Västergötland

Västergötland (ˈvɛ̂sːtɛrˌjøːtland), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (landskap in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Västergötland is home to Gothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden, which is situated along a short stretch of the Kattegat strait. The province is bordered by Bohuslän, Dalsland, Värmland, Närke, Östergötland, Småland and Halland, as well as the two largest Swedish lakes Vänern and Vättern. Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden is Duchess of Västergötland. The provinces of Sweden serve no administrative function. Instead, that function is served by counties of Sweden. From the 17th century up until 31 December 1997, Västergötland was divided into Skaraborg County, Älvsborg County and a minor part of Gothenburg and Bohus County. From 1 January 1998 nearly all of the province is in the newly created Västra Götaland County, with the exception of Habo Municipality and Mullsjö Municipality, which were transferred to Jönköping County, and smaller parts of the province which are in Halland County and Örebro County. Västergötland was granted its arms at the time of the funeral of King Gustav Vasa in 1560. The province is also a duchy and the arms can be represented with the ducal coronet. Blazon: "Per bend sinister Sable and Or, a Lion rampant counterchanged langued and armed Gules between two Mullets Argent in the Sable field." The southern and eastern part of the province is dominated by hills, belonging to the southern Swedish highlands. In geological terms southern Västergötland is made up of northward tilted surfaces of the Sub-Cambrian peneplain making up the flank of the Southern Swedish Dome. The northern and western portions of the province belong to the Central Swedish lowland, which in this part is referred to as the Västgöta-plains or Västgötaslätten. Characteristic for these lowlands in Västergötland is that they contain hills made up Silurian-aged sedimentary rock.

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Related concepts (13)

Sweden

Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridgetunnel across the Öresund. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic country, the third-largest country in the European Union, and the fifth-largest country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Stockholm. Sweden has a total population of 10.

Göta älv

The Göta älv (ˈjø̌ːta ˈɛlv; "River of (the) Geats") is a river that drains lake Vänern into the Kattegat, at the city of Gothenburg, on the western coast of Sweden. It was formed at the end of the last glaciation, as an outflow channel from the Baltic Ice Lake to the Atlantic Ocean and nowadays it has the largest drainage basin in Scandinavia. The Göta älv is located in Götaland, with the river itself being a site of early Geatish settlement. Its length is . The Bohus Fortress is located by the river at Kungälv.

Västergötland