Skara is a locality and the seat of Skara Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 18,580 inhabitants in 2013. Despite its small size, it is one of the oldest cities in Sweden, and has a long educational and ecclesiastical history. One of Sweden's oldest high schools, Katedralskolan (cathedral school), is situated in Skara. The former county of Skaraborg was named after a fortress near the town. Geography Skara is located by the E20 motorway, about northeast of Gothenburg, in the centre of Västergötland. Across the hills to its east is the somewhat larger town of Skövde, about away. Climate Skara has a humid continental climate, though it is influenced by maritime moderation in spite of its inland position. Its proximity to Kattegat and lake Vänern contributes to summers being slightly cooler than areas to the north-east, and winter temperatures mostly hover around the freezing point. History According to local legend, Skara was founded in AD 988, making it one of the oldest cities of Sweden. It was one of only two cities in what was to become Västergötland, the other being Lödöse. Skara was the location for the regional assembly, the Thing of all Geats. With the Christianization of Sweden, around 1000 AD, Skara became the seat for the bishop and a religious centre for the ensuing centuries. There have been bishops of Skara in an unbroken succession to this day. Many important assemblies were held in Skara in medieval times. Examples include the important Swedish chancellor meeting in 1326. A meeting of Swedish, Danish and Norwegians in 1458, decided upon the later Kalmar Union. In the ensuing medieval centuries, monasteries and other churches were completed in the town. The first monastery was for the Dominican order, called the monastery of Saint Olaf, opened in 1234; the other was of the Franciscan order, known as Saint Catherine (or Katarina in Swedish), recorded in 1259. The foundations of the Skara Cathedral are believed to stem from around 1050. The current cathedral was inaugurated in 1150, but findings during the last 50 years show it must be at least a century older. Its current appearance, however, stems from renovations in the 1880s by Helgo Zettervall, who also renovated the Cathedral of Uppsala. Middle ages Medieval artifacts have been found in or near the Skara cathedral. A chalice from bishop Adalvard the Elder, dead in 1064, was found in his grave in the