Arvika Municipality

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This page deals with both Arvika Municipality and the urban area (tätort) Arvika

**Arvika Municipality (*Kommun*)**
Map outlining the municipalities of Sweden	Coat of arms
	Municipal facts
	Seat	Arvika
	59° 39′ N 12° 37′ 0″ E
	County	Värmland County
	Province	Värmland
	Area Rank	1659.5 km² 55th of 290
	Population Rank (2005)	26,275 93rd of 290
	Population density	16/km²

Arvika is a municipality in Värmland County in western Sweden. It has circa 28,000 inhabitants, with 14,000 living in the town Arvika.

It is in Sweden most known for the annual Arvika Festival that attracts international artists.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Industry
4 Culture
5 Notable natives
6 External links

[edit] Geography

The town of Arvika is situated at Kyrkviken, a bay of Glafsfjorden, Sweden's only inland fjord, a remnant of the time following the last ice age (once a fjord of the Ancylus Lake).

The area is hilly with the tallest hill Storkasberget close to the town centre.

Arvika and its surroundings has excellent water infrastructure. Through a system of canals lake Vänern can be reached, and from there the Göta Canal allowes further passage to Gothenburg and Sweden's west coast.

[edit] History

Arvika town centre in June 2004

Ten kilometers west of the city, in Bergs Klätt, there are remnants of a younger Stone Age and Nordic Bronze Age settlements in the form of graves.

The town was a village until 1811 when it was given town privileges by royal charter under the name Oscarsstad in order to improve the economy of the area. This attempt was unsuccessful, and the town privileges were repealed in 1821 and the town was instead given the status of köping (township) and renamed Arvika. The town privileges were reinstated at the founding centennial in 1911, and the name Arvika remained.

[edit] Industry

Arvika has several heavy industrial production facilities which employ the majority of the population, among these Volvo Wheel Loaders and Arvika Gjuteri (nodular and grey iron foundry).

[edit] Culture

Arvika is known for the turn of the century (around 1900) artist commune Rackstad just outside the city. Here, several famous Swedish artists lived and worked, the most well-known probably being Christian Eriksson and Gustaf Fjæstad and his wife Maja Fjæstad. Other talents that lived in Rackstad include Björn Ahlgrensson and Fritz Lindström.

In recent times, the Arvika Festival (since 1992) is the biggest annual event in the area, with several international bands visiting the town during three days in July every summer. In recent years such bands as Einstürzende Neubauten, Ministry, New Order, Kraftwerk and Franz Ferdinand have performed here.

One of Sweden's six music schools, Ingesund College of Music, is situated in Arvika.