# Västergötland

Västergötland, literally translated as western Götaland, is one of Sweden's most populous provinces. Several different subdivisions have been used during the centuries, and the province has been conjoined with Bohuslän and Dalsland to form the enormous Western Götaland County, with municipal confederations overlapping provincial borders.

## Cities

* 57.933312.53331 Alingsås
* 57.716712.93332 Borås — once the home of the Swedish textile industry, still a centre for fashion design
* 57.70211.973 Gothenburg (Göteborg) — By far the largest city in Västergötland, and the second largest in all of Sweden
* 58.513.18334 Lidköping
* 57.56666712.15 Lindome
* 58.713.81676 Mariestad
* 57.51666712.6833337 Mark
* 58.383313.43338 Skara — a millennial city, known for its cathedral, and the Skara Sommarland theme park.
* 58.383313.859 Skövde — the small town that feels like a city is easy to get to from both Stockholm and Gothenburg.
* 58.17944313.95993210 Tidaholm
* 58.283312.283311 Trollhättan
* 57.79173113.41862112 Ulricehamn
* 58.383312.316713 Vänersborg

## Other destinations

* 57.63211.7831 Gothenburg archipelago
* 58.31666713.552 Hornborgasjön — a famous bird reserve at Falköping
* 58.5331914.506933 Karlsborg — a small garrison town with a large fortress. Sweden's backup capital in the case of a foreign invasion.

## Understand

Västergötland was the core territory of the Geats, götar, a tribe that has been associated with the Goths. Around AD 1000, they united with the Suiones, svear, to form Sweden. Älvsborg, at present-day Gothenburg, was Sweden's only western port until the 17th century. Västergötland was the centre of the Swedish textile industry, until de-industrialization in the mid-20th century.
The people of Västergötland are rumoured to be humorous and optimistic.

## Get in
### By plane

Both Landvetter Airport (GOT) serves Gothenburg, the largest city in the region. Airlines include SAS, FlyMe , Lufthansa $^{[deadlink]}$, KLM and Ryanair . Two other airports in the region are Trollhättan Airport and Halmstad Airport, with flights from Stockholm only.

### By train

Trains go to Gothenburg, from Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Kalmar, Luleå and many other cities.

## Get around

Public transport in Västra Götaland is organized by Västtrafik.

## See

    See also: Skaraborg history tour
* 58.67513.221 Läckö Castle (Lidköping). A 13th-century castle situated by the Lake Vänern.
* 58.31666713.552 Lake Hornborga (Hornborgasjön) (Falköping). A lake famous for birdwatching. Known as the lake where up to 12,000 cranes stop on their way back from warmer countries.

## Do

* Liseberg. The biggest amusement park in all of Scandinavia - is in Gothenburg.
* Anten - Gräfsnäs Vintage Railroad. A well preserved vintage railroad line running along the lake Anten not far from Alingsås. With a length of 12 km, it runs during the summer months.
* 57.94410812.0962371 Ale Vikingagård, Vikingavägen (25 km north of Gothenburg along E45, a few km south of Älvängen), alevikingagard@gmail.com. Irregular hours, not daily. A Viking farm. Events throughout the year including feasts and markets in the spring (early May), autumn after harvest time in late October to early November and around Jul, a Norse pagan celebration at Christmas time.

## Stay safe

Though not as cold as further north, western Sweden has the country's wettest and foggiest climate. Occasional flooding of river valleys during severe weather, and thunderstorms. See storms.

## Go next

* Frederikshavn in Denmark