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Västergötland | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 | |
| Country |  Sweden |
| Land | Götaland |
| Counties | Västra Götaland County Jönköping County Halland County Örebro County |
| Area | |
• Total | 16,694 km2 (6,446 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2023)[1] | |
• Total | 1,410,554 |
| • Density | 84.495/km2 (218.84/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | |
| • Language | Swedish |
| • Dialect | Västgötska,Gothenburg dialect |
| Culture | |
| • Flower | Heather |
| • Animal | Crane |
| • Bird | — |
| • Fish | Burbot |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Västergötland (Swedish:[ˈvɛ̂sːtɛrˌjøːtland]ⓘ), also known asWest Gothland or theLatinized versionWestrogothia in older literature,[2] is one of the 25 traditional non-administrativeprovinces of Sweden (landskap in Swedish), situated in the southwest ofSweden.
Västergötland is home toGothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden, which is situated along a short stretch of theKattegat strait. The province is bordered byBohuslän,Dalsland,Värmland,Närke,Östergötland,Småland andHalland, as well as the two largest Swedish lakesVänern andVättern.Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden is Duchess of Västergötland.
Theprovinces of Sweden serve no administrative function. Instead, that function is served bycounties of Sweden. From the 17th century up until 31 December 1997, Västergötland was divided intoSkaraborg County,Älvsborg County and a minor part ofGothenburg and Bohus County. From 1 January 1998 nearly all of the province is in the newly createdVästra Götaland County, with the exception ofHabo Municipality andMullsjö Municipality, which were transferred toJönköping County, and smaller parts of the province which are inHalland County andÖrebro County.
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Västergötland was granted its arms at the time of the funeral of KingGustav 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."
The southern and eastern part of the province is dominated by hills, belonging to thesouthern Swedish highlands. Ingeological terms southern Västergötland is made up of northward tilted surfaces of theSub-Cambrian peneplain making up the flank of theSouthern Swedish Dome.[3]
The northern and western portions of the province belong to theCentral Swedish lowland, which in this part is referred to as the Västgöta-plains orVästgötaslätten. Characteristic for these lowlands in Västergötland is that they contain hills made upSilurian-agedsedimentary rock. These are;Kinnekulle,Halleberg,Hunneberg andBillingen.[4]
Along theKattegat lies the archipelago usually known as theGothenburg archipelago. The southern part of it, belonging toGothenburg Municipality, is part of Västergötland.
The northwestern border is demarcated by Sweden's largest lakeVänern, and the north-eastern border is demarcated by Sweden's second largest lakeVättern. Within the province the shoreline of Lake Vänern is 330 kilometres (210 mi) long, and along Vättern it is 130 km (81 mi). The largest river isGöta älv which drainsVänern to the east shore and theKattegat strait; along the river several important cities and towns have been situated for centuries.
The average rainfall is 900 mm (35 in) near the coast and 600 mm (24 in) in the plains. The average temperature is −1 °C (30 °F) in January and 15 °C (59 °F) in July.
As of 31 December 2016, Västergötland had a population of 1,328,128 distributed over four counties:[1]
| County | Population |
|---|---|
| part ofVästra Götaland County | 1,305,659 |
| part ofJönköping County | 18,812 |
| part ofHalland County | 2,126 |
| part ofÖrebro County | 1,531 |
There are many ancient remains in Västergötland. Among the most notable of these remains are thedolmens from theFunnelbeaker culture, in theFalköping area south of lakeVänern.Finnestorp, nearLarv, was a weapons sacrificial site from theIron Age.[5]
The population of Västergötland, theGeats appear in the writings of the GreekPtolemaios (asGoutai), and they appear asGautigoths inJordanes' work in the 6th century. The province of Västergötland represents the heartland ofGötaland, once an independentpetty kingdom with a long line ofGeatish 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 monkAnsgar'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 theSwedish-Geatish wars inBeowulf epos; others date it as late as the 12th century.
Västergötland received much early influence from theBritish Isles and is generally considered to be thebridgehead ofChristianity's advance into Sweden. Recent excavations atVarnhem suggest that at least its central parts were Christian in the 9th century.[6] Around 1000, KingOlof Skötkonung is held to have receivedbaptism inHusaby, near lakeVänern. 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 lawVästgötalagen was written in the 13th century, Västergötland had 517 churches. The seat of the area'sdiocese seems to originally have been Husaby, but since 1150 the city ofSkara (just some 20 kilometers; 10 miles south) held that distinction.
From the election of KingStenkil in the 11th century, Swedish and Geatish dynasties vied for the control of Sweden during long civil wars. For instance, the Swedish kingRagnvald 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 asInge I of Sweden andMagnus 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-calledScanian lands) and Norway (withBohuslän), the area was often involved in armed disputes and invaded by hostile armies.
Some places and dates of early battles were theBattle of Älgarås (1205), theBattle of Lena (1208), theBattle of Hova (1275), theBattle of Gälakvist (1279) and theBattle 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 ofScanian War in the 1670s was the last combat on Västergötland soil.
Sources:
In 1634, the province was modernized with the establishment of two counties:Skaraborg County (with Skara as capital) andÄlvsborg County (Capital first in Gothenburg but after 1679 inVänersborg).
In Västergötland, theGötamål dialect ofSwedish is spoken. The dialect has several varieties like the ones spoken inGothenburg andSjuhärad, 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 hisDialectus vestrogothica, which was a vocabulary with a grammar introduction.
Läckö Castle is situated on the islandKållandsö in theVänern lake. It is generally regarded as one of Sweden's finestBaroque castles. The island was actually the location of a fortress as early as 1298, but the current building was begun in 1615, supervised first byJacob De la Gardie and then finished by his sonMagnus Gabriel de la Gardie.
Karlsborg Fortress, the largest fortress in Europe, is situated in the town of Karlsborg.[7] 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 largestSwedish manors in the country, is located in Västergötland.
Skara Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in the original parts of Sweden, i.e. ifScania is not included.
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:
Thecities of Sweden were formerly chartered entities with certain privileges. Today they are municipalities.
The largest city, Gothenburg, is located by the western shore with a significant harbour commerce.
Football in the province is administered byVästergötlands Fotbollförbund.
