Skövde is a locality and urban centre in Skövde Municipality and Västra Götaland County, in the Västergötland (Western Gothland region) in central Southern Sweden.
Skövde is situated some 150 km northeast of Gothenburg, between Sweden’s two largest lakes, Vänern and Vättern. It lies on the eastern slope of a low mountain ridge, Billingen (304 m), which cuts through the plain between the lakes. The Western Main Railway (Västra Stambanan) was built through Skövde in the 1850s, which gave the town a dramatic industrial and population boost.
Today, Skövde is home to the headquarters for Skaraborg’s District Court and is the Västra Götaland’s fourth-largest urban area as well as Sweden’s 32nd biggest locality (by population) with 34,466 inhabitants in 2010.
Education
University of Skövde
The University of Skövde is a university with over 9,000 students that conducts research and has a number of courses focusing across several areas. Currently, the main areas of focus are information technology and systems biology, but a few more courses are under development. The university trains, amongst others, biologists, computer scientists, economists, engineers, cognitive scientists, nurses, linguists and teachers. The University of Skövde profiles itself as having strengths across interdisciplinary courses where technology, natural science and the humanities are united. At the university, there is an ongoing project within the teaching faculty in collaboration with KK-stiftelsen called KompLIT (Competence Development Teacher Education and IT).
Other education providers
On the outskirts of the city is also Skövde Garrison, which is one of Sweden’s largest, with two regiments, Skaraborg Regiment (P 4), Logistic Regiment (TrängR), with the Logistics School (Logistikskolan) and the Land Warfare Centre (MSS).
The Rescue and Survival College is a competency-enhancing education and training provider, providing education and certification in rescue, fire safety and international humanitarian work areas. It also provides hotel accommodation and conference facilities for hire.
The Swedish Rescue Training Centre (SRTC, formerly known by its Swedish moniker, Räddningverkets övningsfält) is located in Hasslum, also providing education and training in risk and safety areas.
There are two municipal highschools in Skövde, Västerhöjdsgymnasiet and Kavelbrogymnasiet, which now operates under the name of Gymnasium Skövde. There is also a municipal adult education school (vuxenutbildning or Komvux).
Culture and entertainment
Skövde Kulturhus (‘Skovde’s Civic Cultural Centre’) was built in 1964 and is Sweden’s first cultural centre to bring together diverse cultural disciplines under the one roof. The cultural centre was designed by architect Hans-Erland Heineman, and houses the art gallery, art museum, library, theatre and cinema.
Museums
Skövde’s City Museum was previously situated in Gamla Rådhuset (‘The Old Town Hall’) at Hertig Johan’s Torg. After 2005 the museum was moved to Norrmalm. In the museum, there are letters, legal documents, maps, theatre posters and newspaper clippings. In the archive there are even tens of thousands of photographs from Skövde and numerous portrait photos from the 19th century. In storage there are nearly 40,000 objects, though nobody really knows how many as not all are yet catalogued.
There is also an external exhibition in the city cente: Helénsgården (‘Helén’s farm’ or also Helénsstugan – ‘Heléns cottage’ or Petter Heléns stuga – ‘Petter Heléns cottage’). It is the only remaining building from the great fire affecting the city in 1759, which essentially destroyed the whole town. Helénsgården was probably built in the beginning of the 18th century and is today protected as a cultural preservation. Its park is used widely as a meeting place and for events such as Sweden’s National Day celebration.
At the Skövde garrison there is the Garnisonsmuseet (‘Garrison Museum’), which has military and soldier exhibits from throughout the ages. Additionally, the central soldier register proves an invaluable tool for genealogy. Skövde Sport History Museum, the newest museum in Skovde, from 2001, is located in the basement of Billingehus. Here you will find the city’s sports history in sounds, images, old trophies and sports equipment.
The Volvo Museum tells of the start of Sköfde Gjuteri och Mekaniska Verkstad (‘Skövde Foundry and Mechanical Workshop’) in 1868 and its transformation to today’s automotive industry. Ryttmästarbostället (‘The Stablemaster’s Residence’) is located at Simsjön outside Skövde and is operated by a non-profit organisation. Its purpose is to preserve the buildings, furniture and appliances from the allotment system time and make the collections accessible to the public.
Music
Musical events are often organised in the city, such as Loke, a local initiative organising amateur nights when amateurs can play and even borrow instruments. Valhall is a local initiative right beside Loke in the Kulturhus (Skövdes Civic Culture Centre), which sees established bands play, such as Mustasch and Hardcore Superstar.
In wintertime, Arena Skövde is usually used for major artists that attract large audiences. In summer, Karstorp recreation area or Boulognerskogen (‘Boulogner Forrest’) are often used.
Theatre
Theatre productions can be seen at the City Theatre, located in the Kulturhus (Skövdes Civic Culture Centre). There you can see everything from revues to children’s theatre. Eric Ugglas Theatre is another, in Eric Ugglas plats (‘Eric Uggla’s Place’), slightly south of Skövde’s city centre.
The Food Festival
The Food Festival is a festival of Skövde which started in 1990 and is always the last weekend in August. The festival’s focus is on food that is served in small portions from different restaurants in the city. The restaurants also compete to see who makes the best cuisine as decided by the festival’s visitors. The Food Festival also has an amusement park that is located on Sandtorget and a market hall that is located on Hertig Johans Torg.
Restaurants
Skövde has a number of well-regarded restaurants. The most highly rated include the cozy and ornate Kryddan Pizzeria and Restaurant on Mariestadsvägen; Wallermans, also on Mariestadsvägen; and Pim’s, with its park views on Hertig Johans Gata. Popular amongst the locals, there are a number of pizzerias throughout Skövde, each with their own take on Swedish-style pizza as well as international variations.
Industry and enterprise
Volvo
Volvo Powertrain AB (a company within the Volvo Group) and Volvo Cars jointly operate one of the world’s largest automotive foundries in Skövde, Volvo being one of Skövde’s largest employers. The plant is known worldwide for being AB Volvo’s biggest producer of industrial diesel engines worldwide (Volvo Powertrain AB produces engine blocks, cylinder heads and flywheels as well as engine mounts and disk brakes) and also for producing petrol engines for Volvo Cars. The companies together produce over half a million engines per year in Skövde and combined had over 4,000 permanent employees (2,100 employees at Volvo Powertrain and 2008 at Volvo Skövde in 2011).
Diversified industries
Skövde is a diversified industrial centre, and includes companies such as CEJN AB (pneumatic, hydraulic and high pressure hydraulic quick connect couplings), Furhoffs Rostfria (‘Furhoff’s Stainless Steel’ – sinks and drainage), Cementa (cement) and Grahns Konfektyr (‘Grahn’s Confectionery’ – sweets).
Skövde has many public service employers and the largest of them in Skövde kommun (Skövde municipality). Other public service employers include Försvarsmakten (Swedish Armed Forces), Skaraborgs Sjukhus (Skaraborg’s Hospital), Kärnsjukhuset (also known as KSS – The Central Hospital), The University, Skaraborgs Tingsrätt (Skaraborg’s District Court), Polisen (The Police) and Västtrafik (‘West Traffic’ – transport).
Few places can match Skövde’s development in recent years as a commercial centre. Retail sales in the city have increased by 40% over the past 10 years.[16] This contributes to the relatively large trade sector bringing many jobs in small and medium enterprises.
Skövde is a centre for game development and games for training. In the business park Gothia Science Park, there are dozens of game companies that have both developed and produced games in Skövde. The proximity to the relatively large gaming development program at the University of Skövde is a major contributing factor to Skövde having become a game development centre.
The many varied employment opportunities in Skövde have meant an increase in daily commuting to the city from neighboring municipalities.
Commerce, retail and trade
Skövde is a shopping town with a large selection. The city centre is Skaraborg’s largest shopping centre with over 40 shops and restaurants. It is located directly adjacent to Hertig Johans Torg and Sandtorget (‘Sand Square’) and has its own car park. In the centre are several major brands and a variety of smaller shops. In October 2008, the newly renovated shopping mall Vasaporten was finished (formerly Göfab Huset) with a dozen shops, a new entrance to Willys grocery store and 500 parking spaces in the adjoining car park.
Norrmalm’s commerce precinct contains about twenty shops along Gustavus Adolphusgatan. Here lies a big, new shopping centre, Elins Esplanad (formerly Maxi-house), with 30 shops, an Ica Maxi Supermarket and a restaurant and cafe. There are thousands of free parking spaces including 200 in the garage. Elin’s Esplanade was opened on 28 November 2008.
Stallsikens commerce precinct is an entirely new bulk retail area built for big new stores to open in Skövde. Tenants include auto parts store Biltema, garden store Plantagen, furniture retailer Mio, discount retailer Ö&B, furniture and home decor store Chili, home and leisure department store Rusta and electronics store Media Markt. The inauguration took place in stages, starting in the spring of 2008.
Skövde has three trading areas: The Centre, Norrmalm and Stallsiken, which are all within easy reach of the city. In addition, there are more specific traders in several other areas of Skövde: Aspelund, Hasslum, Mariesjö, Hallenbergrondellen (‘Hallenberg’ss roundabout’), Karstorpsrondellen (‘Karstorp’s roundabout’) and Billingesluttningen (‘The Billinge Hillside’).
