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'Östersund' is a city northern central Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Thus, the province’s County Governor resides in the city.

Contents

Geography

Historical background

Present day

Outdoor recreation

Geography

Östersund is the only city in the province and it is located on the shore of the fifth largest lake in Sweden, Storsjön. The city sprawls along the eastern slopes of the lake and the central parts of the city face the island of Frösön. Today, a sizeable part of the city’s population lives on the slopes of the island that face the city center.

Historical background

Historically, Frösön was the main population center in Jamtland but when the city of Östersund was founded in 1786, Frösön gradually lost its predominant role as administrative and mercantile center. The city of Östersund was given its charter by King Gustav III of Sweden. Östersund is the only city in Sweden founded in the 18th century.
The city of Östersund developed slowly during its first 100 years, but started to expand rapidly after the arrival of a railway in 1879. In 1971 the then named town of Östersund was merged with four surrounding towns/municipalities which today form the present day municipality.
For a long time a city built on county administration and a strong military presence.
The following military installations were placed in Östersund by the Swedish government:

★ Norrland Artillery Regiment (A4), founded in 1892.

★ Jämtland Field Ranger Regiment (I5), re-established in 1927.

★ Jämtland Air Force Wing (F4), established in 1926.

★ The Military Academy Östersund (MHS Ö).
Today, however, all major military installations that previously supported the city’s economy have been dissolved. On December 31, 1998, the artillery regiment was dissolved, on December 31, 2004, the Air Force base was closed and the Field Ranger Regiment began to be dissolved. When the Military Academy was disbanded in June 2005, nothing had been left behind by the Swedish government.

Present day

During the recent years, Östersund has evolved from being a garrison city for the Swedish armed forces to become a city whose main employers are government branches of education and administration. Östersund is one of the main campus sites of the Mid Sweden University (Mittuniversitetet). A number of governmental offices have also been located to the city in recent years.
An international, though small, airport is located on Frösön approximately 10 kilometers from the city center.
The city hosts local newspapers which are distributed throughout Jamtland, Östersundsposten and Länstidningen.
A number of historical sights are located in or around the city.

★ It is the location of Sweden's most northerly rune stone, Frösöstenen.

★ The Jamtli museum which has both an enclosed exhibition area and an outdoor area which contains a number of old buildings from Jamtland (similar to Skansen in Stockholm). The museum exhibition hosts an interesting set of Viking tapestries (Överhogdalstapeten) from around AD 800-1100.

★ The old Frösö kyrka from the 13th Century which is Sweden’s oldest preserved church.

★ The remnants of Frösö redoubt that up until 1821 was the major fortification in Jamtland.

★ The villa of Sommarhagen. The villa was built in the National Romantic style and was originally constructed by the composer Wilhelm Peterson-Berger.

★ The nature reserve located on the island of Andersön where the ruins of the 12th Century Sunne church are located.

Outdoor recreation

The cross-country ski stadium that is located two kilometers from the city center is considered to be one of the finest 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.
Östersund hosted the 1970 Biathlon World Championship and has again been designated as the host city for the upcoming 2008 Championship.
Östersund, in association with the neighboring municipality of Åre, had plans to be the candidate of Sweden for the organization of the XXIInd Olympic Winter Games, the 2014 Winter Olympics, but the candidacy proposal was rejected by the government. It would have been the fourth attempt of this city (after 1994, 1998 and 2002).