Mark, Västra Götaland County, Västergötland Province, Sweden

🇸🇪 Mark Municipality (Marks kommun) is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in south-west Sweden. The municipal seat is located in the centre of Kinna town. The municipality was created through the Municipal Reform Act of 1971 by the amalgamation of eight smaller municipal entities.

The Mark region was the cradle of Sweden's textile industry and has since the late 18th century been known as the Fabric Kingdom due to the widespread textile workmanship that comes from the region. It was from Mark that several of the nationwide travelling salesmen were based, spreading high-quality fabric manufacturing throughout the county. The region later evolved into a national industrial centre for sewing, dyeing and textile manufacturing after the industrial revolution.

The biggest textile factories of the time was Kungsfors Textilfabrik in central Skene, Fritsla Textilfabrik in Fritsla, Rydal Textilfabrik in Rydal. As of 2014 none of those factories remain in use but the old factory in Rydal has been converted into a museum for the regions textile and entrepreneur heritage.

In 1971 Mark Municipality was created out of a consolidation of eight smaller municipalities. The common name given to the municipality was Mark, signifying the historical events taken place which is also manifested in its shield. During the early 1980s most of the textile factories had disappeared and only a few remained. Today there are only three major textile and dyeing factories remaining: Almedahls (central Kinna), Ekelund (central Horred), Ludvig Svensson (outskirts of Kinna). Throughout Mark municipality the textile heritage has been preserved and the region is famous for its textile "know-how" and specialist production. The region is home to Sweden's largest manufacturer of fire hoses, bulletproof materials and filtering equipment.

Roads and communications Mark Municipality has excellent roads, rail and public transport links to the major cities in the country. Within 1 hour it is possible to travel to Gothenburg (swe: Göteborg - Sweden's 2nd largest city) by car or bus from the stations in Kinna and Skene. Major roads • Road R156 - west to Göteborg (eng:Gothenburg) / east to Svenljunga. • Road R41 - north to Borås / south to Varberg. Public transport (bus & train) All public transport options are trafficked by the regional Västtrafik (eng: West traffic) company. • Bus 300 & 330 on the West-East route Gothenburg-Sätila-Skene-Kinna. • Bus 450 on the Northern route Skene-Borås. • Train on the North-South route Borås-Kinna-Skene-Varberg

Towns and villages Major towns: • Kinna (municipal seat) Minor towns: • Örby • Fritsla