Vänersborg Municipality
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This page deals with both Vänersborg Municipality and the urban area (tätort) Vänersborg
Central VänersborgVänersborg Municipality on Sweden's southern half Map outlining the municipalities of Sweden |
Coat of arms |
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Municipal facts | ||
Seat | Vänersborg | |
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County | Västra Götaland County | |
Province | Västergötland | |
Area
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647 km² x of 290 |
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Population
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37,105 60th of 290 |
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Population density | 57/km² |
Vänersborg Municipality is a Swedish municipality in Västra Götaland County, in western Sweden. Its seat is in the town Vänersborg with 21,000 inhabitants.
The city is an important harbour for lake Vänern.
Contents |
[edit] History
Vänersborg was founded by citizens from Brätte, who moved there between 1642-1644. Vänersborg was formally confirmed the city status in Sweden in 1644. The remains of Brätte is still a popular attraction.
The names Vänersborg means "fortified fortress". It comes from the fortlet which was begun on in 1644 for protection.
The coat of arms is also from 1644, depicting a golden ship with two swedish flags.
Around 1800, Vänersborg and its 1,500 inhabitants were a decent city. After the inauguration of the canal at Trollhättan and the Göta älv -- making a waterway between Vänern and Gothenburg -- its importance further grew.
In 1834, most of the city with its wooden houses burnt down. Thereafter it was rebuilt according to a check pattern.
From 1693 to 1999, Vänersborg was the capital of Älvsborg County, until it was merged into Västra Götaland County.
[edit] Notability
The poet Birger Sjöberg (1885-1929) was born in Vänersborg. He wrote appreciative about Vänersborg, most notably in Fridas bok (1922), wherein the comparisment "Vänersborg -- little Paris" is found. The park in the northern part of Vänersborg, Skräckleparken, offers a picturesque view over Väners, and therein also stands this statue of mentioned Frida.
[edit] Towns
Towns > 200 inhabitants. From Statistics Sweden.
- Frändefors 600
- Brålanda 1,500
- Vargön 5,000
[edit] References
- article Vänersborg in Nordisk familjebok
- Article on Swedish Wikipedia
[edit] External links
- Vänersborg - Official site
- Vänersborg Tourism – official page from vastsverige.com, in English, German, Swedish. (link tested and works August 2005)
- [1] - The local newspaper TTELA
- [2] - Friskis&Svettis Vänersborg. One of the leading health and training associations in Vänersborg, with 1200 members]
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