| Page Views: 3,430 Last Visit to Borås: April, 2003 | Textile capital of Sweden by diocletianvs - last update: Sep 15, 2003 |
All I knew about Borås was that it is a town in Sweden, and that I have some relatives living there. I visited them for the Easter 2003 and was pleasantly surprised by this small town situated some 50 km east of Göteborg.
Borås is known as the textile centre of Sweden, and now is a vibrant centre for small business and trade. It has a lot of parks and green spaces, including the zoo which is one of the largest and best in Sweden.
It is a planned town established by the king Gustav II Adolf in 1621 alongside the ridges of river Viskan. Unfortunately, town witnessed several big fires so in the centre you won’t find many old buildings, but the street structure is more or less authentic.
Since I was visiting relatives here, don’t expect tips on hotels and restaurants. |
| Map courtesy MapQuest.com |
|  | About Borås In the 17th century farmers in the Västergötland area of West Sweden became increasingly interested in trade and craftsmanship in order to supplement their means of livelihood. A textile manufacturing developed early on, but there was one problem, however. By the decision of the king, Gustav II Adolf, all trade and craftsmanship had to be conducted and controlled in the towns - nowhere else. The farmers in the rural districts had the right to barter their own livestock and products, but that was all. Goods such as fabric and other textiles had to be taken to the cities to be sold.
After several unsuccesful visits to the King farmers were finally informed in 1620 that they would either have to make their way to an existing town in Västergötland, or designate "another convenient and practical district or place", where a new town could be built up. |
| Plan of the town on Central square |
| | And so it was. In 1621, a new town was founded on the designated site around the hamlet of Torpa, alongside the ridges of river Viskan.
Initially, it was difficult to get the rural population to move into the new town. The problem was solved a few years later by a royal writ. This unique privilege gave all citizens of Borås the right to carry on house-to-house peddling throughout the country on condition that they only sold locally-produced goods. These new commercial rights gave Borås a unique position in Sweden and meant the start of rapid growth for the town. Merchandising had found its Mecca.
In the 19th century town witnessed growth of industry in the district and soon people were occupied with weaving or other kinds of production in almost every crofter's cottage. The finished products were then sold to the traders. As the number of spinning mills, textile mills and dye-works burgeoned, more and more people moved to the town and embarked on a new life there. New suburbs gradually developed and since then Borås has expanded in all directions.
Today Borås is still strong textile production centre in Sweden, with the population of over 60,000 (Borås region counting nearly 100,000 inhabitants). Several big famous companies have based their production here, and new enterprises are continually breaking new grounds, ensuring that textile tradition remains strong. Town is the home of 9000 large and small-size companies in a wide range of different businesses. There is an enormous spirit of enterprise, and 500 new companies are set up in the region each year. Most were small enterprises and the owners ran them in their spare time. Some of these companies expanded substantially and are now ranked as some of the largest in the business. House-to-house peddling of the past is replaced by mail order trade today. At the beginning of the 1950s there were over 100 mail order companies in Borås.
Main text source: www.boras.se |
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| Pros: | "Lots of parks and outdoor spaces" | | Cons: | "Not much to do... (but close to Göteborg)" | | In A Nutshell: | "Seems like a pleasant place to live." |
diocletianvs' Borås Travel Tips
 Comments for diocletianvs about Borås | | | | |
hopang Wed Jun 3, 2009 19:42 UTC
Fabulous Borås page, it must be said! We have been to Borås several times. Rådhus, Kulturhus and Gustav Adolfs Kyrka look amazing. Thanks for sharing. ~ho & pang | Iridroz Tue Mar 17, 2009 06:14 UTC
Boros seems to be a very nice town. I can imagine natural surroundinds such as peaceful forest and magnificient lake.I wonder if there is any lake not far from Boros? People who live there are not usual they are fabulous... | Nemorino Fri May 16, 2008 18:30 UTC
Interesting that this place only started getting prosperous when the king gave them permission to do house-to-house peddling throughout the country. But I think it's better that they now do it by mail order, so as not to get on people's nerves so much. | yumyum Tue Oct 2, 2007 19:29 UTC
Boras seems to be a nice little town but somehow quite empty of people. |
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