Karlstad is located in the delta of the Klarälven river on the northern shore of lake Vänern, midway between Stockholm and Oslo. Karlstad’s municipality has around 87,000 inhabitants, making it the 22^nd largest municipality in Sweden.

Karlstad is the capital city of the province of Värmland. Services are administrated here for the entire Karlstad region, which in addition to Karlstad comprises the surrounding municipalities of Forshaga, Grums, Hammarö and Kil. This region comprises around 130,000 inhabitants.

Karlstad has a unique symbol, an illustration of a sun, which has its roots in the town’s history and reflects the town’s values. Karlstad is the only municipality in Sweden with a happy sun as its symbol. The illustration was drawn by Lasse Sandberg. The statue in the picture is Sola of Karlstad, a hard-working and jolly waitress from the 18^th century who still spreads her sunny personality over Karlstad.

Cycling in Karlstad

Karlstad is a flat and bicycle-friendly city, most of which lies less than five kilometers from the main square. There is a large network of cycle paths that connect the city's districts both with the center and with each other. In total, the municipality has about 25 kilometers of cycle paths. Karlstad is located in a river section with a lot of water and several of our cycle paths lie naturally along the Klarälven branches.

Biking is a great way to get around town, for those who live in or visit Karlstad. Bike is a sustainable means of transport. When a larger proportion of journeys are made by bike, both the environment, the climate and public health are promoted. It also contributes to a Karlstad with less congestion, less traffic noise and better air quality.

We want cycling to increase in Karlstad. We are constantly working to make it even better, safer and smoother to get on a bike - no matter what season!