Karlstad

On the largest islet of the Klarälven delta, a place called Tingvalla served as a meeting place for councils and a market from the Viking Age onwards. On 5 March 1584 Duke Charles, later King Charles IX, granted it a town charter and named it after himself — Karlstad means Charles' town — making it the seat of government for the province and building a royal manor, Kungsgården, on the island. In 1647 Queen Christina created the Diocese of Karlstad, and the church became a cathedral.

Fire repeatedly destroyed the wooden town. It burned almost completely in 1616, the church burned again in 1719 and was replaced by the present cathedral, completed in 1730, and after the last great fire, on 2 July 1865, only the cathedral and a few houses were left. The town was rebuilt on a grid of wide streets lined with trees, which still shapes the centre. The long stone bridge over the eastern arm of the river, begun in 1761, was finished in 1811.

Karlstad has twice stood at a turning point in Swedish history. On the night of 7 March 1809 Major General Georg Adlersparre occupied the town with part of the western army and proclaimed the revolt that ended the reign of King Gustav IV Adolf. In 1905 the agreement dissolving the union between Sweden and Norway was negotiated and signed here. The city went on to gain a lake port, paper and packaging industries nearby and, in 1999, full university status, and the city has grown quickly in recent years with new housing along the waterfront.

Karlstad's symbol is a woman: Eva Lisa Holtz (1739–1818), a waitress and innkeeper in the town, nicknamed Sola i Karlstad, the Sun of Karlstad, for her cheerful temper. She is commemorated with a statue, and the phrase has become the city's slogan and a nod to its reputation for sunny weather.

Värmland is a literary province, and the city sits close to its writers' homes. The poet Gustaf Fröding was born at Alster manor, just outside the city, in 1860, and Selma Lagerlöf's Mårbacka lies further north near Sunne; the painter and author Lars Lerin, who lives on Hammarö outside the city, has his own art museum at Sandgrund.

Sport is a large part of local life. Färjestad BK, the most successful Swedish ice hockey club since the top league was founded in 1975, plays at Löfbergs Arena and last won the championship in 2022. Bandy was traditionally the main winter sport: IF Boltic reached ten national finals in a row in 1979–88, and the indoor rink at Tingvalla, opened in 2022, is Sweden's only indoor speed-skating arena. Afghans living in Karlstad founded an Afghanistan national bandy team based in the city. Until 2022 Värmland hosted the Swedish Rally, a round of the world championship, with Karlstad a regular host of its start, finish and special stages; the rally has since moved to Umeå. The Carlstad Crusaders, the Götagalan athletics meet and the orienteering club OK Tyr add to the calendar.

About 70,000 people lived in the Karlstad urban area in 2023, and about 97,000 in the wider municipality, which makes it the largest city in Värmland and its administrative centre. Many young people from across the province move or commute here for upper secondary school, and Karlstad University adds a large student population.

The economy rests on services, public administration and a relatively strong IT sector, with several consulting firms and a global network operations centre run by the Telia Group; in 2023 output per head was about a fifth above the Swedish average. Paperboard is made at Skoghall nearby, and the coffee roaster Löfbergs is based in the city. The regional newspapers Nya Wermlands-Tidningen and Värmlands Folkblad are published here.

Most people live in flats and houses in suburbs spread along the river and the lake shore, and new apartment blocks — including a 17-storey tower finished in 2022 — have gone up around Orrholmen and Tullholmen. Arabic, Somali, Sorani, Persian and Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian are among the languages heard alongside Swedish. The Bergvik shopping area on the western edge draws visitors from Norway, where prices are higher. Summer life moves to the beaches on Vänern and the river, and winter to the ice rinks.

Värmland's own dish is värmlandskorv, a thick, unsmoked sausage of minced beef and pork, fat, chopped raw potato and onion, seasoned with salt, white pepper and allspice and then boiled; the potato gives it a slightly grainy texture. Beyond it, Karlstad eats everyday Swedish husmanskost — pea soup, herring, salmon and meatballs with brown cream sauce and lingonberry jam — and many restaurants serve a weekday lunch special, dagens rätt.

Coffee matters here. Löfbergs, founded in Karlstad in 1906 by the brothers Josef, Anders and John Löfberg, is the second-largest coffee brand in Sweden, and its name is on the city's ice hockey arena. Fika — coffee with a bun, cake or biscuit — is a daily habit in the cafés of the centre.

Many of the city's restaurants are on and around Stora torget, where market days are held several times a week. Wine, strong beer and spirits are sold only through the state Systembolaget shops.