Bohuslän

Bohuslan

Bohuslän, traditional landskap (province), southwestern Sweden, on the Norwegian border, with the provinces of Dalsland and Västergötland to the east and the Kattegat (strait) to the west. It is included in the administrative län (county) of Västra Götaland. A maritime province, it has a wild, steep coast fringed by rocky, bare islands and skerries.

Hällristningar, or rock carvings, especially notable in the parish of Tanum, near Grebbestad, and ancient burial grounds attest to the existence of Stone, Bronze, and Iron Age settlements in Bohuslän. The province is also reputedly the scene of the second part of the Old English epic Beowulf. Because of its strategic location, it was the object of numerous wars between the Scandinavian countries until it was finally ceded to Sweden by the Peace of Roskilde (1658).

There is some agriculture, with potatoes, oats, and rye being the chief crops. The leading industries are fishing (which accounts for much of Sweden’s marine catch), stone quarrying (especially granite), and tourism. Shipbuilding is also important. Principal towns, most of which are seaside resorts, include Kungälv, with its 14th-century Bohus Castle, which has given its name to the area; Marstrand; Lysekil; Uddevalla, the largest municipality in the region; and Strömstad.