Karlstad

Karlstad [Carlstad], a town of Sweden, the capital of the district (län) of Vermland, on the island of Tingvalla under the northern shore of Lake Vener, 205 m. W. of Stockholm by the Christiania railway. Pop. (1900), 11,869. The fine Klar River here enters the lake, descending from the mountains of the frontier. To the north-west lies the Fryksdal or valley of the Nors River, containing three beautiful lakes and fancifully named the “Swedish Switzerland.” In this and other parts of the district are numerous iron-works. Karlstad was founded in 1584. It is the seat of a bishop and has a cathedral. Trade is carried on by way of the lake and the Göta canal. There are mechanical works, match factories and stockinet factories, and a mineral spring rich in iron, the water of which is bottled for export. Under the constitution of united Sweden and Norway, in the event of the necessity of electing a Regent and the disagreement of the parliaments of the two countries, Karlstad was indicated as the meeting-place of a delegacy for the purpose. Here, on the 31st of August 1905 the conference met to decide upon the severance of the union between Sweden and Norway, the delegates concluding their work on the 23rd of September.