Götaland

Götaland is the southernmost of Sweden's three landsdelar, alongside Svealand and Norrland. It is a historical and geographic region rather than an official administrative unit today, roughly corresponding to the southern half of the Swedish mainland.

The name Götaland derives from the Geats (Götar), a Germanic people who inhabited the area in the early Middle Ages. The term contrasts with Svealand to the north and with Norrland to the north, and traditional geography often marks a boundary between Götaland and Svealand around the Dalälven river.

Geography and landscape: The region stretches from the Baltic Sea coast in the east to the inland highlands in the west, and from the southern coastline northward into central Sweden. Its landscape includes archipelagoes, forests, lakes and agricultural land, and it contains several major cities and ports.

In modern Sweden, Götaland overlaps several counties. Major urban centers include Gothenburg, Malmö, Linköping, Norrköping, Jönköping, Kalmar and Växjö. The region is economically diverse, with manufacturing, services, and forestry playing important roles, and it remains a distinct cultural and historical area.