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Örebro
Place in Närke, Sweden

Örebro is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and has a population of approximately 126,000 in the city proper. It is one of the largest inland hubs of the country, and a major logistic and commercial operating site.

Örebro is home to Örebro University, a major university hospital, a medieval castle, the water park Gustavsvik as well as several large shopping malls and the Oset and Rynningeviken Nature Reserve adjacent to lake Hjälmaren.

Örebro is a trade and logistics city with a strategic location 200 km from Stockholm, 330 km from Oslo and 280 km from Gothenburg. The city is served by Örebro Airport 10 km (6 mi) southwest of the city, and by Örebro Central Station, serviced by the Mälaren Line and Western Main Line.

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Etymology

The name Örebro refers to a bridge (bro) crossing the river Svartån where the city is located. The prefix Öre- is derived from ör 'gravel (bank)'.6

History

Örebro received its Royal Charter and city privileges not later than 1404.

The location became a natural seat of commerce in the Scandinavian Middle Ages and is mentioned in print in the 13th century. Old buildings from the early days include the foundations of the city church, a building which has undergone several modifications. The natural center of the city is otherwise Örebro Castle, situated on an islet in the Svartån, and dividing the town into a northern and a southern part. This castle was constructed during the stewardship of Birger Jarl during the late 13th century and then modified and enlarged during the reign of King Gustav Vasa in the 1560s. The Örebro Synod was held here in 1529.

Notable events in Örebro's history include the national diet meeting at Örebro in 1810, where Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was elected crown prince of Sweden.78

Although a trade town, Örebro remained small until the second half of the 19th century, when it grew rapidly as a center of the national shoe-manufacturing industry.

2025 Risbergska school shooting

Main article: Örebro school shooting

On 4 February 2025, a school shooting occurred at Campus Risbergska, an adult education centre in Örebro. Eleven people were killed, including the perpetrator,910 and six others injured. 35-year-old Rickard Andersson was identified as the shooter, but his motives for the attack are still under investigation by the Swedish Police Authority and the Swedish Security Service.111213 Six people were hospitalised, with authorities warning there may be more casualties.14 According to Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson, it is the deadliest mass shooting in the country's history.15

Demographics

Population development Örebro County

Population development in Örebro County 1970–202016
YearPopulation
1970275,490
1975273,923
1980274,356
1985270,211
1990272,513
1995276,417
2000273,615
2005274,121
2010280,230
2015291,012
2020305,643

Population development Örebro Municipality

Population development in Örebro Municipality 1970–2020
YearPopulation
1970117,696
1975117,837
1980116,969
1985118,043
1990120,944
1995119,635
2000124,207
2005127,733
2010135,460
2015144,200
2020156,381

Source: SCB - Folkmängd efter region och år.

Sites of interest

Örebro's old town, Wadköping, is located on the banks of the Svartån. It contains many 18th and 19th century wooden houses, along with museums and exhibitions.

Education

Örebro University is one of Sweden's most recent, being upgraded from högskola (university college) in 1999. It currently has around 16,000 students and a staff of 1,100. In 2025 The institution was ranked in the top 501–600 universities in the world in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.17 The university is also named among the world's top 100 young universities (number 62) in the 2018 THE Young University Rankings.18

Culture

  • Swedish Chamber Orchestra
  • Örebro is the hometown of the punk-rock band Millencolin. They named one of their albums Pennybridge Pioneers, where Pennybridge stands for Örebro as a colloquial translation into English.
  • Örebro is the hometown of various Swedish rock bands, such as Smash Into Pieces, Truckfighters, Blues Pills, Witchcraft, Troubled Horse and others. Graveyard's lead singer Joakim Nilsson was also born in Örebro.
  • The influential and highly popular grind band Nasum were formed in Örebro.
  • Örebro is one of the public broadcaster SVT's 12 local news districts and has television premises located in the city.

Örebro has hosted a contemporary art exhibition called Open Art on four occasions: in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013. In 2013, the exhibition featured works by 90 artists from Sweden and many other countries throughout the world.19 The fifth edition of the exhibition is planned for the summer of 2015.20

Gustavsvik, the largest water park in the Nordic countries, is located just a kilometer south of central Örebro. With more than 700,000 visitors per year, it is one of the most popular tourist and leisure establishments in Sweden. Only Liseberg, Gröna Lund and Skansen are more popular. In the summer the manor of Karlslund is a very popular place to visit.

Sports

Football

Floorball

  • Lillån IBK
  • IBF Örebro

Speedway

The city has a motorcycle speedway venue known as the Örebro Motorstadion,21 near Örebro Airport, that hosts the speedway team known as Vikingarna.22 The team participate in the Swedish Speedway Team Championship. They raced at two former venues; the old Örebro Motorstadion in Adolfsberg (1949 to circa.1965) and Trängens IP (circa.1967 to 1975).23 The Adolfsberg track staged a qualifying round of the Speedway World Championship in 1954.24

Other sports

Karlslunds IF is a multi-sports club specialising in American Football, Bandy, Baseball/Softball, Bowling, Football, Gymnastics, Skiing and Swimming.

Climate

Örebro, like the rest of the area close to Mälardalen, has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) that is made milder by the proximity to water and the Gulf Stream which makes it interchangeable with oceanic climates. Summer temperatures occasionally exceed 30 °C (86 °F) albeit not yearly, and temperatures above 5 °C (41 °F) are rare in winter, although frost-free nights sometimes occur. July average high temperatures generally range from 20 °C (68 °F) to 26 °C (79 °F) depending on weather patterns, with a 2002–2021 mean high of around 23.5 °C (74.3 °F). July lows averaged 12.3 °C (54.1 °F), sizeably cooler than seaside areas. January averaged 0.7 °C (33.3 °F) average highs in the same timeframe, with average lows of −5 °C (23 °F).

During cold winters, Örebro receives plenty of snowfall. Örebro is far more prone than coastal areas to really harsh frosts with temperatures approaching or below −20 °C (−4 °F) happening almost every winter according to SMHI statistics. The station's setting in a rural location might skew temperatures somewhat compared to the urban area which is also at a slightly lower elevation and nearer Hjälmaren. Especially when considering overnight lows this could result in a small urban heat island effect in downtown.

However, the climate is very variable from year to year. For example, December 2010 was record cold with a daily mean of −9 °C (16 °F), whilst December 2006 only a few years before had a mean of 4.3 °C (39.7 °F).2627 The warmest month on record is 21.8 °C (71.2 °F) in July 2018 and the coldest on record is −12.8 °C (9.0 °F) in January 1987.2829 Örebro is often without snow cover for large parts of the winter months when daytime temperatures hover just above freezing – an exceptional feature for an inland area north of the 59th latitude. The westerly Atlantic moderating influence is strong enough that far inland Örebro has milder winters than the near-coastal town Norrtälje, located slightly farther north on the Baltic Sea with a similar rural weather station.

The highest ever recorded temperature was set on 7 August 1975 during an intense heatwave with 36 °C (97 °F),30 which is a very high temperature for such northerly latitudes. During the 21st century, the record heat is the all-time July record of 35.9 °C (96.6 °F) set in 2022.31 The lowest recorded temperature in recorded history was set in February 1966 with −30 °C (−22 °F).32 Several monthly records were set after 2010 according to official SMHI statistics, namely the record highs of February, March, May, July, October, November and December as well as the coldest December temperature and month on record, that was set in 2010.33 Humidity is high for most parts of the year, but adequately lower during summer months. In spite of this summer is generally the time that gets the most precipitation34 due to clashes between hot and cool continental air systems causing heavy thunderstorm rainfall. In 2015, a 13.1 °C (55.6 °F) reading was recorded around the winter solstice which was a very warm reading for an inland area in the low-sun season.35

Being unshielded by the South Swedish highlands rain shadow, moist westerly air results in higher precipitation than on Baltic Sea locations. Summer convection and the flat topography of downtown can result in flash floods of low areas. Resulting from that, Örebro has been deemed one of the most vulnerable areas in Sweden to flooding and saw several incidents in a record wet summer in 2023.3637

Climate data for Örebro Airport (2002–2021 averages; precipitation in the ward of Almby; extremes since 1901)
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Record high °C (°F)10.2(50.4)15.4(59.7)18.8(65.8)26.9(80.4)29.0(84.2)34.0(93.2)35.9(96.6)36.0(96.8)28.1(82.6)20.2(68.4)18.1(64.6)13.1(55.6)36.0(96.8)
Mean maximum °C (°F)7.1(44.8)7.8(46.0)13.2(55.8)19.7(67.5)25.3(77.5)27.7(81.9)29.4(84.9)28.3(82.9)22.7(72.9)16.6(61.9)11.9(53.4)8.3(46.9)30.6(87.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)0.7(33.3)1.4(34.5)5.8(42.4)12.2(54.0)17.4(63.3)21.4(70.5)23.5(74.3)22.0(71.6)17.4(63.3)10.7(51.3)5.6(42.1)2.5(36.5)11.7(53.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)−2.2(28.0)−1.8(28.8)1.6(34.9)6.6(43.9)11.6(52.9)15.7(60.3)17.9(64.2)16.6(61.9)12.6(54.7)7.0(44.6)2.9(37.2)−0.2(31.6)7.4(45.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)−5.0(23.0)−4.9(23.2)−2.7(27.1)1.0(33.8)5.7(42.3)9.9(49.8)12.3(54.1)11.2(52.2)7.7(45.9)3.3(37.9)0.2(32.4)−2.9(26.8)3.0(37.4)
Mean minimum °C (°F)−17.9(−0.2)−15.6(3.9)−11.6(11.1)−5.8(21.6)−1.4(29.5)4.0(39.2)6.9(44.4)4.9(40.8)−0.2(31.6)−4.6(23.7)−9.2(15.4)−13.7(7.3)−20.4(−4.7)
Record low °C (°F)−29.6(−21.3)−30.0(−22.0)−28.0(−18.4)−14.5(5.9)−5.6(21.9)−1.2(29.8)2.5(36.5)0.0(32.0)−5.7(21.7)−12.8(9.0)−19.5(−3.1)−26.6(−15.9)−30(−22)
Average precipitation mm (inches)50.8(2.00)36.8(1.45)33.6(1.32)33.0(1.30)66.0(2.60)60.2(2.37)79.5(3.13)82.1(3.23)56.1(2.21)67.7(2.67)59.2(2.33)52.9(2.08)677.9(26.69)
Average extreme snow depth cm (inches)20(7.9)24(9.4)16(6.3)2(0.8)0(0)0(0)0(0)0(0)0(0)0(0)5(2.0)14(5.5)28(11)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm)11.18.67.77.010.210.411.611.79.110.712.711.8122.6
Source 1: SMHI Open Data38
Source 2: SMHI average data 2002–202139

Notable people

Artists

Bands

Politicians and public officials

Religion

Scientists and engineers

Sportspeople

Writers

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Sweden

Örebro is twinned with:40

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Örebro. Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Örebro. w:sv:Wikipedia:KML/ÖrebroKML is from Wikidata

References

  1. "Örebro". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 14 April 2019. https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=%C3%96rebro ↩

  2. "Örebro" (US) and "Örebro". Oxford Dictionaries UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press.[dead link‍] https://web.archive.org/web/20190414104442/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/%25C3%2596rebro ↩

  3. "Örebro". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/%C3%96rebro ↩

  4. "Population in localities increased by 120 000". Statistiska Centralbyrån. Retrieved 15 November 2017. https://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/environment/land-use/localities-areas-population/pong/statistical-news/population-in-localities/ ↩

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  6. Wahlberg, Mats, ed. (2003). Svenskt ortnamnslexikon (PDF) (in Swedish) (1st ed.). Uppsala: Swedish Institute for Dialectology, Onomastics and Folklore Research. pp. 388–389. ISBN 91-7229-020-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017. 91-7229-020-X ↩

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  14. Krupa, Jakub (4 February 2025). "Sweden shooting: five people shot at education centre in Örebro by attacker police believe is among the injured – latest updates". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 February 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/feb/04/sweden-school-shooting-orebro-latest-updates-live-news ↩

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  16. SCB - Folkmängd efter region och år http://www.statistikdatabasen.scb.se/pxweb/sv/ssd/START__BE__BE0101__BE0101A/BefolkningNy/table/tableViewLayout1/?rxid=f5790986-ce9d-4cdc-9658-fbc9c700b7ef=1 ↩

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  22. "Home page". Vikingarna Speedway. Retrieved 28 March 2023. https://vikingarnaspeedway.hemsida24.se/bilder-44364908 ↩

  23. "Flygfoto över Adolfsberg, vid motorstadion. Örebro". Digital Museum. Retrieved 12 January 2024. https://digitaltmuseum.se/021016211524/flygfoto-over-adolfsberg-vid-motorstadion-orebro ↩

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  39. "Annual and Monthly Statistics". Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20190502092934/http://www.smhi.se/klimatdata/meteorologi/temperatur/2.1240 ↩

  40. "Vänorter" [Sister cities]. Örebro kommun (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090727165113/http://www.orebro.se/2444.html ↩