Östersund

Östersund –welcomes the FIS Cross Country World Cup in the Winter city !

The love of winter - enjoying it, as well as benefiting from it. The long, cold winter is actually the city´s greatest asset, along with the freshest air and the cleanest water of Europe.

Östersund is the host of many national and international winter sports events, e.g. Arctic Cat Cup, World Enduro Championships, Cross-country skiing World Cup, Vertex 24 and World Junior Curling Championships and the annual opening of the IBU World Cup Biathlon.

Östersund has got one of the finest cross-country skiing establishment of Northern Europe, with an all-the-year-round stadium, 89 kilometres of tracks, of which 29 are illuminated, as well as an ultramodern secretariat.

Many of Sweden´s leading cross-country skiers benefit from the test-lab at the National Winter Sports Centre, which is a research institute branch of the Mid-Sweden University.

Winter Park is a recreational area, situated downtown Östersund, by the shore of Lake Storsjön.
As the sun returns in the springtime, people gather here to sunbathe and relax. Here Sweden´s longest ploughed skating track, Medvinden, starts out, and just across the sound, on Frösön, the ski slope is easily spotted. Not far from the slope, you will find Europe´s greatest funpark for cross-country skiing, Frösö Skidlek.

GEOGRAPHY
Östersund is the only city in the county of Jämtland. It is situated by the Lake Storsjön, in line with the costal cities of Sundsvall and Trondheim. The mountain resort Åre is about an hour away, by car, while you get to Stockholm in 50 minutes, by air, and in less than five hours, by express train.
Trade and industry:

The tourist trade employs a great number of people here, but Östersund is also a commercial town, with a great spirit of enterprise and many small companies specialized in winter sports, outdoor life, events and adventure. Lenko and Areco are among the World´s leading snow system providers, while Liftbyggarna supply ski lifts worldwide.

The cuisine of Jämtland, with its´ regionally produced delicatessen, is famous. Among the specialities are cured meats and provisions of moose and reindeer, charr, cheese, bread and chocolates. Östersund is also home to a number of successful companies in the IT-, telecom- and Vehicle technologies business.

MUST SEES
The Arctura is the latest addition to the sky-line of Östersund. This accumulator tank holds 26,000 cubic metres of hot water. From the top floor restaurant you will get a great view of Östersund and the island of Frösön.

The Town Hall of Östersund, inaugurated in 1912, is among the more spectacular in Sweden, as it constitutes a striking example of “national romanticism" in architecture.
Storsjöyran ranks among the very best and most prestigious of Swedish rock festivals.
Each summer some 55,000 tickets are sold for the three-day rock event. However, the festivities on the whole actually attract no less than 300,000 visitors during ten days late July/early August every year.
Frösön presents a marvellous view of the great lake Storsjön, with the Scandinavian mountains as a spectacular backdrop on the infinite horizon.

The most notorious inhabitant of the neighbourhood actually lives in the waters of Lake Storsjön. The Great Lake Monster, Storsjöodjuret, has been sighted by many trustworthy people for hundreds of years. There are actually designated lookouts scattered all around the lake, should you fancy some reconnaissance,

There are many other places worth visiting, e.g. the museum Jamtli, the public baths of Storsjöbadet, the steamship Thomée, Moose Garden and the Frösö Zoo. Please visit www.visitostersund.se for more information.

QUICK LINKS

Website address: www.ostersund2015.se
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ostersund2015
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