Karlskoga () is a locality and the seat of Karlskoga Municipality, Sweden. Located within Örebro County, 45 km (28 mi) west of Örebro, and 10 km (6 mi) north of Degerfors. With a 2020 population of 27,386 distributed over 10.55 square miles (27.33 km2), Karlskoga is the second-largest city in both Örebro County and the historical province of Värmland. Karlskoga straddles the northern shore of Lake Möckeln. Among the city's main topographical features are the two rivers, Timsälven and Svartälven. Other features include an esker, Rävåsen, contiguous with the city center. The broader Karlskoga-area differs from its bordering regions, as covered by woodlands and an uneven topography that more fitted other activities rather than agricultural practices. Karlskoga evolved around the arms manufacturer Bofors, and by 1970, it counted almost 10,000 employees. The many jobs in the arms industry during the 1900s multiplied Karlskoga's population. Today, Karlskoga is still a thriving center of the arms industry, but its economy is more diverse than during the peak-Bofors era. Karlskoga is also home to the Björkborn Manor, on the property of the Björkborn Works, where Alfred Nobel lived. His residency there is the reason his will was adjudicated in Karlskoga at Karlshall, establishing the Nobel Prize. Other landmarks include the Nobel Laboratory, the Karlskoga Church, Mässen, and the Bofors Hotel. Etymology Karlskoga was initially called Möckelns bodar, Möckelsboderna or Bodarna, being derived from cottages located at the shore of lake Möckeln. The locality's name "Karlskoga" was coined in 1591, and has been in use ever since. It is derived from Charles (Karl) IX, with skog meaning woods. History Pre-16th century The earliest known mention of Möckelsbodar is kept in a legal declaration by Holdo Olofsson Stråhle and his wife Margarethe, dating April 9, 1268. Other 14th-century sources point to initial settlements at the northern shore of Lake Möckeln, including the Sandviken estate, belonging to the Cistercian nunnery Riseberga Abbey. 16th century Karlskoga and its surrounding area were sparsely populated in the beginning of the 16th century. It was not until the 1580s that the area started to see an increase in population, when Charles IX made people settle in the area. Ethnic Swedes (people from the historical provinces of Närke and Södermanland), and particularly Finns, began to settle the area, where they took up the farming method slash-and-burn. They were followed by Huguenots, fleeing religious oppression in France, and by other groups including