Västerås Municipality
| Seat | Västerås | |
| County | Västmanland County | |
| Province | Västmanland | |
| Area | 962.8 km² (108th of 290) | |
| Population (2003) | 131,114 (6th of 290) | |
| Density | 136/km² | |
VästerÃ¥s Municipality [vɛstər'oːs] is a municipality in central Sweden, where the city VästerÃ¥s is the residential seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the district Westmannia, about 100 km west of the capital Stockholm.
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History
Västerås is one of the oldest cities of Sweden. The name originates from Västra Aros, which refers to the estuary of the river Svartån. The area had been populated from Nordic Viking Age, before 1000 AD. In the beginning of the 11th century, it was the second largest city in Sweden, and in 110? it was subjected to bishopsseat.
In the ensuing centuries a cathedral and a monastery were built. The first City Arms is from the end of the 13th century.
Rudbeckianska Gymnasiet, the first gymnasium (high school) in Sweden, was built in Västerås by Johannes Rudbeckius in 1623.
Industry
Asea Brown Boveri, formerly ASEA, has one of it main locations at Västerås. Other major industries include transportation like Bombardier with several distribution centers, copper smiths like Outokumpu Copper and IT. University College of Mälardalen is located in Västerås and shared with the city of Eskilstuna.
See also
- Power Big Meet
- Västerås (town)
External link
- VästerÃ¥s – Official site