Borås
Encyclopedia
Borås is a locality
and the seat of Borås Municipality
, Västra Götaland County
, Sweden
. It had 63,441 inhabitants in 2005.
and Kalmar
, and is often considered the Swedish city gaining the most from the nationwide railway system
laid between 1870-1910.
. The reason was to give local pedlar
s a legal place for vending their merchandise. The city developed soon after it was founded. After a century it had increased to over 2,000 inhabitants.
Borås has been ravaged by fires four times: in 1681, 1727, 1822 and 1827. The Caroli church is the oldest of Borås's buildings, and has withstood all fires.
scissors, a tribute to the vast number of smiths in the town in early history. It currently holds the Swedish record in the number of established mail-order
firms.
The company Swedac
is based in the city, as well as Ericsson
, which has a large manufacturing plant
where Mini-Link microwave radios are manufactured.
Outside the city in the industrial park
of Viared, there are many companies specializing in logistics. Industries in Borås have close collaboration with the University College of Borås as well as the SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden
, the largest technical research institute of Sweden, both located in Borås. Besides being the home of the official Swedish Kilogram-weight and the atomic clock
that sets the national time, SP conducts various testing and research to promote consumer safety
.
, Swedish champions in 2006. Elfsborg was founded in 1904, but received its current name in 1906. The team's home arena is since 2005 Borås Arena
(formerly Ryavallen
Stadium) in Borås, with a capacity of 16000. Elfsborg play in yellow and black.
Other teams are Borås Hockey Club
, M7 (a basketball team
that worked together with Magic Johnson
for a short while) and Borås Rhinos which is an American football
team.
The table tennis club Mariedals IK
currently has three players in the Swedish youth team
. Hampus Soderlund, Mattias Oversjo and Jimmy Ojakangas.
Other sports that can be practiced in Borås are track and field, handball
, table tennis
, tennis
, skiing
, orienteering
, archery
, sport shooting
, swimming
, golf
, equestrian
, bowling
, cheerleading
and various martial arts
. Borås Judoclub has tried to create a national center for judo
. Members from the club that has participated in the olympics include Per Kjellin and Lars Adolfsson (who competed twice).
Boråshallen is the largest indoor sports hall in Borås, where the Mariedal cup is held annually in October or November. It started in 1978 in its current form.
Borås hosted the water polo events of the XIII FINA World Masters Championships 2010 from July 28 to August 6.
Other sports clubs located in Borås include:
Every summer, a number of free outdoor concerts are held on the town square on Thursday evenings.
The city has lately been recognized as a city of outdoor sculptures, such as Catafalque by Sean Henry, Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd
's knotted non-violence pistol and a huge bronze version of Pinocchio
called Walking to Borås by the American pop art
ist Jim Dine
.
During the holiday All Saints
there is an annual gaming convention called Borås Spelkonvent where people, mostly youths, meet to play various board-games, Warhammer 40k and Magic the Gathering amongst other games.
Municipal subdistrict Sjöbo
Municipal subdistrict Brämhult
Municipal subdistrict Norrby
Municipal subdistrict Centrum (city)
Municipal subdistrict Sandhult
Urban areas in Sweden
Urban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort. The official term in English, used by Statistics Sweden, is, however, locality. There are 1,940 localities in Sweden . They could be compared with census-designated places in the United States.A tätort in Sweden has a minimum of...
and the seat of Borås Municipality
Borås Municipality
Borås Municipality is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Borås.In 1971 the City of Borås was made a municipality when the unitary type of local government unit was introduced in Sweden. Three years later a lot of surrounding...
, Västra Götaland County
Västra Götaland County
Västra Götaland County is a county or län on the western coast of Sweden.The county is the second largest of Sweden's counties and it is subdivided into 49 municipalities . Its population of 1,550,000 amounts to 17% of Sweden's population...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It had 63,441 inhabitants in 2005.
Geography
Borås is located at the point of two crossing railways, among them the railway between GothenburgGothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
and Kalmar
Kalmar
Kalmar is a city in Småland in the south-east of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 62,767 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of 233,776 inhabitants .From the thirteenth to the...
, and is often considered the Swedish city gaining the most from the nationwide railway system
Rail transport in Sweden
Rail transport in Sweden uses a network of 13,000 km of track, the 20th largest in the world. Construction of the first railway line in Sweden began in 1855. The major operator is the state-owned SJ AB....
laid between 1870-1910.
History
The city of Borås received its privileges in 1621 by King Gustav II AdolfGustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
. The reason was to give local pedlar
Peddler
A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a canvasser, cheapjack, monger, or solicitor , is a travelling vendor of goods. In England, the term was mostly used for travellers hawking goods in the countryside to small towns and villages; they might also be called tinkers or gypsies...
s a legal place for vending their merchandise. The city developed soon after it was founded. After a century it had increased to over 2,000 inhabitants.
Borås has been ravaged by fires four times: in 1681, 1727, 1822 and 1827. The Caroli church is the oldest of Borås's buildings, and has withstood all fires.
Industry
The city arms depicts two sheep-shearingSheep shearing
Sheep shearing, shearing or clipping is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a shearer. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year...
scissors, a tribute to the vast number of smiths in the town in early history. It currently holds the Swedish record in the number of established mail-order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
firms.
The company Swedac
SWEDAC
Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity Assessment is the national accreditation body, assessing the competence of laboratories, certification and inspection bodies in Sweden....
is based in the city, as well as Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
, which has a large manufacturing plant
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
where Mini-Link microwave radios are manufactured.
Outside the city in the industrial park
Industrial park
An industrial park is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development...
of Viared, there are many companies specializing in logistics. Industries in Borås have close collaboration with the University College of Borås as well as the SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden
SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden
The SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, in Swedish SP Sveriges Tekniska Forskningsinstitut, is a joint stock company, fully owned by the Swedish government. It was formerly known as Statens Provningsanstalt , thus the abbreviation SP...
, the largest technical research institute of Sweden, both located in Borås. Besides being the home of the official Swedish Kilogram-weight and the atomic clock
Atomic clock
An atomic clock is a clock that uses an electronic transition frequency in the microwave, optical, or ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum of atoms as a frequency standard for its timekeeping element...
that sets the national time, SP conducts various testing and research to promote consumer safety
Consumer protection
Consumer protection laws designed to ensure fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent businesses that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competitors and may provide additional...
.
Sports
The most successful sports team is the football team IF ElfsborgIF Elfsborg
IF Elfsborg is a Swedish football club located in Borås. The club has won five national championship titles, the latest in 2006, and two national cup titles. Currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan. Elfsborg is based at Borås Arena...
, Swedish champions in 2006. Elfsborg was founded in 1904, but received its current name in 1906. The team's home arena is since 2005 Borås Arena
Borås Arena
Borås Arena is a football stadium in Borås, Sweden. It is the home ground of IF Elfsborg and Norrby IF and was opened in 2005. Borås Arena has an artificial turf pitch, Playfoot XM40 by FieldTurf, and has a capacity of 14,500–17,800 depending on usage. Both clubs presently using the stadium...
(formerly Ryavallen
Ryavallen
Ryavallen is a multi-purpose stadium in Borås, Sweden. From its inauguration in 1941 to 2004, it was the home of IF Elfsborg who now play at Borås Arena. During the 1958 FIFA World Cup, it hosted the matches between USSR and Austria, and between England and Austria.The record attendance is 22,654...
Stadium) in Borås, with a capacity of 16000. Elfsborg play in yellow and black.
Other teams are Borås Hockey Club
Borås HC
Borås HC is a Swedish professional ice hockey club, based in Borås, playing in the Swedish second tier league HockeyAllsvenskan.-Notable players:*Nikolai Drozdetsky *Sergei Fokin *Stefan Persson...
, M7 (a basketball team
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
that worked together with Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...
for a short while) and Borås Rhinos which is an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team.
The table tennis club Mariedals IK
Mariedals IK
Mariedals IK is a Swedish football club located in Borås in Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County.-Background:Mariedals IK began operating in Borås on 30 March 1931 under the name IK Söderhov. The name Mariedal appeared for the first time a year later, when a couple of school boys, Kurt...
currently has three players in the Swedish youth team
Youth system
Youth system is a sporting terminology used to refer to a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show enough promise, and to fill up squads numbers in some teams...
. Hampus Soderlund, Mattias Oversjo and Jimmy Ojakangas.
Other sports that can be practiced in Borås are track and field, handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
, table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, orienteering
Orienteering
Orienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they...
, archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
, sport shooting
Shooting sports
A shooting sport is a competitive sport involving tests of proficiency using various types of guns such as firearms and airguns . Hunting is also a shooting sport, and indeed shooting live pigeons was an Olympic event...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
, bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
and various martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
. Borås Judoclub has tried to create a national center for judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
. Members from the club that has participated in the olympics include Per Kjellin and Lars Adolfsson (who competed twice).
Boråshallen is the largest indoor sports hall in Borås, where the Mariedal cup is held annually in October or November. It started in 1978 in its current form.
Borås hosted the water polo events of the XIII FINA World Masters Championships 2010 from July 28 to August 6.
Other sports clubs located in Borås include:
- Bergdalens IKBergdalens IKBergdalens IK is a Swedish football club located in Borås. -Background:Bergdalens IK currently plays in Division 4 Västergötland Södra which is the sixth tier of Swedish football. They play their home matches at the Björkängsvallen in Borås....
- Borås AIKBorås AIKBorås AIK is a Swedish football club located in Borås. -Background:Borås AIK currently plays in Division 4 Västergötland Södra which is the sixth tier of Swedish football. They play their home matches at the Bodavallen in Borås....
Culture
- Hemvärnets Musikkår Borås - A marching and sitting orchestra
- Borås kulturskola - School of the Arts (for young people).
- Borås kulturhus - Theater, Library, Museum of Art
- Borås TidningBorås TidningBorås Tidning is the daily newspaper of Borås, Sweden. The newspaper was founded in 1826 and has nowadays a circulation of about 50,000 copies and is politically conservative . It is owned by Gota Media AB and has Stefan Eklund as chief editor....
- The local newspaper. - TextilmuseetTextilmuseet i BoråsThe Textile Museum of Borås is a museum of textile history in the city of Borås, Sweden.In a broad sense this museum stands for and is a part of Borås' history. Borås once was the textile capital of Sweden and this museum is now located in a former textile factory building from 1898, Åkerlund's...
- A museum about textile manufacturingTextile manufacturingTextile manufacturing is a major industry. It is based in the conversion of three types of fibre into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. These are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. Cotton remains the most important natural fibre, so is treated in depth...
and clothes. - Borås djurparkBorås djurparkBorås Djurpark is a zoo in the northern part of central Borås, Sweden. It has about 500 animals of 80 different species. The zoo was founded in 1962 by Sigvard Berggren, who was manager until 1969....
- The local zoo. They have successfully raised a number of different animals and even exported lions to other zoo's. - Åhaga - A renovated building that previously were used to maintain and repair locomotives. Now used for conferences and concerts.
Every summer, a number of free outdoor concerts are held on the town square on Thursday evenings.
The city has lately been recognized as a city of outdoor sculptures, such as Catafalque by Sean Henry, Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd
Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd
Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd , is a Swedish painter and sculptor. He studied with Fernand Léger in Paris 1951 and was a professor of painting at The Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm 1965-1969...
's knotted non-violence pistol and a huge bronze version of Pinocchio
Pinocchio
The Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Florence. The first half was originally a serial between 1881 and 1883, and then later completed as a book for children in February 1883. It is about the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio , an...
called Walking to Borås by the American pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
ist Jim Dine
Jim Dine
Jim Dine is an American pop artist. He is sometimes considered to be a part of the Neo-Dada movement. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, attended Walnut Hills High School, the University of Cincinnati, and received a BFA from Ohio University in 1957. He first earned respect in the art world with...
.
During the holiday All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
there is an annual gaming convention called Borås Spelkonvent where people, mostly youths, meet to play various board-games, Warhammer 40k and Magic the Gathering amongst other games.
Districts
Municipal subdistrict Göta- Göta
- Kristineberg
- Dammsvedjan
- Hedvigsborg
Municipal subdistrict Sjöbo
- Sjöbo
- Erikslund
Municipal subdistrict Brämhult
- BrämhultBrämhultBrämhult is a locality in Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland, Sweden.Brämhult was originally an agrarian village formed around a medieval wooden church, the oldest parts of which has been dated to the mid-15th century.Today, Brämhult is a suburb of Borås....
- Trandared
- Hulta
- Hässleholmen
Municipal subdistrict Norrby
- Norrby
- Byttorp
- Tullen
- Hestra
- Ekås
Municipal subdistrict Centrum (city)
- Centrum
- SalängenSalangenSalangen is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sjøvegan, where most of the people in the municipality live. The municipality is situated along the Sagfjord, and also includes some inland valleys...
- Lugnet
- Villastaden
- Bergdalen
- Norrmalm
Municipal subdistrict Sandhult
- SandaredSandaredSandared is a locality situated in Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 2,993 inhabitants in 2005....
- SandhultSandhultSandhult is a locality situated in Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 599 inhabitants in 2005....
- SjömarkenSjömarkenSjömarken is a locality situated in Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 2,596 inhabitants in 2005.Here you can find a pizzeria, two kiosks, an antique store, a commune office, a boat store, a squash hall, and a very active sports club, with football and table tennis as main...
Notable natives
- Ingvar CarlssonIngvar CarlssonGösta Ingvar Carlsson is a Swedish politician, Prime Minister of Sweden and leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party ....
, former prime minister - Helena PaparizouElena PaparizouEleni "Elena" Paparizou , usually referred to abroad as Helena Paparizou, is a Greek-Swedish singer and occasional songwriter, who was born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents. She began her career there in 1999 as a member of the duo Antique, while she also worked briefly as a model for a...
, 2005 EurovisionEurovision Song ContestThe Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
winner and GreekGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
singer - Carolina KlüftCarolina KlüftCarolina Evelyn Klüft is a Swedish athlete competing in triple jump, long jump and formerly in heptathlon and pentathlon. She won the Olympic heptathlon title in 2004...
, heptathlete - Magnus CarlssonMagnus CarlssonLars Magnus Carlsson is a Swedish singer and former member of the bands Alcazar and Barbados.- Early life :Magnus Carlsson grew up in Fristad, outside Borås...
, pop singer - Christer BjörkmanChrister BjörkmanChrister Samuel Björkman is a Swedish singer. He was a hairdresser, and had a hair-salon in Borås. He started his career by recording a song called "Våga och vinn" which was produced by Bruno Glenmark in the mid-1980s....
, singer and supervisor of MelodifestivalenMelodifestivalenMelodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959... - Daniel Brennare, musician, Lake of TearsLake of TearsLake of Tears is a Swedish band, generally considered to play gothic metal and doom metal. However, their sound has evolved considerably over the course of their career, expanding to include psychedelic rock, progressive metal, and, most recently, death metal....
- Mikael Larsson, musician, Lake of Tears
- Johanna AlmgrenJohanna AlmgrenJohanna Almgren is a Swedish female footballer. She plays at midfield for Göteborg FC and the Swedish national team.-Personal life:...
, Swedish footballer - Jonas JerebkoJonas JerebkoJonas Jerebko is a Swedish professional basketball player. He is 6 ft 10 in tall in shoes and he weighs 232 pounds...
, first Swedish NBA player - Hans AlsérHans AlsérHans Alsér was a Swedish table tennis player and national coach.He was an international top level player. He was the European champion 1962 and 1970, World champion 1967 and 1969, and European champion 1966.He died in a plane crash at Kälvesta near Stockholm 1977.-References:...
, a world champion of table tennis - Kurt PettersénKurt PettersénKurt Arne Pettersén was a Swedish wrestler who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics.In 1948 he won the gold medal in the Greco-Roman bantamweight competition.-External links:*...
, an olympic champion of wrestling - Helge SkoogHelge SkoogHelge Skoog, born 6 August 1938 in Borås, Västra Götalands län is a Swedish actor, who became well known during the 1980s appearing on the TV series Teatersport...
, actor - Moonlit Sailor, indie/post rock band
High schools
- Almåsgymnasiet
- BäckängsgymnasietBäckängsgymnasietBäckängsgymnasiet is a gymnasium in Borås, Sweden that offers university preparatory programs in the natural and social sciences, art, and the humanities...
- Sven Eriksonsgymnasiet
- Viskastrandsgymnasiet
- Tullengymnasiet
- Borås Praktiska Gymnasium