Skövde

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Skövde


image_caption =
pushpin_

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Sweden
subdivision_type1 = Municipality
subdivision_name1 = Skövde Municipality
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Västra Götaland County
subdivision_type3 = Province
subdivision_name3 = Västergötland
area_footnotes = cite web |title=Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km² 2000 och 2005 |publisher=Statistics Sweden |url=http://www.scb.se/statistik/MI/MI0810/2005A01B/T%E4torternami0810tab1.xls |format=xls |language=Swedish |accessdate=2008-05-15]
area_total_km2 = 19.78
population_as_of = 2007-04-13
population_footnotes =
population_total = around 50,000
population_density_km2 = 1674
timezone = CET
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +2
latd=58 |latm=23 |lats= |latNS=N
longd=13 |longm=51 |longs= |longEW=E
website =

Skövde is a city in Västergötland, Sweden. It has around 50,000 inhabitants and is the seat of Skövde Municipality.

Geography

Skövde is situated between the two largest lakes in Sweden, Vänern and Vättern. The western main railway ("Västra Stambanan") was located through Skövde in the 1890s, which dramatically gave the town an industrial and population boost.

History

Early history

Skövde traces its history back to the medieval age. On its city arms is the image of Saint Helena who allegedly was a pious woman from Skövde. She was born about 1101, and was canonized in 1165 by Pope Alexander III and Archbishop Stefan of Sweden.

Later history

Of the medieval houses nothing remains, as a fire in 1759 burnt down the entire city except for one house called Helensgården. After the fire, the city was rebuilt according to the grid pattern. The city still only had a small population until the railroad between Stockholm and Gothenburg was laid through the city and leading to an industrial and population boost.

Industry

Volvo has a large industry in the city, with more than 5,000 workers. ABVolvo and Volvo Cars jointly operate one of the worlds largest automotive foundries in this city. The foundry is known world wide for producing the most industrial diesel engines in the world for ABVolvo and also for producing compact inline 5 cylinder petrol enignes for Volvo Cars

The higher education is located at University of Skövde, that is mainly focused on interdisciplinary education, blending natural sciences with engineering and the arts.

There is also the Skövde Garrison, one of the country's largest regiments.

Military

The armoured corps regiment Skaraborgs regemente (P4) and the logistics corps regiment Trängregementet (TrängR) are both located in Skövde. So is the Army Combat school.

Education

The University College of Skövde [http://www.his.se/] has over 8,000 students and six faculties. The University's current Vice-Chancellor is Leif Larsson.

See also

*Swedish Army
*Skaraborgs Allehanda
*Ringsted, Kuressaare

References

External links

* [http://www.skovde.se/ Skövde] - Official site
* [http://www.skovde.net/ SkövdeNätet] - Website and forum for people living and working in Skövde
* [http://runeberg.org/nfce/0716.html article "Sköfde"] from Nordisk familjebok (1917)
* [http://www.skovdesaints.com/ Skövde Saints Baseball Softball] - Official site
* [http://www.skovdeik.se/ Skövde IK]
* [http://vykort.panatet.se/ Skövde förr och då] - Echoes from the past. Pictures from old Skövde