Rättvik – a beautiful town with good reputation for business climate and innovation in food industry.
Rättvik is a beautiful pearl on Lake Siljan that has drawn car and music lovers for many years. Rättvik is well known in Sweden and internationally for its strong culture and traditions. Folk music, folk costumes, dances, stories, lifestyles, and cuisines have been passed on between generations here for centuries.
In recent years, Rättvik has attracted business interest with the gigantic leaps the municipality has made in the ranking of Sweden’s best business municipalities. Moreover, the municipality wants to develop a centre for innovation and competencies in the food sector.
A growing business community with a positive climate and new initiatives for development
In many years, Rättvik has climbed nearly 200 positions on the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise’s ranking of the municipalities’ business climate and is among the top list in the country. The business community in Rättvik comprises a good mixture of industries with tourism, retailing and food as the key focus. Other sectors also contribute to the municipality’s development and growth are building and technology.
The municipality has invested in the entrepreneurship of young people and women, which has yielded outstanding results.
The circular food industry is on the way
Rättvik has a modern nature-based high school with large areas of arable land, modern barn, ethical animal husbandry, greenhouses for innovation, updated machinery and driving houses and riding tracks for horses, and much more. High school students from all over Sweden come to Rättvik to train in animal care, agriculture, and natural agriculture. In 2022, the school shifted its education to the green industry and built a regional competence centre to support and develop its competencies. In parallel with this development, the municipality collaborates with the food industry to expand the existing food chain, adopt new sustainable methods, and attract more aquaponics and contemporary food production investment. The municipality is spending efforts in creating opportunities for testbeds and innovation in primary food production, processing, energy solutions, automation, product development etc., through collaborations with academics and entrepreneurs.
“Tourism is flourishing and still has extensive growth potential.”
The future will be about attracting creative expertise, something the municipality has succeeded in doing in recent years. Tourism is flourishing and still has vast growth potential. There are also extensive expansions of the municipality’s broadband fibre networks, which, combined with the environments, make Rättvik attractive to media, IT, and support companies.
The possibilities for passenger transport to airports and major cities are suitable for both car and rail. As many people say, Rättvik is where people can meet the “typically Swedish”.
A tourist destination with a rich history
In 1894, Sweden’s first tourist hotel was built here, followed by a long pier that served the steamboat traffic when the streams of tourists grew in the village. Classic Car Week, Sweden’s largest meet for automotive nostalgia fans, attracts a large audience to Rättvik in modern times. Rättvik’s market is another recurring event that annually attracts around 100,000 visitors. The folk music tradition is also intimately linked to this area. A visit to the Bingsjöstämman folk music festival is one way of experiencing this phenomenon up close.
Music echoes from the limestone quarry in the forest.
Rättvik has a well-developed cultural life with high-quality experiences and events, which includes Dalhalla, a unique outdoor arena and internationally established venue, described as one of the most majestic and most beautiful outdoor arenas in Europe. The limestone quarry is now a sought-after music venue with unique acoustics for music enthusiasts and artists worldwide. ZZ TOP, Neil Young and Arcade Fire are just a few artists who have performed on the naturally beautiful stage.
Photos: Martin Litens