Skövde garrison () is a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

located in the county of Västra Götaland, active since 1905. It is among the absolute oldest and largest Swedish garrisons.

History

Foundation

In the Army Order of 1901, a decision was made to relocate all field

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s, previously housed in tents and huts, into more permanent

barrack Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

establishments. In 1902, after no suitable existing location was found, the Army was tasked with creating an agreement with the city of

Skövde Skövde () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and urban centre in Skövde Municipality and Västra Götaland County, in the Västergötland, Västergötland (Western Gothland region) in central southern Sweden. Skövde is situated around 150 k ...

to grant land for new barracks to house the

Life Regiment Hussars The Life Regiment Hussars (; designated K 3) is one of the world's oldest regiments still active. The regiment descends directly from units set up by King Gustav I of Sweden (Gustav Vasa) in 1536, when Sweden set up a draft of horses and ...

and the First Göta Service Corps. By 1905, the barracks stood complete, as the First Göta Service Corps moved its headquarters there in the autumn of that year, followed by the Life Regiment Hussars in the winter. That same year,

Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Västergötland (27 February 1861 – 24 October 1951) was a Swedish prince. Through his daughters Märtha and Astrid, for whom he arranged dynastic marriages, he is an ancestor of current members of ...

, visited the site to inspect the newly completed barracks. By 1908, the garrison had expanded further, and a

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned or operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a m ...

was built on the premises, where both military and civilian patients were admitted up until its disbandment in 1955.

Present

The garrison's presence in the city has occasionally been a source of concern. Civilian

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

in the city has occasionally been relocated from the vicinity of the garrison due to concerns that, as a legitimate military target, the garrison could endanger civilians in the event of war, and employees in drop-off

laundromat A self-service laundry, coin laundry, or coin wash, is a facility where clothes and some household textiles are washed and dried without much personalized professional help. They are known in the United Kingdom as launderettes or laundrettes, ...

s have occasionally found forgotten

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

in soldiers’ laundry, which could pose threats to the employees when handling. In line with Sweden’s commitment to

sustainable energy Energy system, Energy is sustainability, sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the e ...

, the first

solar park A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building ...

designed to supply green energy to a

military facility A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

was established in Skövde in 2019 as an

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

project, particularly to test its resilience against potential

radio jamming Radio jamming is the deliberate blocking of or interference with wireless communications.https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-12-347A1.pdf Enforcement Advisory No. 2012-02 FCC Enforcement Advisory Cell Jammers, GPS Jammers, and Other J ...

attempts by adversaries. Over 2,000 people worked at the garrison in 2022, and each year about 300 conscripts complete their service at Skövde garrison, which has a capacity of 350 per year. Additionally, the Swedish Armed Forces Logistics and Motor School trains around 1,800 students annually.

Units

References

Notes

Print

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Web

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Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces (, literally ''Defence Force'') are the Military, armed forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. It consists of four separate military branches, the Swedish Army, the Swedish Navy, the Swedish Air Force and the Home Guard (Swed ...

, date=2022-01-20 , title=Värnpliktskonsulent Skövde garnison , url=https://vakanser.se/jobb/varnpliktskonsulent+skovde+garnison/ , access-date=2025-05-24 , website=vakanser.se, language=sv-se, ref={{harvid, Swedish Armed Forces, 2022 Skövde Garrison 1905 establishments in Sweden Garrisons in Sweden 20th-century establishments in Skaraborg County