Karlstad Municipality

"Karlstad, Sweden" redirects here. For the city, see Karlstad.

Municipality in Värmland County, Sweden

Karlstad Municipality

Karlstads kommun

Municipality

Karlstad Courthouse

Coat of arms

Coordinates: 59°23′N 13°32′E﻿ / ﻿59.383°N 13.533°E﻿ / 59.383; 13.533
Country| Sweden
County| Värmland County
Seat| Karlstad
Government

• Chairman of City Executive Board| Per-Samuel Nisser (M)
• Deputy Chairs of City Executive Board| Linda Larsson (S) and Maria Frisk (MP)
Area

[1]

• Total

| 1,517.74 km2 (586.00 sq mi)
• Land| 1,169.11 km2 (451.40 sq mi)
• Water| 348.63 km2 (134.61 sq mi)
| Area as of 1 January 2014.
Population

(31 December 2024)[2]

• Total

| 98,084
• Density| 65/km2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone| UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)| UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code| SE
Province| Värmland
Municipal code| 1780
Website| www.karlstad.se

Karlstad Municipality (Swedish: Karlstads kommun) is a municipality in Värmland County in west central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Karlstad.

The present municipality was established in 1971 when the former City of Karlstad was amalgamated with a number of surrounding rural municipalities.

## Localities

[edit]

* Alster
* Blombacka
* Karlstad (seat)
* Killstad
* Molkom
* Skattkärr
* Skåre
* Slängserud
* Vallargärdet
* Väse

## Politics

[edit]

Municipalities are responsible for government-mandated duties, and elections for the Municipal council are held every four years, parallel to the general elections.

Until the 2010s inhabitants of Karlstad had a tendency to vote close to the national results at the general elections, making it the generally accepted bellwether town of Sweden.[3][4] In 2022 this had decisively changed, with the winning right coalition performing seven points better overall than it did in Karlstad, with the bellwether municipalities instead being previous Social Democrats-dominated post-industrial towns in Bergslagen a bit northeast of Karlstad.

## Demographics

[edit]

This is a demographic table based on Karlstad Municipality's electoral districts in the 2022 Swedish general election sourced from SVT's election platform, in turn taken from SCB official statistics.[5]

In total there were 95,290 residents, including 74,827 Swedish citizens of voting age.[5] 52.5% voted for the left coalition and 46.4% for the right coalition. Indicators are in percentage points except population totals and income.

Location  | Residents | Citizen
adults | Left vote | Right vote | Employed | Swedish
parents | Foreign
heritage | Income
SEK | Degree

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  | %  | %  |  |  |  |  |
Alster N  | 1,977  | 1,547  | 47.0  | 51.9  | 86  | 94  | 6  | 30,665  | 53
Alster S  | 1,158  | 834  | 50.7  | 49.0  | 88  | 93  | 7  | 31,655  | 53
Bellevue-Bergvik  | 2,342  | 1,853  | 50.3  | 48.8  | 85  | 89  | 11  | 29,599  | 55
Edsvalla  | 1,354  | 976  | 44.1  | 54.6  | 78  | 84  | 16  | 25,037  | 31
Färjestad  | 2,116  | 1,749  | 45.5  | 53.1  | 84  | 87  | 13  | 29,113  | 52
Färjestad-Rud  | 2,051  | 1,681  | 55.1  | 44.1  | 79  | 85  | 15  | 24,641  | 52
Grava  | 1,748  | 1,315  | 38.6  | 60.5  | 85  | 95  | 5  | 29,211  | 43
Gruvlyckan  | 1,963  | 1,398  | 64.8  | 31.7  | 65  | 53  | 47  | 18,670  | 35
Haga  | 1,784  | 1,617  | 52.4  | 46.6  | 82  | 90  | 10  | 26,230  | 54
Hagalund  | 2,153  | 1,608  | 56.6  | 42.4  | 87  | 81  | 19  | 29,528  | 57
Herrhagen 1  | 1,795  | 1,537  | 54.6  | 44.8  | 77  | 84  | 16  | 22,821  | 55
Herrhagen 2  | 1,711  | 1,512  | 50.8  | 48.2  | 81  | 87  | 13  | 27,741  | 56
Herrhagen 3  | 1,853  | 1,539  | 55.9  | 42.9  | 80  | 88  | 12  | 25,714  | 60
Hultsberg  | 1,986  | 1,543  | 53.2  | 46.4  | 88  | 90  | 10  | 31,425  | 63
Inre Hamn  | 1,471  | 1,278  | 41.4  | 58.0  | 87  | 85  | 15  | 30,618  | 61
Klara  | 1,698  | 1,510  | 46.7  | 52.7  | 86  | 88  | 12  | 28,675  | 63
Kronoparken C  | 1,594  | 1,082  | 66.3  | 32.0  | 45  | 39  | 61  | 9,136  | 43
Kronoparken S  | 1,971  | 1,309  | 65.4  | 31.5  | 58  | 39  | 61  | 15,475  | 35
Kronoparken V  | 2,249  | 1,513  | 56.1  | 41.9  | 46  | 59  | 41  | 11,304  | 50
Kronoparken Ö  | 1,561  | 1,075  | 71.3  | 26.3  | 56  | 48  | 52  | 16,215  | 47
Kroppkärr  | 1,808  | 1,370  | 55.7  | 44.0  | 88  | 92  | 8  | 32,136  | 65
Kvarnberget  | 1,847  | 1,525  | 60.1  | 38.6  | 76  | 81  | 19  | 24,867  | 54
Lorensberg  | 1,643  | 1,204  | 59.6  | 40.1  | 90  | 91  | 9  | 32,234  | 63
Marieberg-Sommarro  | 1,954  | 1,570  | 56.6  | 42.8  | 83  | 89  | 11  | 29,735  | 68
Molkom  | 1,792  | 1,374  | 50.8  | 47.1  | 75  | 87  | 13  | 21,616  | 37
Norrstrand C  | 1,438  | 1,190  | 56.0  | 43.0  | 77  | 85  | 15  | 23,797  | 52
Norrstrand N  | 1,613  | 1,431  | 50.5  | 48.5  | 82  | 91  | 9  | 26,574  | 59
Norrstrand S  | 1,200  | 1,096  | 56.6  | 42.4  | 72  | 86  | 14  | 20,968  | 40
Norrstrand-Sjöstad  | 1,525  | 1,329  | 54.0  | 44.1  | 80  | 89  | 11  | 24,457  | 53
Nyed  | 2,018  | 1,632  | 43.8  | 55.5  | 81  | 92  | 8  | 24,682  | 35
Orrholmen  | 1,935  | 1,480  | 61.9  | 36.1  | 71  | 70  | 30  | 21,628  | 44
Romstad-Strand  | 1,929  | 1,467  | 50.2  | 49.7  | 85  | 89  | 11  | 31,584  | 63
Rud N  | 1,939  | 1,333  | 60.7  | 36.5  | 62  | 61  | 39  | 18,041  | 31
Rud S  | 1,761  | 1,372  | 60.5  | 37.7  | 66  | 67  | 33  | 18,476  | 41
Råtorp S  | 1,518  | 1,149  | 48.6  | 50.7  | 88  | 90  | 10  | 32,941  | 68
Råtorp-Älvåker  | 1,741  | 1,290  | 51.5  | 47.9  | 89  | 93  | 7  | 33,226  | 64
Skattkärr  | 1,755  | 1,282  | 47.2  | 51.7  | 84  | 93  | 7  | 28,319  | 47
Skåre  | 1,261  | 959  | 52.9  | 46.2  | 85  | 92  | 8  | 27,577  | 48
Soldattorpet  | 1,883  | 1,285  | 55.2  | 44.2  | 90  | 93  | 7  | 33,379  | 70
Stockfallet  | 2,491  | 1,670  | 53.3  | 46.6  | 89  | 85  | 15  | 32,076  | 64
Stodene  | 2,122  | 1,541  | 54.5  | 44.7  | 91  | 94  | 6  | 30,989  | 62
Sundsta  | 1,450  | 1,260  | 43.0  | 56.1  | 81  | 90  | 10  | 28,738  | 59
Tingvalla  | 1,711  | 1,769  | 45.6  | 53.4  | 77  | 80  | 20  | 24,958  | 51
Tingvallastaden  | 1,554  | 1,449  | 47.1  | 52.4  | 78  | 88  | 12  | 27,711  | 61
Torrmestad  | 1,411  | 1,188  | 56.0  | 43.0  | 79  | 87  | 13  | 26,485  | 55
Tullholmsviken  | 1,537  | 1,370  | 44.5  | 54.7  | 85  | 84  | 16  | 30,656  | 60
Universitetet  | 1,645  | 1,280  | 61.0  | 37.3  | 62  | 69  | 31  | 21,645  | 57
Viken  | 1,593  | 1,478  | 55.4  | 43.5  | 76  | 87  | 13  | 22,673  | 52
Vålberg  | 1,932  | 1,453  | 47.1  | 51.8  | 74  | 83  | 17  | 23,369  | 26
Vålberg-Nor  | 1,879  | 1,457  | 43.5  | 55.8  | 70  | 81  | 19  | 22,141  | 30
Våxnäs N  | 1,990  | 1,324  | 61.1  | 36.4  | 63  | 55  | 45  | 18,948  | 33
Våxnäs S  | 1,605  | 1,216  | 61.9  | 37.0  | 66  | 58  | 42  | 19,214  | 30
Väse  | 2,006  | 1,581  | 46.3  | 52.7  | 85  | 93  | 7  | 25,260  | 37
Östra Fågelvik  | 1,269  | 977  | 41.6  | 57.5  | 87  | 94  | 6  | 30,396  | 47
Source: SVT[5]

## Elections

[edit]

### Riksdag

[edit]

These are the local results of the Riksdag elections since the 1972 municipality reform. The results of the Sweden Democrats were not published by SCB between 1988 and 1998 at a municipal level to the party's small nationwide size at the time. "Votes" denotes valid votes, whereas "Turnout" denotes also blank and invalid votes.

Year  | Turnout  | Votes  | V | S | MP | C | L | KD | M | SD | ND

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1973[6] | 92.0  | 47,969  | 4.2  | 45.0  | 0.0  | 24.3  | 10.1  | 0.8  | 15.0  | 0.0  | 0.0
1976[7] | 92.6  | 50,261  | 3.8  | 41.8  | 0.0  | 22.6  | 12.1  | 0.5  | 18.8  | 0.0  | 0.0
1979[8] | 91.6  | 51,435  | 4.8  | 43.5  | 0.0  | 16.1  | 10.0  | 0.6  | 24.2  | 0.0  | 0.0
1982[9] | 92.2  | 52,341  | 5.0  | 46.4  | 1.8  | 13.2  | 5.7  | 1.0  | 26.9  | 0.0  | 0.0
1985[10] | 90.5  | 52,538  | 4.8  | 45.2  | 1.9  | 9.2  | 14.6  | 0.0  | 24.3  | 0.0  | 0.0
1988[11] | 85.8  | 50,120  | 5.2  | 44.4  | 5.2  | 10.4  | 12.6  | 1.8  | 20.1  | 0.0  | 0.0
1991[12] | 87.5  | 51,742  | 4.2  | 37.5  | 3.3  | 7.2  | 9.5  | 7.0  | 23.7  | 0.0  | 7.0
1994[13] | 88.0  | 52,738  | 6.4  | 44.4  | 4.9  | 6.3  | 8.3  | 3.8  | 24.3  | 0.0  | 1.1
1998[14] | 82.8  | 50,206  | 12.7  | 36.4  | 4.9  | 4.1  | 4.7  | 12.0  | 23.2  | 0.0  | 0.0
2002[15] | 82.0  | 51,272  | 7.9  | 39.9  | 4.8  | 5.7  | 14.2  | 8.6  | 15.2  | 1.4  | 0.0
2006[16] | 83.6  | 53,554  | 6.0  | 36.8  | 5.5  | 7.5  | 7.7  | 6.5  | 25.2  | 2.3  | 0.0
2010[17] | 86.1  | 57,709  | 5.5  | 32.9  | 8.0  | 5.5  | 7.5  | 5.3  | 29.9  | 4.2  | 0.0
2014[18] | 87.7  | 61,111  | 5.5  | 34.7  | 7.8  | 5.7  | 5.3  | 4.5  | 23.3  | 9.6  | 0.0
2018[19] | 89.0  | 63,334  | 7.9  | 31.7  | 4.8  | 8.5  | 5.7  | 6.4  | 19.5  | 14.1  | 0.0

Blocs

This lists the relative strength of the socialist and centre-right blocs since 1973, but parties not elected to the Riksdag are inserted as "other", including the Sweden Democrats results from 1988 to 2006, but also the Christian Democrats pre-1991 and the Greens in 1982, 1985 and 1991. The sources are identical to the table above. The coalition or government mandate marked in bold formed the government after the election. New Democracy got elected in 1991 but are still listed as "other" due to the short lifespan of the party. "Elected" is the total number of percentage points from the municipality that went to parties who were elected to the Riksdag.

Year  | Turnout  | Votes  | Left  | Right  | SD | Other  | Elected

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1973 | 92.0  | 47,969  | 49.2 | 49.4  | 0.0  | 1.4  | 98.6
1976 | 92.6  | 50,261  | 45.6  | 53.5 | 0.0  | 0.9  | 99.1
1979 | 91.6  | 51,435  | 48.3  | 50.3 | 0.0  | 1.4  | 98.6
1982 | 92.2  | 52,341  | 51.4 | 45.8  | 0.0  | 2.8  | 97.2
1985 | 90.5  | 52,538  | 50.0 | 48.1  | 0.0  | 1.9  | 98.1
1988 | 85.8  | 50,120  | 54.8 | 43.1  | 0.0  | 2.1  | 97.9
1991 | 87.5  | 51,742  | 41.7  | 47.4 | 0.0  | 11.9  | 96.1
1994 | 88.0  | 52,738  | 55.7 | 42.7  | 0.0  | 1.6  | 98.4
1998 | 82.8  | 50,206  | 54.0 | 44.0  | 0.0  | 2.0  | 98.0
2002 | 82.0  | 51,272  | 52.6 | 43.7  | 0.0  | 3.7  | 96.3
2006 | 83.6  | 53,554  | 48.3  | 46.9 | 0.0  | 4.8  | 95.2
2010 | 86.1  | 57,709  | 46.4  | 48.2 | 4.2  | 1.2  | 98.8
2014 | 87.7  | 61,111  | 48.0 | 38.8  | 9.6  | 3.6  | 96.4
2018 | 89.0  | 63,334  | 44.5 | 40.1  | 14.1  | 1.5  | 98.5

## Notable natives

[edit]

* Bengt Alsterlind, TV host ("Hajk")
* Zarah Leander, singer
* Sven-Erik Magnusson, singer/dance band artist (Sven-Ingvars)
* Christer Sjögren, rock/dansband singer (Vikingarna)
* Ulf Sterner, ice hockey player (first Swede to play in the National Hockey League)
* Fabian Zetterlund, ice hockey forward for the San Jose Sharks
* Elgen Helge, local hero (Most handsome moose around)

## Sites of interest

[edit]

Karlstad municipal library, and facilities for the municipal government.

* Alsters herrgård, the manor house where Gustaf Fröding was born
* Karlstad Church, built in 1730
* An indoor ice rink and event arena, Löfbergs Arena, expanded in 2002 to host the Ice Hockey World Championships*
* Sweden's only indoor speed skating arena, Tingvalla isstadion. It is constructed in a world unique way. While normally it consists of a bandy field and two ice hockey rinks,[1] on occasion the boards are dismantled in order to make room for the speed skating oval.
* Botanical gardens
* The masonic lodge where the negotiations for the dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway were held in 1905
* A runestone Vr 2, one of four known in Värmland
* A history museum
* A nature museum

## International relations

[edit]

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Sweden

### Twin towns – sister cities

[edit]

The municipality is twinned with:[20]

* Blönduós, Iceland
* Gaziantep, Turkey
* Horsens, Denmark
* Jõgeva, Estonia
* Moss, Norway
* Nokia, Finland

## See also

[edit]

* Da Buzz
* Swedish Rescue Services Agency
* Swedish Rally
* Klarälven
* Karlstad Hundred
* Färjestads BK

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Statistiska centralbyrån, Kommunarealer den 1 januari 2014" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 1 January 2014. Archived from the original (Microsoft Excel) on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
2. ^ "Folkmängd och befolkningsförändringar - Kvartal 4, 2024" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 21 February 2025. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
3. ^ "Karlstad röstar som Sverige | Forskning & Framsteg | Populärvetenskapligt magasin". Fof.se. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
4. ^ "Som Ljungby röstar – röstar inte Sverige – Statistiska centralbyrån". Scb.se. 6 March 2006. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
5. ^ a b c "Valresultat 2022 för Karlstad i riksdagsvalet" (in Swedish). SVT. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
6. ^ "Riksdagsvalet 1973 (page 166)" (PDF) (in Swedish). SCB. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
7. ^ "Riksdagsvalet 1976 (page 161)" (PDF) (in Swedish). SCB. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
8. ^ "Riksdagsvalet 1979 (page 185)" (PDF) (in Swedish). SCB. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
9. ^ "Riksdagsvalet 1982 (page 186)" (PDF) (in Swedish). SCB. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
10. ^ "Riksdagsvalet 1985 (page 187)" (PDF) (in Swedish). SCB. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
11. ^ "Riksdagsvalet 1988 (page 167)" (PDF) (in Swedish). SCB. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
12. ^ "Riksdagsvalet 1991 (page 29)" (PDF) (in Swedish). SCB. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
13. ^ "Riksdagsvalet 1994 (page 43)" (PDF) (in Swedish). SCB. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
14. ^ "Riksdagsvalet 1998 (page 40)" (PDF) (in Swedish). SCB. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
15. ^ "Valresultat Riksdag Karlstads kommun 2002" (in Swedish). Valmyndigheten. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
16. ^ "Valresultat Riksdag Karlstads kommun 2006" (in Swedish). Valmyndigheten. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
17. ^ "Valresultat Riksdag Karlstads kommun 2010" (in Swedish). Valmyndigheten. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
18. ^ "Valresultat Riksdag Karlstads kommun 2014" (in Swedish). Valmyndigheten. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
19. ^ "Valresultat Riksdag Karlstads kommun 2018" (in Swedish). Valmyndigheten. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
20. ^ "Karlstads kommun samarbetar med kommuner i andra länder". karlstad.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 September 2019.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karlstad Municipality.

* Karlstad Municipality – Official site
* Karlstad University

* v
* t
* e

Places adjacent to Karlstad Municipality

| Kil | Forshaga, Hagfors | Filipstad

|
|

|  |
Grums |

Karlstad

| Storfors
|  |
| Vänern, Hammarö | Kristinehamn

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and seats of Värmland County

Municipalities|

* Årjäng
* Arvika
* Eda
* Filipstad
* Forshaga
* Grums
* Hagfors
* Hammarö
* Karlstad
* Kil
* Kristinehamn
* Munkfors
* Säffle
* Storfors
* Sunne
* Torsby

Municipal seats|

* Årjäng
* Arvika
* Charlottenberg
* Filipstad
* Forshaga
* Grums
* Hagfors
* Karlstad
* Kil
* Kristinehamn
* Munkfors
* Säffle
* Skoghall
* Storfors
* Sunne
* Torsby

* Counties of Sweden
* Sweden

* v
* t
* e

Localities in Karlstad Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden

Localities|

* Alster
* Blombacka
* Edsvalla
* Karlstad (seat)
* Molkom
* Skåre
* Skattkärr
* Vålberg
* Vallargärdet
* Väse

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI

National|

* Sweden

Geographic|

* MusicBrainz area

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template