Västergötland

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Västergötland, also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (landskap in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden.Västergötland borders the provinces Bohuslän, Dalsland, Värmland, Närke, Östergötland, Småland and Halland. It is also bounded by the two largest Swedish lakes Vänern and Vättern, with a small strip to the Kattegat sea area. On this small strip is situated Gothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden. Crown Princess Victoria is Duchess of Västergötland.AdministrationThe provinces of Sweden serve no administrative function. Instead, that function is served by counties of Sweden. From the 17th century up until 31 December 1997 Västergötland was divided into Skaraborg County, Älvsborg County and a minor part of Gothenburg and Bohus County. From 1 January 1998 nearly all of the province is in the newly created Västra Götaland County, with the exception of Habo Municipality and Mullsjö Municipality, which were transferred to Jönköping County, and smaller parts of the province which are in Halland County and Örebro County.