When you're in the middle of the Big Square (Stora Torget) in Karlstad, your eyes will inevitable land on the Peace Monument, erected in 1955 to commemorate the peaceful dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway in 1095. The sculpture, which depicts a woman holding a broken sword and one foot on the head of a soldier, was elected as the ugliest statue in Sweden and nicknamed even with pet names.

Olofsfors Ironworks is one of Sweden's most authentic and well-preserved ironworks environments. The foundry, forges, the manor house and residential buildings are in excellent condition and open for tours year-round. In the summer, the area is open daily, and several artists and craftsmen are at place in their workshops. The manor house now serves as a restaurant, and the old school building houses a café and shop.

Those who live and work here say that you don’t really need to explain where the Jeker quarter is: Once you’re there, you’ll know. This is where the locals stroll the streets at their leisure, students read in the park, and you can spend a whole Sunday on a café terrace, a wisp of jazz music in the air in the background, and never get bored. The Jeker quarter is nestled between the old city walls and centuries-old houses, bordered by the green of the city park. Although people have lived here for centuries, no one has ever explored it all. Enterprise is deeply rooted in the genes of this community: A history full of crafts and trades has left its marks, and forged the unique, authentic, innovative and creative atmosphere you feel here today. And right through the middle of it, that impudent little river, the Jeker, flows brazenly on. The quaint streets, stately homes, and idyllic parks have everything to make history come alive, while the rich student life, mix of young and old, culinary highlights, and abundant art and culture pull you back to the present.

Once a prayer hall, the Ribat Museum showcases a varied collection of traditional fabrics and objects such as coins, jewellery and pottery that will transport visitors back to a time when Islamic art was highly coveted the world over. It also displays an astrolabe (a device which measures the distance between stars) dating all the way back to the year 927, right at the time when pivotal discoveries in astronomy and mathematics were taking place. The museum is accessible from the south wing of the Ribat.