Borås facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Borås
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Borås railway station
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| Nickname(s):
Textiletown
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 Borås
Location in Västra Götaland
Borås
Location in Sweden
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| Country | Sweden | |
| Province | Västergötland | |
| County | Västra Götaland County | |
| Municipality | Borås Municipality | |
| Founded | 1621 | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 967.53 km2 (373.57 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 143 m (469 ft) | |
| Population
(2022)
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| • Total | 114,445 | |
| • Density | 126.13/km2 (326.7/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) | |
| Postal code |
501 xx
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| Area code(s) | (+46) 33 | |
| Climate | Cfb | |
Borås (say "boo-RAWSS") is a city in Sweden. It is the main town of Borås Municipality in Västra Götaland County. In 2024, about 114,556 people lived there.
Borås is famous for its textile industry. Many well-known clothing brands and companies started here. It is also home to the important Swedish School of Textiles, which is part of the University of Borås.
Contents
Exploring Borås
Borås is a city with a rich history and a strong focus on textiles. It's a place where old traditions meet new ideas.
Where is Borås?
Borås is located where two important railway lines cross. One of these lines connects the cities of Gothenburg and Kalmar. The city grew a lot between 1870 and 1910 because of these railways.
A Look at Borås's Past
Borås became a city in 1621, thanks to King Gustav II Adolf. The king wanted to give local pedlars, who were traveling sellers, a proper place to sell their goods. This also helped the government collect taxes from their trade.
The city quickly grew after it was founded. Within a hundred years, it had over 2,000 people. Borås has faced four big fires throughout its history: in 1681, 1727, 1822, and 1827. The Caroli church is the oldest building in Borås. It has survived all these fires. In 2021, Borås celebrated its 400th birthday!
What Borås Makes and Does
The city's coat of arms shows two pairs of sheep shears. This is a nod to the many metalworkers who lived in the town long ago. Today, Borås holds the Swedish record for the most mail-order companies. These are companies that sell products directly to customers through mail or online.
Many big companies have a presence in Borås. SWEDAC is based here. Ericsson has a large factory that makes special microwave radios. The worldwide clothing store H&M also has its global online office in Borås.
Outside the city, in the Viared industrial park, many companies focus on logistics. This means they specialize in organizing and moving goods. Businesses in Borås work closely with the University College of Borås. They also partner with the SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden. This institute does a lot of testing and research to help keep consumers safe.
Getting Around Borås
Borås is a hub for railway travel.
Train Travel
The Coast-to-Coast Line, which runs from Gothenburg to Kalmar, goes right through the city center. At the Borås Railway Station, it connects with other lines. These include the Älvsborg Line, which goes north, and the Viskadal Line, which goes south.
Trains run regularly through Borås. All passenger trains stop at the main Borås railway station. Some trains also stop at Knalleland halt within the city.
Bus Travel
There are many buses that connect Borås to nearby cities like Jönköping and Gothenburg. About 100,000 people travel between Borås and Gothenburg every month.
Sports in Borås
Borås is home to many exciting sports teams and activities.
Football and Other Team Sports
The most famous sports team in Borås is the football team IF Elfsborg. They have won the Swedish championship six times (in 1936, 1939, 1940, 1961, 2006, and 2012). They have also won the Swedish Cup three times. Elfsborg was founded in 1904. Their home stadium is Borås Arena, which can hold 16,000 fans. The team plays in yellow and black uniforms.
Other teams include the Borås Hockey Club and M7, a basketball team. Borås Rhinos is the city's American football team.
Individual Sports and Clubs
The table tennis club, Mariedals IK, has had talented young players on the Swedish youth team.
You can try many other sports in Borås, such as archery, track and field, rowing, handball, table tennis, tennis, skiing, orienteering, sport shooting, swimming, golf, horse riding, bowling, cheerleading, floorball, and various martial arts. The Borås Judoclub has worked to become a national center for judo.
Sports Venues and Events
Boråshallen is the biggest indoor sports hall in Borås. It hosts the Mariedal cup, an indoor football competition, every year.
Borås also hosted the water polo events for a big international competition in 2010. In 2019, the city hosted the 2019 European Athletics U20 Championships.
The Rydafältet and Ryavallen stadium have hosted motorcycle speedway events in the past.
Culture and Fun in Borås
Borås offers many cultural experiences and fun places to visit.
Arts and Entertainment
- Hemvärnets Musikkår Borås – This is an orchestra that plays both marching and sitting music.
- Borås kulturskola – This is a school of the arts for young people.
- Borås kulturhus – This building houses a theater, a library, and an art museum.
- Borås Tidning – This is the local newspaper for Borås.
Every summer, free outdoor concerts are held on the town square on Thursday evenings.
Museums and Attractions
- Textilmuseet – This museum teaches you all about how textiles and clothes are made.
- Borås djurpark – This is the local zoo. They have been very successful at raising different animals, including lions.
- Åhaga – This is a renovated building that used to repair trains. Now, it's used for conferences and concerts.
Outdoor Art and Events
Borås has become known as a city with many outdoor sculptures. You can see artworks like Catafalque by Sean Henry. There's also a huge bronze Pinocchio statue called Walking to Borås by American artist Jim Dine.
During the holiday All Saints' Day, there's an annual event called Borås Spelkonvent. Young people especially gather here to play board games, Warhammer 40k, and Magic: The Gathering.
Weather in Borås
Borås has a climate that is influenced by winds from the Atlantic Ocean. This means it gets a lot of rain and sometimes snow.
The average temperature in Borås is generally cool. Summers are mild, and winter temperatures are usually just above freezing. However, Borås can sometimes experience extreme temperatures. For example, it reached 36°C (97°F) in July 1901, and a very cold -34.1°C (-29.4°F) in February 1966.
Borås is a very wet city for Swedish standards. It gets over 1100 mm (43 inches) of rain each year. In winter, you can expect heavy snow or wet snowfall.
| Climate data for Borås (2002–2020; extremes since 1901) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 10.0 (50.0) |
16.4 (61.5) |
20.0 (68.0) |
27.5 (81.5) |
30.0 (86.0) |
33.1 (91.6) |
36.0 (96.8) |
33.2 (91.8) |
28.0 (82.4) |
22.5 (72.5) |
15.5 (59.9) |
11.2 (52.2) |
36.0 (96.8) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 7.0 (44.6) |
7.9 (46.2) |
13.4 (56.1) |
19.7 (67.5) |
25.2 (77.4) |
27.3 (81.1) |
28.8 (83.8) |
27.7 (81.9) |
22.8 (73.0) |
16.4 (61.5) |
11.2 (52.2) |
8.1 (46.6) |
29.9 (85.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 1.2 (34.2) |
1.8 (35.2) |
5.6 (42.1) |
11.9 (53.4) |
16.8 (62.2) |
20.2 (68.4) |
22.1 (71.8) |
20.9 (69.6) |
16.9 (62.4) |
10.7 (51.3) |
6.1 (43.0) |
3.1 (37.6) |
11.4 (52.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.3 (29.7) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
1.6 (34.9) |
6.7 (44.1) |
11.4 (52.5) |
15.0 (59.0) |
17.2 (63.0) |
16.4 (61.5) |
12.8 (55.0) |
7.6 (45.7) |
3.9 (39.0) |
0.9 (33.6) |
7.6 (45.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −3.7 (25.3) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
1.5 (34.7) |
6.0 (42.8) |
9.7 (49.5) |
12.2 (54.0) |
11.8 (53.2) |
8.6 (47.5) |
4.4 (39.9) |
1.6 (34.9) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
3.7 (38.7) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | −14.5 (5.9) |
−13.0 (8.6) |
−11.2 (11.8) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
4.2 (39.6) |
7.4 (45.3) |
6.0 (42.8) |
1.8 (35.2) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−6.2 (20.8) |
−10.3 (13.5) |
−17.5 (0.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −29.0 (−20.2) |
−34.1 (−29.4) |
−26.0 (−14.8) |
−17.0 (1.4) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
−14.0 (6.8) |
−18.5 (−1.3) |
−25.5 (−13.9) |
−34.1 (−29.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 106.9 (4.21) |
80.4 (3.17) |
64.5 (2.54) |
48.1 (1.89) |
66.0 (2.60) |
91.7 (3.61) |
100.3 (3.95) |
121.9 (4.80) |
94.9 (3.74) |
113.7 (4.48) |
101.7 (4.00) |
125.5 (4.94) |
1,115.6 (43.93) |
| Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) | 16 (6.3) |
20 (7.9) |
14 (5.5) |
2 (0.8) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
2 (0.8) |
2 (0.8) |
8 (3.1) |
27 (11) |
| Source 1: SMHI | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: SMHI Monthly Data 2002–2020 | |||||||||||||
Neighborhoods of Borås
Borås is divided into several municipal subdistricts, each with its own neighborhoods.
Göta Subdistrict
- Göta
- Kristineberg
- Dammsvedjan
- Hedvigsborg
Sjöbo Subdistrict
- Sjöbo
- Erikslund
Brämhult Subdistrict
- Brämhult
- Trandared
- Brotorp
- Hulta
- Hässleholmen
Norrby Subdistrict
- Norrby
- Byttorp
- Tullen
- Hestra
- Ekås
Centrum Subdistrict (City Center)
- Centrum
- Salängen
- Lugnet
- Villastaden
- Bergdalen
- Norrmalm
Sandhult Subdistrict
- Sandared
- Sandhult
- Sjömarken
Famous People from Borås
Many talented people have come from Borås, including:
- Johanna Almgren, a Swedish football player
- Hans Alsér, a world champion in table tennis
- Christer Björkman, a singer
- Ingvar Carlsson, a former prime minister of Sweden
- Magnus Carlsson, a pop singer
- Shirley Clamp, a singer
- AronChupa, a singer and DJ
- Peter Adolf Hall, a painter
- Jonas Jerebko, the first Swedish player in the NBA
- Wiktoria Johansson, a pop singer
- Patrik Järbyn, a former alpine ski racer
- Carolina Klüft, a famous athlete who competes in heptathlon
- Ivan Lapanje, a professional FIFA video game player
- Martin Lorentzon, who helped start Spotify
- Daniel Norgren, a singer-songwriter
- Helena Paparizou, a Greek-Swedish singer who won the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest
- Kurt Pettersén, an Olympic champion wrestler
- Hans Rosenfeldt, a writer
- Helge Skoog, an actor
- Johan Wiland, a Swedish football player
Schools in Borås
Borås has several schools, including the University of Borås.
High Schools
- Almåsgymnasiet
- Bäckängsgymnasiet
- Sven Eriksonsgymnasiet
- Viskastrandsgymnasiet
- Tullengymnasiet
- Borås Praktiska Gymnasium
- LBS: High School of Creativity
Images for kids
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Ramnaparken lake in winter
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City park
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Municipal court
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Winter panorama
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Water tower
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The old Pensionat Lyckebo
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Catafalque by Sean Henry in Winter.
See also
In Spanish: Borås para niños
