Mark Municipality, Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden
Mark Municipality is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in southwestern Sweden, in the historical province of Västergötland. Its seat is Kinna, which has grown together with Skene and Örby. The municipality includes the valleys of Storån and Viskan and Lake Lygnern, with fertile clay plains and moraine hills.
Mark Municipality was formed in 1971 from Kinna and Skene market towns and the rural municipalities of Fritsla, Horred, Svansjö, Sätila, Västra Mark and Örby. The name comes from Mark härad, a district documented in the 13th century on the Danish-Swedish border. Öresten Fortress, first held by Tyge Puder (1364–1386), was taken by Sten Sture the Elder in 1470 and destroyed in the early 1500s.
Mark calls itself the Fabric Kingdom: from the late 18th century travelling salesmen from the district spread its fabrics across Sweden. Kungsfors in Skene, Fritsla and Rydal were the largest mills; the Rydal factory now houses a museum of the region's textile and entrepreneurial heritage. Three major textile and dyeing works remain: Almedahls and Ludvig Svensson in Kinna and Ekelund in Horred.
Road R156 runs west to Gothenburg and east to Svenljunga, while Road R41 runs north to Borås and south to Varberg. Västtrafik buses 300 and 430 serve the Gothenburg–Sätila–Skene–Kinna route, and bus 450 links Skene with Borås. Trains on the Viskadalsbanan stop at Horred, Björketorp, Berghem, Skene, Assberg, Kinna and Fritsla; Gothenburg is within an hour by car or bus from Kinna and Skene.
The coat of arms, granted in 1974, shows a weaver's shuttle alongside four circles read as cannonballs, recalling both the textile trade and the Danish-Swedish wars fought around Mark. Farmers near Öresten Fortress still turn up old weapons and remains when ploughing.
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