Skara is one of the oldest cities in Sweden, with roots stretching back over a thousand years. Its cathedral, founded in the 11th century, was the seat of one of the country's first bishoprics, and in medieval times the town sat at the crossroads of trade routes through Västra Götaland.
Today Skara is a small, quiet city on the Västgöta plain. The cathedral remains the centrepiece — rebuilt several times but still carrying its Romanesque bones. Nearby, Skara Sommarland amusement and water park draws families from across western Sweden in summer. The surrounding countryside is rich in ancient sites, including passage graves and rune stones from the region's long pre-Christian history — the most important of them at Varnhem Abbey east of town. The Västergötlands Museum is the place to make sense of all of it.