Landlords in Mariestad’s municipality (in Swedish)
Homes for sale (Hemnet, in Swedish)
Video:The place for living the dream (in Swedish)
Mariestad is a small town overflowing with natural experiences and quality of life. Here’s where Sweden’s blue-riband Göta Canal meets Lake Vänern, northern Europe’s biggest. Offshore from the cliffs and sandy beaches of the 140-kilometer coastline, the archipelago’s islands number in the tens of thousands.
- Number of residents
24,647
- Satellite towns
Ullervad, Lugnås, Sjötorp, Lyrestad, Torsö and Tidavad
- Neighboring municipalities
Töreboda, Gullspång, Götene and Skövde
- Price per square meter (single family/town house)
SEK 19,120
- Number of companies
2,673
- Major industries
Manufacturing, hospitality and green transition
- Employers
Electrolux, Nimbus, Metsä Tissue, Kling Glass, Mann Tek, FX Airguns and others
- Popular places to visit
Göta Canal, Vänern archipelago, Millstone Quarry outdoor museum, old town, the harbor area
- Renowned for
Kling ice cream, beer brewing tradition, Göta Canal, Mariestad’s ice hockey team, Lockerud sports club, Örnarna Speedway, lakeside location, thriving harbor, green transition and the Volvo battery factory
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Living here
Living in Mariestad
Mariestad is a beautiful lakeside town on the shore of Lake Vänern. The River Tidan flows into Lake Vänern in the very center of Mariestad, and the Göta Canal begins its journey through the country in the northern part of the municipality. We’re creating dream locations together, and thanks to major companies setting up here, we’re on the brink of a green transition with great growth and urban development.
We Mariestad residents take our lakeside location as a given. In addition to the location, Mariestad, together with Götene and Lidköping, was nominated by UNESCO as a biosphere area, a role model for sustainable development. Mariestad provides a simpler, close-to-nature lifestyle in an exciting, sustainable environment. Your dream location can happen here in many different ways.
For people working outside the municipality or wishing to visit other places, its geographical location also affords smooth commuting to destinations inside and beyond Skaraborg.
Other towns in Mariestad’s municipality
Lugnås
Lugnås is split into two parts. The station community is built around the railroad, the Kinnekulle Line, nominated as Sweden’s most beautiful. On the other side of the E20 Highway is Lugnås mountain, which is part of the Unesco Global Geopark and Skaraborg’s smallest table rock. There’s the church village with its excellent hiking trails, Lake Vristulven’s bathing areas and the historic millstone quarry that remains of great importance to the town to this day. Lugnås has a preschool and Kvarnstenen’s School for grades 1–6, with places for around 130 pupils.
Lyrestad
Lyrestad is located by the Göta Canal. Lyrestad has great infrastructure thanks to the canal, the Kinnekulle Line and the E20 Highway – all of which makes life easier for commuters. There are active local cultural and community societies, a local cultural history museum, a café, a pizzeria and a well-stocked grocery store. Lyrestad has its own sledding hill and even a ski lift, next to which is a barbecue area. There’s a preschool and Lyrestad School with space for about 100 pupils in grades 1–6, which also houses a branch of the Mariestad town library.
Read more at Lyrestad.se (in Swedish)
Sjötorp
The summer idyll Sjötorp is located where the Göta Canal and Lake Vänern meet. Here are hiking trails, Surö beech forest, locks, scores of summer restaurants, bijou stores, the Canal Museum and the thriving associations that make up the major part of Sjötorp. Sjötorp has a preschool and after-school center.
Read more at Sjotorp.se (in Swedish)
Torsö
Torsö, Lake Vänern’s biggest island, can be found in Mariestad’s archipelago. The island is located 20 kilometers northwest of Mariestad’s town center and offers excellent beaches, beautiful nature and outdoor activities. Torsö has a preschool and the Torsö archipelago school for grades 1–6.
Read more at Torso.se (in Swedish)
Ullervad
The village of Ullervad offers a quiet, rural setting a little over six kilometers southeast of Mariestad. The River Tidan meanders through the village, where there’s a riding club and an active football club. Ullervad has two preschools and Ullervad’s School for grades 1–6, currently attended by around 165 pupils.
Tidavad
Located around 15 kilometers south of Mariestad, Tidavad offers an open, cultural heritage landscape. Tidavad is located between Mariestad and Skövde, and its proximity to National Highway 26 makes life easier for commuters. Tidavad has a preschool and Tidavad’s School for grades 1–6 with around 90 pupils, both with nearby pedestrian and cycle tracks.
Moving here
Moving to Mariestad
Mariestad, a place that is firmly rooted in history, is growing by leaps and bounds. Our goal is to reach 40,000 residents by 2040, creating dream locations together as new subdivisions take form. Mariestad residents new and old will be welcomed to break ground in what is one of Sweden’s most beautiful locations, if you ask us.
Thriving associations, exciting attractions, boating on Lake Vänern and other activities make Mariestad a glorious place to live.
For people working outside the municipality or wishing to visit other places, its geographical location also affords smooth commuting to destinations inside and beyond Skaraborg.
Jobs
Working in Mariestad
Working in Mariestad
There are plenty of job opportunities in Mariestad. Mariestad has everything – companies large and small, public bodies and fantastic conditions for running your own business. Also, excellent communications make it easy to reach cities such as Stockholm, Gothenburg, Jönköping, Skövde and the rest of Skaraborg. In other words, you can easily live in Mariestad and work wherever you like.
Mariestad has a flourishing business community based on tradition and innovation in areas such as the green transition. In the municipality, major exporters work side-by-side with international companies, commerce and small businesses. With major new setups in a growing municipality, the long-term prospects for more jobs and opportunities are good.
Starting your own business
If you’re an entrepreneur looking to start your own business, then Mariestad is the place for you. In the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise’s business rankings for 2023, Mariestad ranks 28 out of the country’s 290 municipalities, with a consolidated score of 4.31 out of 5. Compared to the Swedish average of 3.46, the result is clear – this is where things happen.
Education
Education in Mariestad
Schools in Mariestad
Preschool and educational care
Preschool teachers and childcare assistants work in Mariestad, distributed across 18 municipal preschools and a child minder. Our preschools are located in several places throughout the municipality. There are also two private preschools.
School, grades 1–9 + after-school center
There are 12 municipal schools, grades 1–9 in Mariestad, and three private schools, grades 1–9, spread across the municipality. Mariestad municipality’s schools also include a special education school.
All of the schools are adjoined by an after-school center for children aged 6 until the spring term of the year the pupil turns 13.
Senior high schools
There’s a wide range of courses at high school level in Mariestad. The municipal Vadsbo High School offers 10 national programs, both college-prep and pre-vocational, and the national recruiting marine technology program. Vadsbo High School also has introductory programs and special education high school programs.
Want to combine your studies with sports? Vadsbo High School runs a nationally certified sports program (NIU) for floorball, as well as sports specializations (LIU) for football and ice hockey.
Väner High School Olins offers private vocational education in two national programs.
Adult education
Mariestad’s municipality offers studies at several different levels and in several different fields. In addition to Mariestad Adult Education, there are also Dacapo Mariestad and Vara Adult Education College.
Municipal adult education offers courses at the elementary and high school levels. Adult education also offers vocational training and apprenticeships at high school level in collaboration with other adult education courses in Skaraborg.
Dacapo Mariestad is a platform for a network of university and higher education programs. Students can study programs at college and university level there. The University of Gothenburg and Linköping University provide digital education for students on campus in Mariestad and remotely for Karlstad University students.
Leisure
Things to do in Mariestad
Mariestad is a small town overflowing with natural experiences and quality of life. Here’s where Sweden’s blue-riband Göta Canal meets northern Europe’s largest lake – and offshore from the 140-kilometer coastline, the archipelago’s islands are counted in the tens of thousands.
The west-facing Lake Vänern shoreline provides countless sunsets and cooling dips. The beautiful, varied countryside invites you to make day trips by bike and on foot along the excellent trails dotted around the municipality. There are recreation areas, beaches and cliffs, deep forests, charming country roads and places of interest large and small to discover both in the countryside and close to town.
Small town charm
Experience small town charm where major chain stores rub shoulders with unique, personable boutiques with exciting products. Find your favorite among the many restaurants and cafés that will be happy to satisfy your hunger and coffee cravings. Microbreweries preserve Mariestad’s proud beer brewing traditions by creating new beers to keep company with the renowned Mariestad beer on the menu. And don’t miss out on tasting the local ice cream from Kling, which is naturally the best. Just ask anyone from Mariestad!
Thriving associations
There are also thriving associations for the whole family. Everything from judo, horseback riding, dancing and scouts to ice hockey and floorball with well-known teams like Mariestads BOIS and IBK Lockerud. The popular 18-hole lakeside golf course attract both local residents and visitors during the golfing season. For people looking to brighten their lives with exhibitions, theater, music and other glorious attractions, Mariestad offers a wide choice of culture all year round.
While Mariestad is firmly rooted in history, it’s also creating a sustainable future. Centuries-old districts with cobblestone streets share space with new homes and activities in a historic setting. Much of the past is preserved for us to experience today, in both the town center and our surrounding communities. It’s among Sweden’s best preserved town centers and has Europe’s only millstone quarry that is open to visitors!
Any questions? Contact our relocation guides!
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