the area was progressively tied more closely to the Swedish kingdom.
Being in peace with the rest of Sweden did not mean being in peace. Located along the borders of Denmark (with the so-called
Scanian lands) and Norway (with
Bohuslän
Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...
), the area was often involved in armed disputes and invaded by hostile armies.
Some places and dates of early battles were the
Battle of Älgarås
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
(1205), the
Battle of Lena
The Battle of Lena occurred on 31 January 1208 and probably took place near :sv:Kungslena, Kungslena, in the Tidaholm Municipality in Västergötland, Sweden. It was an important battle between the Danish-backed King Sverker II of Sweden and Prin ...
(1208), the
Battle of Hova (1275), the
Battle of Gälakvist (1279) and the
Battle of Falköping (1389). Thereafter, Sweden was involved in the Sweden-Danish wars; some notable years 1452, 1511, 1520, 1566, 1612, 1676.
In 1658, the current borders of Sweden were established when Sweden annexed both the Scanian lands and Bohuslän. Västergötland became less exposed as it was further from the country borders. Seaside battles at the end of
Scanian War
The Scanian War (; ; ; ) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and Swedish Empire, Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish ...
in the 1670s was the last combat on Västergötland soil.
Sources:
*
Nordisk Familjebok
(, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, 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. The public domain edit ...
(link below).
16th century and after
In 1634, the province was modernized with the establishment of two counties:
Skaraborg County
Skaraborg County ( ) was a Counties of Sweden, county of Sweden from 1634 until 1997. It was disestablished at the end of 1997 when it was merged with the counties of Gothenburg and Bohus County, Gothenburg and Bohus and Älvsborg County, Älvs ...
(with Skara as capital) and
Älvsborg County (Capital first in Gothenburg but after 1679 in
Vänersborg
Vänersborg () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Vänersborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 23,882 inhabitants (out of a municipal total of 39,904) Until 1997 it was the capital of Älvsborg County, which mer ...
).
Culture
Language
In Västergötland, the
Götamål dialect of
Swedish is spoken. The dialect has several varieties like the ones spoken in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
and
Sjuhärad, but the main dialectal variety is the Western Götaland dialect, ''Västgötska''.
The dialect was first dealt with as early as 1772, by S. Hofs in his ''Dialectus vestrogothica'', which was a vocabulary with a grammar introduction.
Sights
Läckö Castle is situated on the island ''Kållandsö'' in the
Vänern lake. It is generally regarded as one of Sweden's finest
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
castles. The island was actually the location of a fortress as early as 1298, but the current building was begun in 1615, supervised first by
Jacob De la Gardie
Field Marshal and Count Jacob Pontusson De la Gardie (20 June 1583 – 22 August 1652) was a wikt:statesman, statesman and a soldier of the Swedish Empire, and a Marshal from 1620 onward.
He was Privy Council of Sweden, Privy Councilor from ...
and then finished by his son
Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie
Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie (15 October 1622 – 26 April 1686) was a Swedish Empire, Swedish statesman and military man. He became a member of the Privy Council of Sweden, Swedish Privy Council in 1647 and came to be the holder of three ...
.
Karlsborg Fortress, the largest fortress in Europe, is situated in the town of Karlsborg.
It is a testament to the "Central Defence Principle" of the 19th century, a reaction to the loss of Finland as a buffer state in 1809.
Bjurum manor, one of the largest
Swedish manors in the country, is located in Västergötland.
Skara Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in the original parts of Sweden, i.e. if
Scania
Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...
is not included.
Hundreds
Hundreds of Sweden were sub-divisions of the Swedish provinces until the early 20th century. Several of Västergötland's hundreds were already described in the first written law for the province (''
Västgötalagen'') in the 13th century. Västergötland's hundreds were:
*
Ale
*
Askim
Askim () is a town and a former municipality in (from January 1, 2020) Indre Østfold municipality in the county of Østfold, Norway.
The administrative centre of the Askim municipality was the town of Askim. Askim was established as a municip ...
*
Barne
*
Bjärke
*
Bollebygd
*
Eastern Hisingen
*
Flundre
*
Frökind
*
Gudhem
*
Gäsene
*
Kåkind
*
Kålland
*
Kind
*
Kinne
*
Kinner Quarter
*
Kulling
*
Laske
*
Mark
*
Mo
*
Redväg
*
Skånings
*
Vadsbo
*
Valle
*
Vartofta
*
Veden
*
Vilske
*
Viste
*
Väne
*
Vätle
*
Ås
*
Åse
Cities
The
cities of Sweden were formerly chartered entities with certain privileges. Today they are municipalities.
*
Alingsås
Alingsås () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Alingsås Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 24,482 inhabitants in 2010.
Geography
Geographically the city is situated by the outlet of the small rivulet Säv ...
(1619)
*
Borås
Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality) and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 114,556 inhabitants in 2024. It is widely known for being a textile city, home to worldwide brands and companie ...
(1621)
*
Falköping (approximately 1200)
*
Gothenburg/Göteborg (1621)
*
Hjo (approximately 1400)
*
Lidköping
Lidköping () is a locality and the seat of Lidköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about
40,000 inhabitants in 2021.
It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Vänern and sometimes refers to itself as "Lidkö ...
(1446)
*
Mariestad
Mariestad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Mariestad Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 16,611 inhabitants in 2019. Until 1997 it was the capital of the former Skaraborg County and an episcopal see in the ...
(1583)
*
Mölndal (1922)
*
Skara (approximately 988)
*
Skövde (approximately 1400)
*
Tidaholm (1910)
*
Trollhättan
Trollhättan () is the 23rd-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Trollhättan Municipality, Västra Götaland County. It is situated by Göta älv, near the lake Vänern, and has a population of approximately 50,000 in the city proper. It is loc ...
(1916)
*
Ulricehamn (approximately 1400)
*
Vänersborg
Vänersborg () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Vänersborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 23,882 inhabitants (out of a municipal total of 39,904) Until 1997 it was the capital of Älvsborg County, which mer ...
(1644)
The largest city, Gothenburg, is located by the western shore with a significant harbour commerce.
Sports
Football in the province is administered by
Västergötlands Fotbollförbund.
See also
*
Göta Canal
*
Västgötabergen
*
Götaland theory
References
Other sources
*
Nordisk familjebok
(, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, 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. The public domain edit ...
, Owl edition, volume 33, p. 373
373–374 (Nordisk familjebok / Uggleupplagan. 33. Väderlek – Äänekoski).
External links
Västergötland– Tourist site
from
Nordisk familjebok
(, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, 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. The public domain edit ...
(in Swedish).
Map of VästergötlandFinnestorp website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vastergotland
Provinces of Sweden
Geats