Alingsås was founded as inhabitants from the city Nya Lödöse were made homeless as Danish troops burnt it down. Gustavus Adolphus granted Alingsås its Royal Charter in 1619, which makes it older than Västra Götaland's largest city—Gothenburg which was granted its charter in 1621. Among its historical inhabitants is Jonas Alströmer, who was born in Alingsås in 1685. Alströmer is credited for introducing the potato plant to Sweden. He also established a large scale draper's industry there, which before long became Sweden's largest. However, some too-optimistic calculations, devastating fires and political setbacks finally forced its closure in 1779. Alingsås is known for its cafes, 26 in total.
Historical sites
In different locations in Alingsås you can find several round craters carved in the rock. These are called Giant's Kettles, and can vary a lot in size and depth. The biggest ones you can find in Brobacka, which is located on the way to Gräfsnäs. The Giant's Kettles are common visiting sites for schoolclasses in secondary school. Gräfsnäs slottsruin is a castle ruin located by the lakeAnten, just outside Alingsås. It was built 1550 by the count Sten Eriksson Leijonhufvud, whom already owned a castle on the other side of the lake, in Loholmen. After Erikssons death, 1568, his wife Ebba Månsson Leijonhufvud took care of the castle, and it stayed in the care of the family until 1724. 1634 the castle burnt to the ground, but was rebuilt as a magnificent castle late renaissance style. 1734 it burned down again, but the current owner rebuilt it the way it was. 1834, exactly two hundred years later it had burnt for the first time, the castle was sold to Otto Ulfsparre for 110 000 barrels of schnapps. The day that the papers on the purchase were to be signed, the castle burnt - for the third time, with exactly 100 years between each of the three occasions. The last person living permanently in the castle was the fisherman Nils Andersson, who paid his rent in fish. When he died, the roof was removed due to the partying that the youths in the village were doing in the old castle. 1911 it was restored by Västergötland-Göteborgs Järnvägs AB, and since 1930 it is cared for by Alingsås Municipality. Alingsås museum was founded in 1928, and contains memorial collections of photographs, the archive of the municipality and host several exhibitions. It is since the spring 2010 closed for the public, due to rearrangement with the premises. Karin Boye, a Swedish writer, committed suicide in a forest in the Alingsås city district Nolby in 1941. The place is now a memorial site, and a popular visiting site for schoolclasses, taking the "Karin Boye tour".
Yearly events
Alingsås has a rich cultural life, and hosts a few different cultural events throughout the year. In October, Lights in Alingsås is held for one month; 6 European lighting designers get to light up selected sections of the city as they please. To help them, they get about 65 international students of architecture, and together they have one week to create the vision of the lightning designers, who act as workshop leaders. The public can then either walk the tour themselves or in guided groups, and it has over the years become very popular internationally. The project is a cooperation between Alingsås Kommun and Professional Lighting Designers' Association since 2000. In the summer, a festival is hosted by Alingsås Kommun, called Potatisfestivalen. It is a city festival with different activities, such as concerts and performances.
Alingsås has several sports associations. Swimming, figure skating, ice hockey, track and field, orienteering, soccer, handball and floorball are some of the more popular sports. There are two health centres, which host different types of group training as well as providing training machines. AHK, the handball association of Alingsås, yearly hosts a tournament where teams from all over the country can join and play against each other. It is, according to the city's history and nickname, called Potatiscupen. The teams use the different schools in the area for accommodation. Holmalunds IF and Alingsås IFfootball clubs play in Division 3 Mellersta Götaland.
