thereafter rebuilt according to a grid pattern with wide streets surrounded by trees. In 1905, the agreement to dissolve the union between Norway and Sweden was negotiated and signed in Karlstad. Demographics Language The official language, Swedish, is the native language of a big majority and also spoken by most people in Karlstad. Immigration has also established five notable minority languages: Arabic Somali Sorani Persian Serbo-Croatian; Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian (in practice treated as one language). Religion Karlstad has several Christian denominations, including the Church of Sweden, with notable churches such as the Karlstad Cathedral built in 1730. In the 1800s, a small Jewish community formed in Karlstad and built a synagogue in 1899, which was later demolished in 1961. Education Several upper secondary schools (gymnasium) offer the most common range of courses usually available throughout Sweden, including the IB Diploma Programme. The majority of students in Värmland need to commute or move to Karlstad for their upper secondary education. Tertiary education is offered by Karlstad University, which was granted university status in 1999. Culture Media Värmlands Folkblad and Nya Wermlands-Tidningen are both located in Karlstad, with county-wide circulations. Sports and recreation Winter sports Ice hockey is a highly popular spectator sport in Karlstad. The most popular club is Färjestad BK. The team plays in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL, highest level) and their home arena is Löfbergs Arena. The club has won the Swedish Championship several times, most recently in 2022, and is the most successful ice hockey club in Sweden since the foundation of Elitserien (Swedish Hockey League since 2013) in 1975. Several other ice hockey clubs exist and Karlstad is also represented in the 1st Division of ice hockey (3rd highest level) by the team Skåre BK. The 2010 Men's World Inline Hockey Championships was also hosted by Karlstad, with Löfbergs Arena as the primary site of the tournament. Traditionally, bandy has been the most popular winter sport in Karlstad, and the city is the home of two of the historically most successful clubs in Sweden, IF Boltic and IF Karlstad-Göta. Boltic reached 10 Swedish finals in a row from 1979 to 1988. They won the first 7 and the one in 1988. They also won in 1995. In 2000, the two clubs merged into BS BolticGöta, which is now the major bandy club in Karlstad. After a successful season in Allsvenskan 2009/2010 the team qualified for