Örebro facts for kids

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Örebro

City

Clockwise from top Örebro Castle, Centralpalatset, Örebro University, Saint Nicholas Church and Örebro City Library

Coat of arms

Örebro

Location in Örebro

Örebro

Location in Sweden

Sweden

Charter

1404

Area

• City

1,380.11 km² (532.86 sq mi)

• Urban

49.27 km² (19.02 sq mi)

Elevation

34 m (112 ft)

Population

(2019)

• City

155,989

• Density

2,172/km² (5,630/sq mi)

• Urban

125,817

• Metro

196,304

Demonym(s)

Örebroare

Time zone

UTC+1 (CET)

• Summer (DST)

UTC+2 (CEST)

Postal code

701 xx, 702 xx, 703 xx

Area code(s)

(+46) 19

Including Örebro, Kumla, Hallsberg and Lekeberg municipalities.

Örebro is the sixth-largest city in Sweden. It is the main city of Örebro Municipality and the capital of Örebro County. The city is located on the Närke Plain, close to Lake Hjälmaren. A small river called Svartån flows through it. About 126,000 people live in the city itself. Örebro is an important center for transport and business in Sweden.

The city is home to Örebro University and a large university hospital. You can also find a medieval castle, the water park Gustavsvik, big shopping malls, and the Oset and Rynningeviken Nature Reserve near Lake Hjälmaren.

Örebro has its own airport, Örebro Airport, which is about 10 km (6 miles) southwest of the city. The Örebro Central Station connects the city to other parts of Sweden by train.

What's in a Name?

The name Örebro means "bridge over gravel." The word bro means "bridge" in Swedish. It refers to a bridge that crosses the Svartån river, where the city is built. The first part, Öre-, comes from an old word ör, which means "gravel bank."

A Look Back: Örebro's History

Örebro around 1700, showing the castle in the middle

Örebro became an official city with special rights no later than 1404. It was an important trading place during the Middle Ages in Scandinavia. The city was first mentioned in writing in the 1200s.

Some of the oldest buildings include parts of the city church, which has been changed many times over the years. The most important building in Örebro is Örebro Castle. It sits on a small island in the Svartån river, splitting the city into two parts. This castle was first built in the late 1200s. Later, King Gustav Vasa made it bigger in the 1560s. An important meeting called the Örebro Synod was held there in 1529.

Another big event in Örebro's history happened in 1810. A national meeting, called a diet, was held here. During this meeting, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was chosen to be the crown prince of Sweden.

Even though it was a trade town, Örebro stayed small until the late 1800s. Then, it grew quickly and became a major center for making shoes in Sweden.

Fun Places to Visit

The watertower Svampen (The Mushroom). You can find a restaurant at the top!

Örebro has an old town called Wadköping. It's located along the Svartån river. Here, you can see many wooden houses from the 1700s and 1800s. There are also museums and exhibits to explore.

Rebel leader Engelbrekt in front of Örebro City Hall
Lindhska Bookstore in central Örebro
Centralpalatset, a famous building in Örebro

Culture and Arts

The Swedish Chamber Orchestra is based in Örebro.
Örebro is the hometown of the punk-rock band Millencolin. They even named one of their albums Pennybridge Pioneers, using "Pennybridge" as a fun English name for Örebro.
Many other Swedish rock bands come from Örebro, like Smash Into Pieces, Truckfighters, Blues Pills, and Witchcraft.
The famous grindcore band Nasum was also formed here.
SVT, Sweden's public broadcaster, has a local news office in Örebro.

Örebro has hosted a modern art show called Open Art several times. It brings together works by artists from Sweden and around the world.

Örebro University is one of Sweden's newer universities. It became a full university in 1999. Today, it has about 16,000 students and 1,100 staff members. It's known as one of the top universities in the world for its age.

Gustavsvik is the largest water park in the Nordic countries. It's just a short distance south of central Örebro. With over 700,000 visitors each year, it's one of Sweden's most popular places for fun and tourism. Only a few other places, like Liseberg and Gröna Lund, get more visitors. In the summer, the Karlslund manor is also a very popular spot to visit.

Sports in Örebro

Football

Örebro SK is the biggest football club for men in Örebro. They have played many seasons in Sweden's top league, Allsvenskan.
KIF Örebro is the most successful women's football team.
Other football clubs include Karlslunds IF, BK Forward, and Örebro Syrianska IF.

Floorball

Lillån IBK
IBF Örebro

Speedway

Örebro has a motorcycle speedway track called Örebro Motorstadion. It's near the airport. The local speedway team, Vikingarna, races there.

Other Sports

Örebro Volley is a women's volleyball team that plays in Sweden's top league. They have won the league ten times!
Örebro HK is an ice hockey team that plays in the Swedish Hockey League, which is the highest level.
Örebro Black Knights are an American football club. They have played in the Swedish Championship Finals many times.
Örebro SK Bandy has won the national bandy championship five times. Bandy is a sport similar to ice hockey, played with a ball. Their home games are played in Behrn Arena, an indoor bandy arena.

Karlslunds IF is a large sports club that offers many different sports. These include American Football, Bandy, Baseball/Softball, Bowling, Football, Gymnastics, Skiing, and Swimming.

Örebro's Climate

A recreation area at Örebro University Hospital

Örebro has a climate that gets milder because it's close to water and influenced by the Gulf Stream. Summers can sometimes get very warm, over 30°C (86°F), but this doesn't happen every year. In winter, temperatures rarely go above 5°C (41°F).

During cold winters, Örebro gets a lot of snow. It's more common for Örebro to have very cold nights, sometimes below -20°C (-4°F), compared to places closer to the coast. The weather can change a lot from year to year. For example, December 2010 was very cold, but December 2006 was quite mild.

Örebro often doesn't have snow cover for long periods in winter, which is unusual for an inland area so far north. This is because of the mild air coming from the Atlantic Ocean. Örebro also gets more rain than places on the Baltic Sea. Sometimes, heavy thunderstorms in summer can cause flash floods in low areas of the city.

Famous People from Örebro

Artists

Stephan Berg (born 1957), a composer and songwriter who won the Eurovision Song Contest 1991.
Jens Bogren (born 1979), a record producer.
Ola Brunkert (1946–2008), a drummer for the famous band ABBA.
Josef Fares (born 1977), a film director.
Jasmine Kara (born 1988), a singer.
Nina Persson (born 1974), a singer.
Mary Stävin (born 1957), a Bond girl who was crowned Miss World 1977.

Bands

Blues Pills (2011–present), a rock band.
Millencolin (1992–present), a punk rock band.
Nasum (1992–2005), a grindcore band.
Smash Into Pieces (2008–present), an alternative rock band.
Truckfighters (2001–present), a rock band.
Witchcraft (2000–present), a doom metal band.

Politicians and Public Officials

Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, (1390s–1436), a rebel leader and important statesman from history.
Johan Pehrson (born 1968), a politician and leader of the Liberal Party.
Olof Daniel Westling (Prince Daniel; born 1973), who is married to Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

Scientists and Engineers

Jens Bergensten (born 1979), a game developer and lead designer of the popular game Minecraft.
Manne Siegbahn (1886–1978), a physicist.
Jonas Wenström (1855–1893), an engineer and inventor.

Sportspeople

Christian Berglund (born 1980), an ice hockey player.
Stig Blomqvist (born 1946), a rally car driver.
Philip Broberg (born 2001), an ice hockey player.
Carl Gunnarsson (born 1986), an ice hockey player.
Fredrik Lindgren (born 1985), a motorcycle speedway rider.
Ronnie Peterson (1944–1978), a famous racing driver.

Writers

Hjalmar Bergman (1883–1931), a writer and playwright.
Cajsa Warg (1703–1769), a famous cookbook author.

Örebro's Sister Cities

Örebro is connected with other cities around the world as "sister cities." This helps them share culture and ideas. Here are some of them:

Drammen, Norway
Kolding, Denmark
Lappeenranta, Finland
Łódź, Poland

Stykkishólmur, Iceland
Terrassa, Spain
Veliky Novgorod, Russia
Yantai, China

Gallery

Örebro University
Rudbeck Upper Secondary School's Main Building
Karlslund Manor
Örebro Castle
Olaus Petri Church
Nerikes Allehanda, the local newspaper's former offices in Örebro
View over Örebro Watertower Svampen with the mountain ridge Kilsbergen in the background
Allehandaborgen from Svartån river
The statue of Formula 1 driver Ronnie Peterson in Almby, Örebro