Renting a home in Skara (in Swedish)
Homes for sale (Hemnet, in Swedish)
Lots in Skara (in Swedish)
In Skara municipality, almost 19,000 residents live in the heart of Skaraborg. It’s the place for a glorious mix of closeness, culture, knowledge, music and nature. In addition to retail, there are also several cultural attractions with long histories in the thousand-year-old city center, and of course the pride of the city, its Cathedral. The beautiful Valle countryside with its hundreds of small lakes offers opportunities for accommodation and recreation close to nature.
- Number of residents
18,755
- Towns
Skara, Varnhem, Ardala, Axvall and Eggby
- Neighboring municipalities
Skövde, Lidköping, Falköping, Vara and Götene
- Price per square meter (single family/town house)
SEK 19,179
- Number of companies
2,481
- Major industries
Green industries, logistics, manufacturing, food, retail and hospitality
- Employers
Jula, IAC, Scan, SLU, Skara Sommarland, Astro Sweden, Werners gourmetservice, Dava Foods, Skara diocese and others
- Popular places to visit
Skara Sommarland, Lake Hornborga, Varnhem Abbey with Kata Farm, Skara Cathedral, Västergötland’s museum, Vallebygden, Book Adventure, UNESCO Platåbergens Geopark
- Renowned for
Skara Sommarland, Bert Karlsson, Sweden’s oldest diocese, Jula, Skara HF, green innovation, Skara Cathedral, Musikens vänner, Skara Missal, Kata Farm, Crane courtship dance, Crusades Trilogy, student traditions, Skara Stage School
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Living here
Living in Skara
People have lived in Skara for more than 1,000 years. Beautiful natural scenery is just around the corner; Vallebygden with six different nature reserves, Lake Hornborga with its rich bird life, Varnhem’s monastery area and many excellent hiking and cycling trails.
It’s easy to meet, exchange services, goods and experiences at the rest area between the E20 (Stockholm–Gothenburg) and Highway 49 (Trollhättan–Skövde). In town, you’re close to leisure activities, work and services, usually within walking and cycling distance. There are also strong, committed, thriving associations and fantastic commuting infrastructure. They provide access to a big, exciting job market while allowing you to enjoy life in a charming, small-town idyll or a rural setting.
The combination of affordable housing, water and electricity, great cultural and leisure offerings, short distances and excellent transport connections make Skara an attractive place to live.
Because we know that the ability to enjoy a good quality of life is crucial when choosing a place to settle and live in, we keep busy making Skara even more attractive. Housing construction has picked up speed right in the heart of Skaraborg and close to all the exciting opportunities.
Towns in Skara municipality
- Skara
- Ardala
- Axvall
- Eggby
- Varnhem
Moving here
Moving to Skara
There are many ways to find your dream home at good prices in the countryside, in town or someplace in between. Skara has great charm and has even been nominated Skaraborg’s most beautiful town by prominent architect Mark Isitt. New residential areas are under construction and more are being planned.
Close to the town center, the Vilan and Petersburg outdoor recreation areas offer a wealth of opportunities for recreation and sporting experiences. The Vilan recreation area is a modern, complete exercise and sports area with excellent training facilities just five minutes from Skara town center. The Petersburg recreation area serves as Skara’s lungs. It has a pump track, MTB trail, padel courts and jogging tracks with activity stations for people who enjoy bigger challenges or are in training for an Action Run.
The towns of Ardala, Axvall, Eggby and Varnhem all have their own character: Ardala with its swimming pool and Axvall with an equestrian center, adult education college, swimming lake and nature reserve just around the corner. And there’s Eggby, right in the center of the kingdom of lakes. And Varnhem, a historic gem set in scenic natural surroundings. All of the towns have municipal services such as a preschool and school, or other services such as grocery stores or pizzerias.
Our location next to the two busiest commuter routes in Skaraborg means commuting to our neighboring towns is easy, as are onward journeys by train to Gothenburg or Stockholm.
Our new comprehensive plan provides greater opportunities for people seeking to live close to the lake.
Jobs
Working in Skara
We’re proud of Skara’s business community. Green industries, transportation, retail, logistics, manufacturing and entertainment are all important for Skara. It’s home to Jula, IAC, Scan, Dava Foods, AgroVäst, Hushållningssällskapet Västra, SLU, Slöjd-Detaljer, AstroSweden, Werners Gourmetservice and Skara Sommarland, all of which have taken advantage of the strengths Skara has to offer by putting them to use in successful enterprises. International Automotive Components (IAC), Scan, Jula, Skara Sommarland and Skara municipality are the five biggest employers.
Jula Hotell runs two four-star hotels in the town and is proud to display the Blank family’s extensive Zorn and Lerin collections. Naturally, music and green industries form an important part of Skara’s beating heart. We value competence and commitment. If you’re looking for a future in the public sector, there’s a good chance you’ll find your next job in Skara municipality.
Work is currently in progress establishing a green innovation node in Skara for Skaraborg and Västra Götaland, further enhancing Skara’s position in green industries.
A selection of local employers
Education
Education in Skara
School town Skara
A thousand years of history has made us wise. And curious about the future. We combine many centuries of school tradition with entrepreneurial thinking from early childhood all the way through high school.
The Stureplan youth center has both a music school and a robot workshop. Many people wonder where the name comes from. Our young folk chose the name themselves. STURE is an acronym for the Swedish “Skara’s likable youth saving students” and refers to the student council that existed when the youth center opened. Things usually go very well for Skara in Junior Achievement, bearing testimony to our investment in entrepreneurship and innovation. When the JA Municipality of the Year award was created in Skaraborg, the nomination went immediately to Skara.
There are two junior high schools in Skara. Metis independent school (grades 1–9) in the center of town, and the newly built Viktoria school (grades 7–9) which is close to the town center, flourishing Botan botanical gardens and Vilan’s outdoor recreation area.
There are four high schools; Olin’s high school, Axevalla Equestrian Center, Uddetorp Naturbruk’s school and the municipal Cathedral high school whose roots date back to the 17th century. Cathedral high school offers pupils the meritorious International Baccalaureate (IB), providing our youth with an excellent springboard out into the world. Skara’s student traditions have a long history and are a much-appreciated feature in the town. Skara also has courses such as Skara Stage School, Axevalla adult education college, the Learning Center and the Biological Vocational College (BYS).
SLU Swedish University of Agricultural Science
The SLU Campus in Skara is located on historical land, where Linnaeus’ pupil Peter Hernquist established Sweden’s first veterinary education in 1775.
Today, we pursue studies and research into animals, the environment and rural production issues. Our profile areas in research are animal husbandry, animal welfare, precision farming and consulting. There are two research facilities outside the centrally located SLU Campus in Skara in Götala and Lanna.
Skara is SLU’s fourth largest campus with around 110 employees whose workplace is in Skara, while they may also work at one of SLU’s other locations in Sweden, especially in research and education. Many also work internationally. SLU activities in Skara belong to several of SLU’s faculties, in some cases to an institution in another location.
Leisure
Things to do in Skara
Visit Varnhem
There’s a special atmosphere at Varnhem that has taken thousands of years to achieve. Experience a unique environment characterized by different ages and explore its exciting history and beautiful countryside.
Cistercian monks settled in Varnhem in 1150, on the western slope of Billingen. The monks built a small monastery town by the magnificent church in the town center, and excavations have revealed such things as an advanced water and sewage system.
The ruins of a 10th-century rural church were also found in the monastery area. You can see the ruins on Kata farm, right next to the monastery church, where you can learn all about the Christian Vikings in Varnhem.
Today, the area has a café, InfoPoint, restaurant and youth hostel, a barbecue area, farm shop and free WiFi.
Four tips on things to experience in Varnhem
- Follow the charming two-kilometer Rosenstigen hiking trail that runs from the entrance square at the parking lot through the monastery area and out onto the beautiful slopes of Billingen. Follow the stream, see the beautiful stone bridge and read about Varnhem’s history.
- Klostersjön. In the Middle Ages, there was a lake behind the monastery church that the monks had dammed. The lake is a natural peat bog, and archaeological test pits have shown that there has been a lake here for many thousands of years. The lake has now been restored, and just as the monks once did, we can look out across the mirrored surface of the lake around which there’s a little hiking trial comprised partly of a hard gravel path ideal for wheelchairs and cycling.
- The ruins of the monastery building that once stood here are a beautiful adornment in Varnhem. There are information signs to follow and you can get an idea of which of the rooms in the monastery were used for what. Grading work is currently underway to make the ruin more accessible to everyone – yay!
- On display in the Monastery Museum are several of the exciting finds made during the first excavations of the monastery ruins back in the 1920s. You can learn all about the monastery’s history here.
Outdoors is the new indoors!
Outdoors is the new indoors! Breathtaking views, calming lakes and flourishing meadows – there’s a great variety of natural experiences in Skara. Take a short trip to a nature reserve filled with beautiful picnic spots, try out action-packed activities like the pump track in the Petersburg open-air recreation area or hike one of our longer trails like the Pilgrim’s Way or Billingeleden for an exciting challenge.
Petersburg is an outdoor recreation area with jogging trails, outdoor gyms, padel courts and MTB trails. You can walk, run, work out or just enjoy the town’s nearby forest with its pleasant rest areas, and no matter how you prefer to spend time outdoors, there are many favorites to choose from.
Valle – like something out of a fairytale
The countryside around Skara is fabulous, inviting and easy to reach for most people. Vallebygden on the northwest slopes of Billingen is a special place. There are no fewer than eight nature reserves of differing characters in which to enjoy a rich outdoor life. There are glittering lakes and beautiful picnic spots, and hiking trails between 2.5 and 57 kilometers long pass by here. The area is characterized by the rolling green hills formed by the continental ice sheet.
Vallebygden is the place to be after a long working day, a great place to show off to visitors or spend a staycation in.
Three favorite haunts in Valle
- Jättadalen-Öglunda Cave – An adventurous, quite arduous climb up Billingen striding edge takes you to a magnificent view across Vallebygden. Pack a lunch bag and treat yourself to something delicious when you get there.
- Höjentorp-Drottningkullen – You’ll be hemmed in by greenery on all sides. Rolling hills with ramsons, dog’s mercury, glittering lakes and a verdant lime tree canopy. There’s also a ruined castle from a bygone era.
- Bockaskedeåsen – A verdant, high ridge with fabulous views. Billingeleden trail runs through the thriving nature reserve, and a hike or picnic here is balm for the soul.
Lake Hornborga – fantastic for people and birds
Lake Hornborga is located between Skara, Skövde and Falköping, and is one of Europe’s foremost bird paradises. Every spring, cranes hold their mating dance on the southern shores of the lake, but the nature reserve has much more to offer even during the rest of the year. Naturum on the east side will help you find your way to hiking trails, bird blinds and barbecue areas. You can also learn more about nature, birds, the history of the lake and everything there is to discover in the area.
The cranes are a fantastic spectacle at Lake Hornborga in March and April. They arrive in their thousands for a short rest before flying on to the breeding grounds in the north. Want a front row seat to watch the cranes? Head for the Crane Dance Information Center at the southern part of the lake. You can also meet guides there who will teach you everything about the magnificent creatures.
Children’s Skara
For people looking for something for all the family, there are activities large and small.
Three tips on what to do with kids in Skara
Check out a playground! There are a number of playgrounds in Skara town center and the towns around the municipality. For example, check out the playground in Olins Gränd or at Västergötland’s Museum.
Have fun while you discover Skara! Discover the town center by taking the Birger Uggla culture walk. This way you’ll be helping owls by solving 10 puzzles while learning more about Skara’s cultural treasures and having fun!
Visit Stureplan! The Stureplan youth center organizes courses, leisure activities and events that are open to young people between the ages of 10 and 19.
Play while you learn at Book Adventure
Our thousand-year-old town is founded on a cultural history where the book came into the picture early. Among other unique book treasures, the old library in the heart of Skara hides Sweden’s oldest book, the Skara Missal, which is more than 850 years old. Book Adventure is Sweden’s first permanent play-while-you-learn exhibition that focuses on the history of the book.
Follow along with our friend Birger Uggla through the exhibition’s various play stations. Discover the history of the book with the aid of crafts and play, from storytelling around a crackling fire, through runestones and the art of printing to children’s literature through the ages and present day tablets. Book Adventure also hosts temporary popular exhibitions for children of different ages.
Playtime at Skara Sommarland
Skara Sommarland is Scandinavia’s biggest water park and the perfect activity for family members big and small. For the younger adventurers there are the Saga pools and Pinecone lagoon, and for the older, slightly more daring, there are attractions with names like Snake Pit, Cobra and Big Drop.
The park’s wave pool is the biggest in Scandinavia, with a long, glorious beach. There’s also an amusement park, go-karts, water skis and impressive diving shows. If you want to stay the night for even more swimming, Sommarland’s own campsite with chalets and spots for caravans, motorhomes and tents is just around the corner.
Experience downtown Skara
When you visitSkara town center , the striking silhouette of Skara Cathedral is the first thing you’ll notice. With the Cathedral and the historic quarters around it serving as a backdrop, a visit to Skara town center is always an experience. What’s more, the picturesque heart of the town is lined with unique boutiques, flea markets and consignment stores, charming cafés and pleasant accommodation. Skara Stadshotell is another of the town’s central points, a modern hub dating back to the 19th century. Skara Kongress is located here, which serves as a theater, show, conference and event arena.
Everything you need is here, located conveniently close to each other. For example, there are several museums, a cinema, library, bowling alley and indoor pool all within a kilometer of each other, and a number of green spaces in which to relax or get active are just around the corner.
Join an association
Being part of an association has many good effects such as providing a sense of belonging, meaningful leisure time and in many cases, increased physical activity. Skara municipality has no fewer than 140 associations and study groups centered around various subjects and interests, so there’s a good chance you’ll find something that appeals to you!
The associations not only include e.g. handball, hockey and equestrian associations, but also theater and community-based clubs.
Events in Skara municipality
Events large and small are arranged throughout the year in Skara. Among the highlights are the annual Harness Race Week, which not only takes place at Axevalla trotting track, but also around the town. There are also laid-back music evenings with both local and national artists. Christmas is close to Skara’s heart and the Christmas Skara celebration is well attended when the big Santa parade on shop-window Sunday takes place. Home games of the elite Skara HF handball team are also a real mood booster that every Skara resident should experience, and the rural community comes to life during the much-appreciated Valle weekend. Also, exciting exhibitions are held at Västergötland’s museum and art exhibitions in local galleries. There are also great shopping events, a film festival and a culture week.
What to do in Skara
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