The History of Västergötland

The earliest settlements in Västergötland are found in the vicinity of lake Hornborgarsjön and date from ca. 7 000 BC. In that period people lead a nomadic life and lived from hunting and gathering. Around 4 000 BC. the climate was much warmer and a more settled lifestyle emerged as agriculture replaced the hunter-gatherer economy. From this period, named neolithicum, some of the most impressive megalithic tombs originate. The city of Falköping and the region Falbygden feature Northern Europe's greatest number of megaliths which has given the area international fame.

Although bronze had been known in the Mediterranean area for some thousands of years, the Swedish Bronze Age does not begin until 1 800 BC. with the introduction of copper and tin. A remarkable deposit was found in Fröslunda with 18 bronze shields which were probably used for ceremonial practices since they are useless in combat. The Bronze Age in Västergötland also features some impressive burial-mounds like Skalunda, Hols gärde and several others.

The Iron Age in Västergötland begins at 500 BC. The occurrence of imported artefacts from Rome, gives us a vision of a people which established trade routes to the rest of Europe. The period between 500 AD- 1050 AD are known as the age of the Vikings. Although most of Västergötland is not in contact with the sea, there were still some seafarers born here which made trade and pillaging all over Europe. This we can tell by the many runestones giving witness of travels with an outcome that gave wealth and fame as well as death to the Vikings. As Christianity slowly started to dominate over the pagan religion, more and more of the rune stones featured crucifixes.

With the domination of Christianity and the emergence of an early state in 1050, the medieval ages begin. The church at Husaby was the seat of the first Swedish bishop as well as hosting the baptise of Olof Skötkonung, the first Christian king. Churches were now a common sight and there were also some monasteries and cloisters. The cloister at Gudhem is now a well preserved ruin. During the medieval times, society was based on agriculture and no major towns were to be found in the province.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Västergötland was like the rest of Sweden, divided in large areas controlled by powerful landlords. The system was a less than fully developed feudalism.

Photo: Copyright © Västergötlands Turistråd With industrialism, the many textile industries followed. To enable the transports to get to the east, to Stockholm in particular, the Göta canal between lake Vänern and lake Vättern was built and completed the waterway between Göteborg in the west and Stockholm in the east. Due to the development from small communities into towns, many fairs were established. The traditional fairs are still held regularly and are popular tourist attractions but with a genuine touch of Västergötland

Search Tourist information Nature, Recreation, Sport Culture Industry & Trade Society

Useful information Quiz game Contents About... E-mail