Östersund (; ) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön, opposite the island Frösön. It is the only city in Jämtland. The northern part of the urban area is located inside of the municipality of Krokom.
Östersund is the region's cultural and economical centre and by tradition a city of trade and commerce. The city had one of the most extensive garrisons in Sweden prior to its closure in the early 21st century. Östersund is home to Mid Sweden University's largest campus site with approximately 7,000 students. With a total population of 50,960 (2017) Östersund is the 22nd most populous city in Sweden, the 46th most populous city in Scandinavia, and by far the largest inland city in Northern Sweden.
The city was the only Swedish city founded and chartered in the 18th century. Östersund was founded in order to create a trade monopoly over Jämtland whose inhabitants' lucrative trade annoyed the Swedish Crown. The intention was to persuade the local farmers to deliver merchandise to middlemen in Östersund, but the population opposed this economic philosophy, and Östersund long remained small.Jacobsson, Hans (1992). "Östersunds tillkomst" (in Swedish) in Sten Rentzhog: Jämten 1993, p. 140-145 It took until the end of the 19th century for Östersund to truly become a city, after the arrival of the railroad and the economic liberalization of that time.
Östersund is situated in inland Scandinavia and connected to Sundsvall in the east on the Swedish coast, and Trondheim in the west at the shores of the Norwegian Sea. Östersund is located in the middle of Scandinavia, in the middle of Sweden, in the middle of Jämtland County and in the middle of Östersund Municipality. As the most centrally located city in Sweden, the city credits itself as the centre of Sweden.
Östersund is marketed as – Winter City.Vinterstaden Official website Winter City as a project is run by the municipality together with city enterprises. While winters are long, the local climate is only moderately cold by elevated and northerly Swedish standards, but with chilly summers. Östersund has had a long history as a centre of outdoor activities with a modern cross-country ski stadium and an actual piste in the city itself. Östersund has also hosted several World Championships in various sports such as biathlon, speed skating and ski orienteering along with Swedish National Championships in cross-country skiing and snocross. The city has been the applicant city of Sweden for several Winter Olympic Games, but has yet to host one. The precursor to the Winter Olympic Games, the Nordic Games, were however held at several occasions in the city, due to lack of snow in Stockholm.
Geography
Östersund is the only city in the province and is located on the shore of Storsjön, the fifth largest lake in Sweden. The area surrounding this lake is commonly referred to as Storsjöbygden and has been described as the world's northernmost located genuine agricultural society in the inland with continental climate.Nils Åsling (2004). "Ostlandets historia - från fäboddrift till Milkoland" (in Swedish) in Henrik Zipsane: Jämten 2005, p.74.
The city sprawls along the eastern slopes of lake Storsjön with most of the city, and the city core itself, located on the mainland, facing the non mainland part of the city, the island of Frösön, which for a very long time was the actual centre of Jämtland. Today, a sizeable part of the city's population live on the slopes of the island that face the city centre. Östersund is a bimunicipal town because a minor part of it, with roughly 400 inhabitants, is actually situated in Krokom Municipality.
The city spans across Östersundet and the city was named after this strait. Östersund can be directly translated from Swedish to English as "East Sound". The name of the strait derives from an older Jamtish name now present in the form Åstersånn.
Climate Östersund has a subarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc) and is located in the far north of the north temperate climate zone. The cold Arctic winds that occasionally find their way to the city are called ('the north-westerner') or ('the cold-westerner') locally.
The winter climate is much warmer than most locations at similar latitudes. This is due to the Gulf Stream and the many passages in the mountain range, bringing warmer Atlantic winds to the city during winters. This somewhat maritime character also makes the summers in the city rather cool, in comparison to other towns in inland Scandinavia, which all have a more continental climate with cold winters and warm summers. It contains a strong influence of the humid continental climate (Dfb) courtesy of its mild September lows extending the mild mean temperatures.
Though Östersund is in fact affected by the Gulf Stream, it lacks the high frequency of rain or snow following the currents. This is due to the Scandinavian Mountain Range acting as a natural barrier, receiving most of the precipitation, giving Östersund and the surrounding area a rain deficit. Another issue that has to be taken into account is the higher elevation of Östersund compared to the weather stations in Ångermanland farther east. For example, Sollefteå at a similar latitude to the east but near sea level in an inland valley, has three degrees warmer July days. There is often temperature inversion between Östersund and lower areas in winter.
Östersund has a high exposition of sunlight and was the sunniest city in Sweden in the summer of 2007 (1 July to 9 August) with 654 hours of sun. However, in comparison to east coast locations, sunshine is relatively low.
Cityscape
Östersund was laid out with roads spanning from north to south countered by several alleys from east to west, which is why an alley in Östersund is synonymous with a road leading down towards Storsjön. From the inner city one may gaze upon Storsjön, Frösön and the Jamtish fell region with snow-clad mountains. This was made possible due to the topography and the grid plan.
The regularity in Östersund's road system and the slanting alleys leading from higher altitudes down towards Storsjön have created the "windows to the west" characteristic and unique to Östersund as a city.Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 430. The alleys, often seen as rather steep, have created the illusion that the houses in the city core are climbing to higher grounds. These houses were conformed upon their construction to fit with the slopes.
The first city plan of Östersund was made with several large segments in the core being reserved as green areas. Östersund was thus planned as a green city and special lots, e.g. 'spice garden lots' were created along with construction lots. These lots shifted with a construction lot alternating with a spice garden lot. The garden lots are no longer existent since they too have been constructed upon. Many of the fences that separated each lot from another with trees and verdure were left intact. The large green areas are still present, with parks such as Kyrkparken, Österängsparken and Badhusparken being the most prominent. Badhusparken was once the location of a large bath house (hence the name Badhus-) though it was torn down in 1881 when the railway was constructed. A new larger two-storey pompous bath house was later built on poles a few metres from the shore, enabling the population to bathe in the waters of Storsjön during summers. This house was also torn down when a new bath house with heated water was founded in 1938.Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 368.
When Östersund started to grow as a city in the late 19th century the houses consisted predominantly of wood, though stone had become popular in the central parts. These houses were heavily characterized by Neo-Gothicism and Neo-Renaissance architecture.Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 360. A very common feature of these houses were towers, some even resembling those on old castles like the one on Hotell Grand at the main square. In the early 20th century a new age had come and in the main road, Prästgatan, the new age came fiercely. The wooden houses were replaced by stone buildings, because a city's well-being was measured in how many stone buildings it had. At the same time military barracks were constructed in connection to the older settlement.Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 371. Jugendstil became popular too as an addition to the National Romantic style architecture.
In the 1930s, the functionalistic style made itself apparent in Östersund's outskirts, which were growing. In the 1940s, the city was made more car-friendly and the city was first and foremost planned for cars.Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 407. Later sanitation issues were brought up, which resulted in the construction of a sewage treatment works and waste water was no longer flushed directly into Storsjön. Östersund was also affected by the Million Programme, though to a lesser extent than other cities. During the same period older buildings such as Hotell Grand (to make room for Storsjöteatern), Cellfängelset (a jail located at the beginning of Prästgatan), Flickskolan (the girl school next to the city hall, where the current county library is located) and Västra stationen (at Badhusparken) were torn down. The local media described it as "demolishing madness".Pentén, Gudrun (1986). "Så byggdes Östersund" (in Swedish) in Jörgen Björklund: Östersunds historia III, p. 422. When the Good Templar house was threatened in order to widen Rådhusgatan the city's inhabitants had had enough and the building was saved.
The buildings along Storgatan (literally: 'the large street') with entire segments intact since the 1880s are considered one of the best preserved city settlements in Sweden. The wooden façades are rich with details and the house are relatively low, short and slim. A great amount of work was put down on creating a balance between details and entirety. Parallel with Storgatan lies Prästgatan – 'the priest street', Östersund's main shopping street. The buildings between the two streets are often connected and the streets create small rooms mostly inaccessible for keen winds. These so-called rooms also stimulate the social life on the streets.
Stortorget – the main town square in central Östersund is one of six "closed squares" built in Sweden, the others being the ones in Uppsala, Karlstad, Vimmerby, Piteå and Haparanda. It was created through indentation in four different blocks to deliberately create an open air room with openings to every direction, a style deriving from how cities were planned during the Renaissance. However the town square lost its original shape when it was opened up and expanded towards the lake. Stortorget has long been the city's main market place and core; it is also here that the thousand-year-old market Gregorie market is held each year in March. The city festival Storsjöyran has Stortorget as its main centre.
Districts and housing estates