Halland ranks as Sweden’s most beautiful county, while the medieval city wall in Visby counts as the country’s loveliest building, a new survey suggests.
When asked if they thought their home county was beautiful, 62 percent of Halland residents surveyed said they fully agreed.
Stockholmers also held their home county in high regard, with 59 percent of respondents praising its pulchritude.
Of the 2,500 Swedes who took part in a Sifo survey commissioned by the Projektengagemang consultancy, 51 percent fully agreed that their home county was gorgeous; 49 agreed to an extent, and three percent didn’t agree at all.
Here’s how the top ten looks:
Halland 62%
So what’s so great about Halland then? Well, miles and miles of coastline set against the lovely Kattegat strait go a long way to explaining the locals’ satisfaction.
And if we cast our minds back to June, three towns in Halland graced the top ten in the rankings for Sweden’s best summer city: Halmstad, Falkenberg and Varberg.
A month earlier, little Varberg was named the best municipality in Sweden.
As for Sweden’s most beautiful buildings, here’s how respondents voted:
Visby City Wall 13%, Visby, a stunning medieval city on the Baltic island of Gotland, is a Unesco World Heritage site and this well-preserved defensive fortification is one of the main attractions.
Drottningholm Palace 11%, also on the Unesco list, this palace is fit for a king. Which is just as well, since Sweden’s King and Queen live here.
Stockholm City Hall 7%, this magnificent red-brick structure stands proudly on the shores of Riddarfjärden and plays host each year to the Nobel Prize banquet.
Here’s the rest of the top ten list:
Stockholm 59%
Örebro 54%
Jönköping 52%
Skåne 50%
Uppsala 48%
Västra Götaland 43%
Östergötland 37%
Västerbotten 37%
Södermanland 29%
Feature image (on top): Halland
Photos: Visit Stockholm / Visit Sweden (when not otherwise credited)
Sweden’s Most Beautiful Places Revealed, source: The Local, Sweden