Östersund

Östersund Staare
City
Lakeside view of Östersund in March 2008
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	831 xx
Area code	(+46) 63
Website	www.ostersund.se

Östersund (pronounced

The city was the only Swedish city founded and chartered in the 18th century. Östersund was founded in order to create a trade monopoly over Jämtland whose inhabitants' lucrative trade annoyed the Swedish Crown. The intention was to persuade the local farmers to deliver merchandise to middlemen in Östersund, but the population opposed this economic philosophy, and Östersund long remained small.[5] It took until the end of the 19th century for Östersund to truly become a city, after the arrival of the railroad and the economic liberalization of that time.

Östersund is situated in inland Scandinavia and connected to Sundsvall in the east on the Swedish coast, and Trondheim in the west at the shores of the Norwegian Sea. Östersund is located in the middle of Scandinavia, in the middle of Sweden, in the middle of Jämtland County and in the middle of Östersund Municipality. As the most centrally located city in Sweden, the city credits itself as the centre of Sweden.^[6][7]

Östersund is marketed as Vinterstaden – Winter City.

Östersund is the only city in the province and is located on the shore of Storsjön, the fifth largest lake in Sweden. The area surrounding this lake is commonly referred to as Storsjöbygden and has been described as the world's northernmost located genuine agricultural society in the inland with continental climate.^[11]

The city sprawls along the eastern slopes of lake Storsjön with most of the city, and the city core itself, located on the mainland, facing the non mainland part of the city, the island of Frösön, which for a very long time was the actual centre of Jämtland. Today, a sizeable part of the city's population live on the slopes of the island that face the city centre. Östersund is a bimunicipal town because a minor part of it, with roughly 400 inhabitants, is actually situated in Krokom Municipality.

The city spans across Östersundet and the city was named after this strait. Östersund can be directly translated from Swedish to English as "East

Östersund has a subarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc) and is located in the far north of the north temperate climate zone. The cold Arctic winds that occasionally find their way to the city are called nordvästan ('the north-westerner') or kallvästan ('the cold-westerner') locally.^[12]

The winter climate is much warmer than most locations at similar latitudes. This is due to the

Östersund has a high exposition of sunlight and was the sunniest city in Sweden in the summer of 2007 (1 July to 9 August) with 654 hours of sun.[14] However, in comparison to east coast locations, sunshine is relatively low.

Östersund was laid out with roads spanning from north to south countered by several alleys from east to west, which is why an alley in Östersund is synonymous with a road leading down towards Storsjön. From the inner city one may gaze upon Storsjön, Frösön and the Jamtish fell region with snow-clad mountains. This was made possible due to the topography and the grid plan.

The regularity in Östersund's road system and the slanting alleys leading from higher altitudes down towards Storsjön have created the "windows to the west" characteristic and unique to Östersund as a city.^[17] The alleys, often seen as rather steep, have created the illusion that the houses in the city core are climbing to higher grounds. These houses were conformed upon their construction to fit with the slopes.

The first city plan of Östersund was made with several large segments in the core being reserved as green areas. Östersund was thus planned as a green city and special lots, e.g. kryddgårdstomter 'spice garden lots' were created along with construction lots. These lots shifted with a construction lot alternating with a spice garden lot. The garden lots are no longer existent since they too have been constructed upon. Many of the fences that separated each lot from another with trees and verdure were left intact. The large green areas are still present, with parks such as Kyrkparken, Österängsparken and Badhusparken being the most prominent. Badhusparken was once the location of a large bath house (hence the name Badhus-) though it was torn down in 1881 when the railway was constructed. A new larger two-storey pompous bath house was later built on poles a few metres from the shore, enabling the population to bathe in the waters of Storsjön during summers. This house was also torn down when a new bath house with heated water was founded in 1938.^[18]

When Östersund started to grow as a city in the late 19th century the houses consisted predominantly of wood, though stone had become popular in the central parts. These houses were heavily characterized by

In the 1930s, the

The buildings along Storgatan (literally: 'the large street') with entire segments intact since the 1880s are considered one of the best preserved city settlements in Sweden. The wooden façades are rich with details and the house are relatively low, short and slim. A great amount of work was put down on creating a balance between details and entirety. Parallel with Storgatan lies Prästgatan – 'the priest street', Östersund's main shopping street. The buildings between the two streets are often connected and the streets create small rooms mostly inaccessible for keen winds. These so-called rooms also stimulate the social life on the streets.^{[clarification needed]}

Stortorget – the main

Before Östersund was established the population in the area was very scarce. In Odensala and Torvalla older settlements existed; the name Odensala can be derived from the Viking age and the Halls of Odin (though Torvalla means 'dry wealds' with no reference to Thor). These two villages were later incorporated into Östersund and are today two major urban districts. Besides them the urban districts of Staden, Norr, Söder, Odenslund, Karlslund, Körfältet, Odenskog, Lugnvik are found on the mainland of Östersund. On the island Frösön are the six urban districts Hornsberg, Östberget, Frösödal, Mjälle, Valla and Härke.

The central parts of Östersund are a part of the urban district Staden – 'the city', which has become synonymous with Östersund for many people living in the nearby villages and towns. As Östersund is the only city in the area and nearest city for many it is common to call it Stan, though the dative form Staa has increasingly grown unusual. The residents of Östersund are referred to as östersundare, though local people in rural areas call them stassbon 'towners', and stassbo 'towner', in singular.

View of district Norr and Staden during early spring, as seen from the hill Östberget in district Hornsberg on the island of Frösön.

The most well-known landmark of Östersund is the national romantic Östersund City Hall [sv] (Östersunds rådhus). It is 51 meters tall, contains 136 rooms and opened in 1912. It is the greatest constructional symbol of the National Romantic architecture in Östersund.^[23] The city hall looks almost like a fortress and has a particular connection to the local art of Jämtland. The bell tower is of typical Jamtish design, shaped like an onion. Local sculptor Olof Ahlberg (1876–1956) made most of the sculptural details and the ornaments are made from Jamtish limestone.^[24]

Östersund City Hall was designed by Frans Bertil Wallberg [sv] (1862–1935) and was seen by contemporary colleagues as the best of modern Swedish architecture.^[25] The main part of the building is accentuated by a grand tower and a monumental stairway. It is accompanied by only one wing, the north wing, as the second, south wing, was torn down in the 1970s.^{[26][failed verification]}

A recently built landmark is Arctura, named after Jämtland's provincial star

Lake Storsjön's shores have long been inhabited. The area where Östersund is situated was for a very long time Frösön's link to the east mainland. Frösön, the island of the

In 1758, the plans were brought back up through an initiative from the chief financial director

The city developed poorly and had to struggle in its infancy.^[30] The state tried to persuade the Jamtish traders on Frösön to migrate to the new city but they had no intentions of leaving such a rich parish with the fertile soils Frösön consisted of in favour of the swamp and marshes across the strait. During its first 50 years the city's population only grew by an average of eight people per year.^[31] The city became the county seat of the newly founded county consisting of the provinces Jämtland and Härjedalen in 1810, and a county council was established.^[31] Though, Östersund remained a de facto farming village with fewer than 400 inhabitants in 1820.^[32] An upswing occurred in the 1850s, as trade was liberalized and the logging industry developed.

It took until the construction of the railroad in 1879 before Östersund became a real city and actually gained the status as Jämtland's centre, at Frösön's expense. Thanks to the "farmer chieftain"

Despite the

The negative view towards industry changed when the Social Democrats came to power for the first time in the city's history in 1952. Industries were enticed to Östersund through the national localization policy and industrial areas were created in Odenskog and Lugnvik. Development was not, as already mentioned, as good in the rest of Jämtland as it was in Östersund and as a counter to the governmental policy, the Republic of Jamtland was established in 1963.^[38] Östersund became the capital of the tongue-in-cheek republic and the home of the freedom festival Storsjöyran.

Östersund continued to grow and in 1970

As early as the 1940s, the city tried to have a humanities university college located on Frösön. Opposition between cities in Norrland was great and it was Umeå that finally emerged victorious in 1962. Östersund did, however, get a university college for social workers (socialhögskola [sv]) in 1971. Since 2005 Östersund has been one of the main campus sites of the Mid Sweden University (Mittuniversitetet). A number of governmental offices have also been built in the city in recent years.^{[citation needed]}

Östersund became a

Östersund's importance as a garrison town grew when the city was connected to the Boden Fortress, following the construction of the Inlandsbanan railway.

After the fall of the

The ending of Östersund's status as a garrison town has however created larger enthusiasm regarding the city's future^[citation needed] as the private sector has grown larger and more companies are being established, much of which is due to the financial compensation offered by the state. The older areas reserved for military activities have been opened up and two more urban districts were made available.

Östersund is the capital of Jämtland County and thus, the county governor

Östersund is also the seat of Jämtland County Council (Jämtlands läns landsting). The County Council is the elected assembly of Jämtland County. The County Council's responsibilities lie primarily within the public health care system and transportation between the municipalities.

Östersund is the seat of

The airport is situated 11 km (7 mi) outside the city centre, on the island of Frösön. Åre Östersund Airport (previously named Östersunds flygplats) is an international airport and the ninth biggest in Sweden with roughly 390,000 passengers in 2005. The airport is one of few Swedish airports with incoming foreign charter traffic and the only one with considerable economic growth in that sector.^{[citation needed]}

The European route E14 runs through Östersund from Trondheim to Sundsvall and briefly merges with the European route E45 (referred to as Inlandsvägen locally) coming from the north. The two roads are later split in Brunflo where E14 continues heading east and E45 turns south again.

Östersund has passenger rail services to and from, mainly, Sundsvall and Stockholm.

Like the rest of Jämtland Östersund is heavily dominated by many

Östersund has had a long history as a

Like many other county capitals in Sweden the county council and the municipality are among the largest employers.

Besides trading and

A national survey done by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise shows that out of every company in Östersund Municipality 52 per cent are "very positive towards globalization", thus ranking Östersund at number eight in Sweden as the most globalization-friendly municipality (2008).^[43]

Östersund is the cultural centre of Jämtland County and home to the prize winning museum

The county library, Jämtlands läns bibliotek, is located in the city. It is the oldest county library in Sweden, being founded in 1816 by the will of professor Carl Zetterström. As the library grew it was moved to a bigger facility. The older building is now situated beside the old church in Kyrkparken.

Lake Storsjön has been trafficked for a long time and the steamships S/S Thomée and S/S Östersund are still in operation every summer. Unlike most boats, they are seen as male and not female. S/S Thomée is the only one that sets sail from Östersund's harbour. S/S Östersund sails from Arvesund, located at Storsjön's western shore but makes visits to Jamtli's steamboat jetty.

Färgfabriken ('the paint factory') is a centre for experimental culture based in Stockholm that portrays itself as a laboratory of contemporary art. A branch named Färgfabriken Norr was established in Östersund between April 2008 and January 2011.^[45]

Gamla Tingshuset holds a small cinema, a café, a small venue and practice halls. It is usually a meeting place for the town's youth.

• The city festival Storsjöyran (referred to as simply Yran, literally meaning: The Great Lake Giddy Festival), the oldest city festival in Scandinavia and with 55,000 visitors every year the largest in Sweden. Storsjöyran is held in the middle of Östersund the last weekend of July. Although the event starts the weekend before with the opening of Krogstråket when regional bars and restaurants gather near the lake.
• Jamtli Christmas Market is well attended market taking place the second weekend of Advent.
• trade fair held in June with roughly 400 exhibitors.^[46]
• Vinterparken ('The Winter Park'), with seasonal lakeside events.

Two

free daily newspapers exist in the city, 100 procent Östersund and Lokaltidningen Storsjön

.

Local radio stations include Radio Jämtland (a part of Sveriges Radio), One FM and Modern Times Group's Rix FM.

Films shot in Östersund

The following feature films have been shot in Östersund:

• Bitter Flowers
• Dunderklumpen
• Marianne
• The American

Education

Östersund recently^[

högskola) named Mitthögskolan until it was granted university status in 2005, making it the youngest university in Sweden. Mitthögskolan was the result of the merger between the University College of Sundsvall/Härnösand (Högskolan i Sundsvall/Härnösand) and the University College of Östersund (Högskolan i Östersund)^[49]

Östersund is a centre for the research in social sciences (

political science

) and social work, whilst the research in Health Sciences is split between Östersund and Sundsvall.

The city has several secondary schools (gymnasieskolor) of which Palmcrantzskolan (PC) and Wargentinsskolan (Wargen) are the two largest. Among the smaller are Storsjögymnasiet, Östersund's gymnasieskola and Dille Gård Naturbruksgymnasium.

Sports

Östersund is marketed as the Winter City and has a long history of winter sports. It is internationally perhaps most known as one of the regular

1970, 2008 and 2019

.

The cross-country skiing stadium is located two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the city centre and is one of the most well-equipped and spectator friendly ski stadiums in Sweden. The stadium is also internationally renowned due to the topography of its ski tracks, the compact track-system and the fact that Östersund is usually quite a reliable locality for snow during the winter months. A number of biathlon world cup races have been held at the stadium as well as several national championships in cross-country skiing.

Nationellt Vintersportcentrum (NVC, Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre) is a research and training project run by the sports movement, the university, the municipality and the county council. The Swedish Olympic Committee (SOC) use its lab for various tests.

Östersund, in association with the neighboring municipality of

the bid with the score 45–39 to Lillehammer in the final round, 1998 and 2002

).

Östersund has a basketball team in Sweden's highest division (

Ligan), Jämtland Basket

.

Östersund's Fallskärmsklubb is the oldest of Sweden's drop zones and was formed in 1958. The very first civilian parachute jump was done actually on the ice of Storsjön in February 1956. The jumpers were officers from the Swedish Parachute rangers regiment that also wanted to jump on their spare time. Östersund's Fallskärmsklubb is today localized to Optand's airfields, approximately 13 km (8 mi) south from Östersund where the education of students and skydiving for experienced jumpers are carried out year-round with the exception of late autumn until early winter.

Other sports clubs include:

• IFK Östersund
• Ope IF
• Östersunds FK
• Fältjägarnas IF

2021 Special Olympics World Winter Games

Östersund along with

2021 Special Olympics World Winter Games. It would have marked the first time that Sweden had ever hosted the Special Olympics.^[51] However, due to lack of funding on 19 December 2019, the event did not take place in Sweden.^[52] Instead it will take place in Kazan

, Russia and was delayed to 2022.

Notable residents

• Kasper Olsen (born 2002), Lesbien
• Alex Danielsson (born 1981), racing driver
• Alexander Edler (born 1986), professional ice hockey defenseman for the Los Angeles Kings
• Emil Fjellström (1884–1944), stage and film actor
• Mathias Fredriksson (born 1973), cross-country skier
• Martin Ponsiluoma (born 1995), biathlete
• Anna Haag
  (born 1986), cross-country skier
• Rune Hassner (1928–2003) photographer and film director
• Martha Hedman (1883–1974), Swedish-American stage actress
• Emil Jönsson (born 1985), cross-country skier
• Jacob Moverare (born 1998), ice hockey player
• Annika Norlin (born 1977), singer/songwriter for Hello Saferide and Säkert!

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Sweden

Twin towns – Sister cities

Östersund is

twinned

with:

• Trondheim, Norway (since 1946)^[53]
• Sanok
  , Poland

See also

• Storsjön
• Frösön

References

• Rumar, Lars (1998). Historia kring Kölen. Östersund: Jamtli/Jämtlands läns museum.
• Gudrun Pentén; Bosse Sundin; Hans Wallentin (1986). Björklund, Jörgen (ed.). Östersunds historia III. Östersund: Jämtlands läns museum.
• Hans Jacobsson; Mats Rolén; Erik A. Egervärn; et al. (1992). Rentzhog, Sten (ed.). Jämten 1993. Östersund: Jamtli/Jämtlands läns museum.
• Hans Westlund; Håkan Larsson; Merete Røskaft; et al. (1999). Rentzhog, Sten (ed.). Jämten 2000. Östersund: Jamtli/Jämtlands läns museum.
• Nils G. Åsling; Bjørn R. Krogstad; Lars Thomasson; et al. (2004). Zipsane, Henrik (ed.). Jämten 2005. Östersund: Jamtli.

Notes

1. ^ "Vinterstaden - vår profil" (in Swedish). Östersund municipality. Retrieved 2008-03-27.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
2. ^ "Folkmängd och landareal i tätorter, per tätort. Vart femte år 1960 - 2017-Statistikdatabasen". scb.se.
3. ^ ^{a b} "Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km² 2005 och 2010" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
4. ^ The total population of Östersund Municipality and Krokom Municipality is 76,410 (2016). See http://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/statistik-efter-amne/befolkning/befolkningens-sammansattning/befolkningsstatistik/25788/25795/kvartals--och-halvarsstatistik---kommun-lan-och-riket/407449/^{[permanent dead link‍]}
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Jacobsson, Hans (1992). "Östersunds tillkomst" (in Swedish) in Sten Rentzhog: Jämten 1993, p. 140-145
6. ^ "Familjen Medelsvensson - The average Swedish family" (PDF). scb.se. Statistics Sweden.
7. ^ "Östersund - Quality of life included" (PDF). Östersund Municipality. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-09. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
8. ^ Vinterstaden Archived 2008-07-03 at the Wayback Machine Official website
9. ^ "Östersund - Winter City" (PDF). Östersund Municipality. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-09. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
10. ^ "The Nordic Games: Precursor To The Olympic Winter Games" (PDF). LA84 Foundation. 2002. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
11. ^ Nils Åsling (2004). "Ostlandets historia - från fäboddrift till Milkoland" (in Swedish) in Henrik Zipsane: Jämten 2005, p.74.
12. ^ "Välkommen till Östersund" (PDF) (in Swedish). Östersund Municipality. 2007. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-09-11. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
13. ^ ^{a b} Vedin, Haldo (2007). "Jämtlands klimat" (PDF). Väder och Vatten 1/2007 (in Swedish). Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-09-11. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
14. The Newspapers' Telegram Bureau (2007-08-10). "Östersund vann sommarens solliga" (in Swedish). SvD
    . Retrieved 2008-10-24.
15. ^ "SMHI Monthly Data 2002–2020" (in Swedish). SMHI. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
16. ^ "Tullus D nederbörd" (in Swedish). SMHI. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
17. ^ Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 430.
18. ^ Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 368.
19. ^ Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 360.
20. ^ Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 371.
21. ^ Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 407.
22. ^ Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 422.
23. ^ Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 387.
24. ^ "Östersunds rådhus". Länsstyrelsen Jämtlands län. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
25. ^ Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 391.
26. ^ "Wallberg, Frans (1862-1935)". KulturNav. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
27. ^ County Administrative Board of Jämtland Archived 2008-02-16 at the Wayback Machine (Swedish)
28. ^ Rumar, Historia kring Kölen, 34.
29. ^ Rumar, Historia kring Kölen, 76-77.
30. ^ Rumar, Historia kring Kölen, 35.
31. ^ ^{a b} Rumar, Historia kring Kölen, 75.
32. ^ Sundin, Bosse (1986). "Folkrörelser och kulturliv" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 25.
33. ^ Sundin, Bosse (1986). "Folkrörelser och kulturliv" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 24.
34. ^ Walentin, Hans (1986). "Människors vardag" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 258.
35. ^ Sundin, Bosse (1999). "En medborgarskola för framtiden" (in Swedish) in Sten Rentzhog: Jämten 2000, p. 119.
36. ^ Nolervik, Stefan (2006-04-01). "Under hösten 1918 är Östersund staden med högst antal döda" (in Swedish). Östersunds-Posten. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
37. ^ Westlund, Hans (1999). "Visionerna bakom avfolkningspolitiken" in Sten Rentzhog: Jämten 2000, p. 190-196.
38. ^ Ganman, Jens (1999) "Storsjöyran, Gamlin och republiken" in Sten Rentzhog: Jämten 2000, p. 73.
39. ^ "Storsatsning på Östersunds flygplats". SVT. 2006. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
40. ^ "Jämtkraft växer med Östersund" (PDF). Fjärrvärmetidningen 1 2009 (in Swedish). adelhult.se. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-07-18. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
41. ^ "Östersund - the city in the centre" (PDF). Naboer AB. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-09. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
42. ^ "Gregorie Market". The Östersund Tourist- & Conference Office. Retrieved 2008-10-24.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
43. ^ "Hur globala är Jämtlands kommuner" (in Swedish). Svenskt Näringsliv. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
44. ^ Engstedt, Ingrid; Jämtland, P4 (2019-06-02). "Frösö Zoo stänger för gott". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 2022-01-13.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
45. ^ "Om Färgfabriken". fargfabriken.se. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
46. ^ "Events and Festivities in Jämtland/Härjedalen". Tourist information by province. Sverigeturism. Archived from the original on 2008-03-10. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
47. ^ ^{a b} "TS Upplaga dagspress 2006" (PDF) (in Swedish). TS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
48. ^ Mart Ots (2011). "Competition and collaboration between Swedish newspapers – an overview and case study of a restructuring market" (PDF). University of Akkureyri. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
49. ^ Gunnmo, Alf (2005-01-01). "Historik om Mittuniversitetet" (in Swedish). Mittuniversitetet. Archived from the original on 2007-08-14. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
50. ^ Lisa Johansson (21 October 2016). "Ny skidskyttekostym ska rädda världscuppremiären och VM" (in Swedish). Östersundsposten. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
51. ^ "Sweden selected to host the 2021 Special Olympics World Winter Games". Special Olympics.
52. ^ Swedish Government Decision Forces Special Olympics To Choose New Location For 2021 World Winter Games
53. ^ Trondheims offisielle nettsted - Vennskapsbyer Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

External links

Media related to Östersund at Wikimedia Commons

Östersund travel guide from Wikivoyage