During recent years, Karlstad has started seeing big growth with many new buildings, for example the new apartment complexes aroundOrrholmen andTullholmen, hosting a brand new Coop store and a 17 story high rise apartment which was finished in late 2022.
Karlstad is built on the river delta where Sweden's longest river,Klarälven, runs into Sweden's largest lake,Vänern. It has the second largest lake port in the country afterVästerås.
Karlstad is often associated with sunshine and the symbol for Karlstad is a smiling sun. Karlstad is reputed to be one of the sunniest towns in Sweden and a local waitress, known as "Sola i Karlstad" (the Sun in Karlstad) for her sunny disposition, is also commemorated with a statue.
On Karlstad's largest islet, there was a place of counsel called Tingvalla in themedieval age, which had roots from theViking Age before 1000 AD. It was also used as amarket place.
Statue of Charles IX of Sweden
Karlstad was granted itscity charter on March 5, 1584, by the Swedish Duke Charles, who would later be crowned KingCharles IX of Sweden. The city derives its name from the King – Karlstad literally meansCharles' city. The Duke also granted Karlstad the right as a governmental seat in the region, and gave it a substantial amount of land.
The Duke built his own house in the city, which is referred to asKungsgården (The King's Manor). Karlstad's Cathedral was built on the location Kungsgården in 1724–1730 by Christian Haller.
Then most significantcoup d'état in modern Swedish history had its beginning in Karlstad. During the night of 7 March 1809,major generalGeorg Adlersparre used the part of the western army that was stationed in Värmland to occupy Karlstad. From there officially proclaimed a revolution, and during 9 March, he and his soldiers began their march toward the capital to end the reign of kingGustav IV Adolf.[6]
Karlstad has suffered four major fires. Only the cathedral and a few houses remained after the last fire on July 2, 1865. Karlstad was thereafter rebuilt according to agrid pattern with wide streets surrounded by trees.
The official language,Swedish, is the native language of a large majority and also spoken by most people in Karlstad. Immigration has also established five notable minority languages:[8]
Karlstad has several Christian denominations, including theChurch of Sweden, with notable churches such as theKarlstad Cathedral built in 1730.[9] In the 1800s, a smallJewish community formed in Karlstad and built asynagogue in 1899, which was demolished in 1961.[10]
Several upper secondary schools (gymnasium) offer the most common range of courses usually available throughout Sweden, including theIB Diploma Programme. The majority of students in Värmland need to commute or move to Karlstad for their uppersecondary education.[citation needed]Tertiary education is offered byKarlstad University, which was granted university status in 1999.[11]
The HomeTerrace in Löfbergs Lila Arena prior to match openingBandy at the old Tingvalla Ice Stadium, with the former military barracks of theVärmland Regiment seen to the far right
Ice hockey is a highly popular spectator sport in Karlstad. The most popular club isFärjestad BK. The team plays in theSwedish Hockey League (SHL, highest level) and their home arena isLöfbergs Arena. The club has won theSwedish Championship several times, most recently in 2022, and is the most successful ice hockey club in Sweden since the foundation of Elitserien (Swedish Hockey League since 2013) in 1975. Several other ice hockey clubs exist and Karlstad is also represented in the 1st Division of ice hockey (3rd highest level) by the teamSkåre BK. The2010 Men's World Inline Hockey Championships was also hosted by Karlstad, with Löfbergs Arena as the primary site of the tournament.
Traditionally,bandy has been the most popular winter sport in Karlstad, and the city is the home of two of the historically most successful clubs in Sweden,IF Boltic andIF Karlstad-Göta. Boltic reached 10Swedish finals in a row from 1979 to 1988. They won the first 7 and the one in 1988. They also won in 1995. In 2000, the two clubs merged intoBS BolticGöta. The first team again played as IF Boltic since the winter 2008/2009.[12] After a successful season inAllsvenskan 2009/2010 the team qualified forElitserien, but was again relegated for the 2011/2012 season. Boltic's general meeting decided in 2014 to take back the club's old name IF Boltic.[13] And Karlstad-Göta does not have a bandy team anymore. The home arena of Boltic, Tingvalla Ice Stadium, built in 1967, was claimed to be one of Northern Europe's largest artificially frozen areas. The outdoor stadium was demolished in 2020 and converted into an indoor rink, inaugurated in 2022. While one of many indoor bandy arenas, it isSweden's only indoor speed skating arena. Afghans living in Karlstad has taken a liking to bandy and set up anAfghanistan national bandy team, which is based in the city.
Karlstad is a regular host of start, finish and special stages for theSwedish Rally. The competition has world championship status and is held annually inVärmland.[citation needed]
Several football clubs exist.QBIK was founded in 1978, and entered the premier division of women's football,Damallsvenskan, in 2005. The team currently plays in the 1st Division (2nd highest level),[14] but has several players in the Swedish national team.[15] Their home ground isTingvalla IP, and the facility was also the home ground for the football teamKarlstad BK, that played in the men'sDivision 1 Norra (3rd highest level), having gained promotion following a successful 2010 season. The third highest-ranking football team wasCarlstad United. The club was founded in 1998 by an alliance of seven local football clubs, with the aim of providing Karlstad with an elite football team. The club was accepted by theSwedish Football Association (SvFF) in 1999[16] and the team played in the men'sDivision 2 Norra Götaland (4th highest level). Carlstad United and Karlstad BK ended up merging intoIF Karlstad Fotboll, who compete in Division 1 Norra. Another club from Karlstad isFBK Karlstad, who currently play inDivision 1.
American football is also played on Tingvalla IP. TheCarlstad Crusaders play inSuperserien, the highest level and since the founding of the club in 1990, the team has attended eight finals, winning its first championship in 2010.
Karlstad is also famous for athletics. The clubIF Göta has a number of international athletes and host the annual athletics meet Götagalan. There is an outdoor athletics track at Tingvalla IP and anindoor track (200 m) in Våxnäshallen.
Another prominent sports club in Karlstad isOK Tyr, one of the largestorienteering clubs in Sweden. OK Tyr wonTiomila in 1989 and 1990.
Public sports facilities in Karlstad includeKlarälvsbanan, a 90 km (56 mi) cycle path on a formerrailway line running north from Karlstad toHagfors. It is popular with cyclists, inlines skaters and roller skiers.
There is also a large number of open-air beaches and bathing spots byVänern, smaller lakes andKlarälven in the municipality, and a 25-metre (82 ft) indoor municipal swimming pool.
Many wood-chip jogging trails, some of which are lit, can be found in the city outskirts. During wintertime, several are used forcross-country skiing.
In 2023, Karlstads BVP per capita was 623 thousand Swedish crowns, about 20% above the national average at the time.[18] Karlstad has a relatively strong IT sector and a number of IT consulting companies –CombinedX,Sogeti,CGI Inc.,Tieto.Telia Group has a global network operation center in the city.
Karlstad has ahumid continental climate (Dfb) with influence from the surrounding waters of Vänern and the inflow from the Atlantic Ocean. It has large differences between seasons and is moderately influenced by both marine and land airflows. The highest recorded temperature since 1901 is 34.0°C (93.2°F) in July 1933 and the lowest is -36.0°C (-32.8°F) from February 1966.
Climate data forKarlstad Airport (1991-2020 averages; 2008–2018 precipitation forVäse; 2002-2020 average record highs and lows and sunshine hours; extremes 1901–present)
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