Växjö Kommun

As might be expected in Småland, the municipality of Växjö is characterized by a slightly hilly landscape with dense forests and many large and small lakes. In total, there are almost 150 inland lakes, the Helgasjön is the largest of them with almost 50 square kilometers. The lake borders on the urban area of Växjö and houses the castle ruin Kronoberg on an island.

With an area of almost 2,000 square kilometers, the municipality of Växjö is the second largest in the province after Ljungby Kommun. Its population density is about two to three times higher than in the other municipalities of the province, with some 53 inhabitants per square kilometer.

The region around Växjö has always played a central role in Småland, which is clearly recognizable by the size and structure of the university town Växjö, which is also the main town of the municipality and the provincial capital. Started as a medieval bishop's seat with a medieval cathedral, Växjö developed to an economic and cultural center in Småland over the centuries.

Due to bad urban planning during the 20th century, something like a historical old town in Växjö is missing. Nevertheless, there are a number of interesting places to visit in the city, such as the Smålands Museum & Sveriges Glasmuseum, which tells the history of Småland and the history of glass making in Sweden. At least as interesting is the Utvandranars Hus that describes the history of the great emigration wave in Sweden in the 19th century in a very impressive and illustrative way.

In the wider area around Växjö are numerous small towns and villages, as well as some of the oldest medieval churches in the province, such as the well-known church in Dädesjö. Because of the local heritage societies, there is a high number of lovingly maintained homesteads and local museums. A particularly impressive relic of a much older past is Inglinge Hög, by far the largest burial mound in Småland.

The approximately 88,500 inhabitants of the municipality are spread over a total of 12 places with more than 200 inhabitants each. Led by the city of Växjö with almost 61,000 inhabitants and followed by Rottne, where only 2,400 people are at home. Next are the towns lngelstad, Braås, Lammhult and Gemla (around 1,500 residents each).