Send Gift Baskets to Vasteras, Sweden

Västers is one of the oldest cities in Northern Europe and Sweden. It was named after Västra Aros (West Aros), the river mouth of Svartån. This area has been inhabited since before 1000 CE, during the Nordic Viking Age. As early as the 11th century, it was the second-largest city in Sweden, and by the 12th century, it had become a diocese. Just outside the town of Västers is Anundshög. The Anundshög burial mound is the largest in Sweden. The word “hög” comes from the Old Norse word haugr, meaning mound or barrow. Around 500 CE, it was built with a width of over 68 meters (74 yards) and a height of almost 9 meters (10 yards).

Over the years, a cathedral and monastery were built; in the 19th century, a Gothic cathedral was rebuilt on an earlier site by Birger Jarl and consecrated. Since the end of the 13th century, the City Arms have existed. A castle commands the town from an eminence; it was captured and rebuilt by King Gustav I, and Eric XIV was imprisoned there from 1573 to 1575. Additionally, Gustav called for the Riksdag to be held in Västerås. The Riksdag decided to convert Sweden into a Protestant state and abolish the Catholic Church. In 1623, Johannes Rudbeckius built Rudbeckianska gymnasiet, Sweden’s oldest gymnasium (secondary school). Västers earned the nickname Gurkstaden (the Cucumber City) in the 18th and 19th centuries due to cucumber cultivation.