Our History

Farming conditions in the southern part of the province of Västergötland were frequently poor. Even before the 16th Century, farmers in the area developed a cottage industry in ironwork and woodwork as a way of supplementing their incomes. Later on, wood handicrafts, spinning and weaving were added.

All products were sold to hawkers, called "knallare" in Swedish, who travelled between farms throughout a large area, and visited fairs and permanent outlets. In fact, this type of trade, known as "lands-köp" (trade through intermediaries in rural areas), was prohibited in Sweden at the time.

In 1620, King Gustavus Adolphus II decided that the farmers in Västergötland had to register for census purposes in an existing town, or found a new town where they could be registered.

The following year, a town was formed beside Torpa Church on the River Viskan. The town was probably named after a farm in the area called Buerås – "the farmers by the ridge".

From early on, Borås and the surrounding area became synonymous with industrial production associated with textile handicrafts, primarily through the dye works on the River Viskan. The first mechanical weaving mill was set up in 1834 at Rydboholm, 10 km south-west of Borås. By 1837, there were already 148 looms in the new factory.

Over the years, the textile industry expanded and became a dominant force in Borås. Companies producing textiles and ready-made clothes were added to the weaving mills and dye works.

In some ways, the peddlers were superseded by the mail order companies, which became a rapidly-growing industry in Borås. By 1952, no less than 300 companies were involved in mail order operations in Borås alone.

In the past, town fires were not unusual occurrences. Borås didn’t escape this fate – it was burned down four times.

The first major fire started on the night of 12-13 December 1681, which is the night of the Swedish Lucia celebration. After this fire, many of the wealthy townspeople stated that they did not wish to move back to the town again, with the result that the Lord Lieutenant, von Vicken, was forced to issue a ban on travel.

The second fire started on the evening of 14 July 1727. The watchmen on the church tower, Per Gudmundsson and Erik Larsson, who were on fire watch that night, were exhausted after a day of working as farm labourers and had agreed that Per could take a nap while Erik stayed awake. Unfortunately, both of them fell asleep. Per escaped punishment, but Erik was jailed for two days and fed nothing but bread and water.

The next fire started at 01.45 on the night between 19 and 20 December 1822. By 20.00 the following day, 20 December, everything had been burned down. 201 out of 301 houses were completely gone, and both the church and town hall had been turned to ashes.

On 16 July 1827, Borås was once again razed to the ground. The building regulations issued after this fire determined how buildings in the town had to be designed, including a maximum height of 7.5 ells, and that they must have a stone foundation of 2 ells. Two of these houses are still standing: Flaménska gården and Utfallska gården at Södra Torget.