Alingsås () is a locality and the seat of Alingsås Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 24,482 inhabitants in 2010. Geography Geographically the city is situated by the outlet of the small rivulet Säveån into lake Mjörn. Transportation links are provided by the western main line railway (Västra stambanan) between Stockholm and Gothenburg, and by motorway through the European route E20. Next to Alingsås you can also find a small village called Sollebrunn. History Alingsås was founded as inhabitants from the city Nya Lödöse were made homeless as Danish troops burnt it down. Gustavus Adolphus granted Alingsås its Royal Charter in 1619, which makes it older than Västra Götaland's largest city Gothenburg (which was granted its charter in 1621). Among its historical inhabitants is Jonas Alströmer, who was born in Alingsås in 1685. Alströmer is credited for introducing the potato plant to Sweden. He also established a large scale draper's industry there, which before long became Sweden's largest. However, some too-optimistic calculations, devastating fires and political setbacks finally forced its closure in 1779. In April 2021, archaeologists announced the discovery of 2,500-year-old Bronze Age ornaments which can be related with a woman of high status. Some of the necklaces, chains and pins, discovered by chance by the cartographer Tomas Karlsson, are very well preserved. Historical sites In different locations in Alingsås you can find several round craters carved in the rock. These are called Giant's Kettles, and can vary a lot in size and depth. The biggest ones are in Brobacka, which is located on the way to Gräfsnäs. The Giant's Kettles are common visiting sites for secondary school classes. Gräfsnäs slottsruin is a castle ruin located by the lake Anten, just outside Alingsås. It was built in 1550 by Count Sten Eriksson Leijonhufvud, who already owned a castle on the other side of the lake, in Loholmen. After Eriksson's death, 1568, his wife Ebba Månsson Leijonhufvud took care of the castle, and it would stay in the family until 1724. In 1634 the castle burnt to the ground, but was rebuilt as a magnificent castle in late renaissance style. In 1734 it burned down again, but the owner at that time rebuilt it to match what it had been. In 1834, exactly two hundred years after it had burnt for the first time, the castle was sold to Otto Ulfsparre for 110 000 barrels of schnapps. The