Östersund is situated in inland Scandinavia and connected to Sundsvall in the east on the Swedish coast, and Trondheim in the west at the shores of the Norwegian Sea.

While winters are long, the local climate is only moderately cold by elevated and northerly Swedish standards, but with chilly summers.

Östersund has had a long history as a centre of outdoor activities with a modern cross-country ski stadium and an actual piste in the city itself.

The area surrounding this lake is commonly referred to as Storsjöbygden and has been described as the world's northernmost located genuine agricultural society in the inland with continental climate.

This is due to the Gulf Stream and the many passages in the mountain range, bringing warmer Atlantic winds to the city during winters.

This is due to the Scandinavian Mountain Range acting as a natural barrier, receiving most of the precipitation, giving Östersund and the surrounding area a rain deficit.

For example, Sollefteå at a similar latitude 130 kilometres (81 mi) to the east but near sea level in an inland valley, has three degrees warmer July days.

Östersund has a high exposition of sunlight and was the sunniest city in Sweden in the summer of 2007 (1 July to 9 August) with 654 hours of sun.

[18] When Östersund started to grow as a city in the late 19th century the houses consisted predominantly of wood, though stone had become popular in the central parts.

[21] Later sanitation issues were brought up, which resulted in the construction of a sewage treatment works and waste water was no longer flushed directly into Storsjön.

The buildings along Storgatan (literally: 'the large street') with entire segments intact since the 1880s are considered one of the best preserved city settlements in Sweden.

Besides them the urban districts of Staden, Norr, Söder, Odenslund, Karlslund, Körfältet Odenskog, Lugnvik are found on the mainland of Östersund.

[24] Östersund City Hall was designed by Frans Bertil Wallberg [sv] (1862–1935) and was seen by contemporary colleagues as the best of modern Swedish architecture.

[26][failed verification] A recently built landmark is Arctura, named after Jämtland's provincial star Arcturus, a large hot water accumulator tank.

Frösön, the island of the Norse god Freyr, was originally the centre of the region and it was here the only inland Scandinavian hill fort, Mjälleborgen, was built around 300 AD.

Plans regarding the foundation of a Swedish city or köping (market town, 'Chipping') in Jämtland existed among governmental officials already after the previously Norwegian province was ceded from Denmark-Norway in 1645.

In order to construct the sconce the local inhabitants were coerced into forced labour 1651 but after protests and lack of capital the project was ended in 1654.

[28] Östersund was founded and given its charter by Monarch Gustav III of Sweden on 23 October 1786, shortly after the outskirt of the Odensala farmers' lands were bought for the purpose.

[5] In other remote locations of the Nordic region, similar cities were founded, like Reykjavík in Iceland the very same year, Tromsø (1794) in Northern Norway and Tampere (1775) and Kuopio (1782) in the Finnish inland.

[33] The city attracted immigrants, a slight majority from the Jamtish countryside, though still with a high number of settlers from southern Sweden.

[35] Many of the leading people behind the popular movements in Östersund saw industrialization as a significant threat to the native districts and the old village and farming community.

Some of the citizens, primarily soldiers, went on hunger strikes and at the first of May that year 4,000 demonstrators gathered in front of the city hall demanding lower prices on milk and wood.

The dairy was located west of the bus square, Gustav III:s torg, at the current site of the shopping mall Kärnan.

The main reasons for the large expansion were the expanded transfer payment to the households that occurred along with growing interest and public consumption.

Besides the new industrial complex the Frösö bridge was constructed, a new police station, Z-kupolen (burned to the ground in 1989), Storsjöteatern, Folkets hus, neighborhood churches, malls, etc.

After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the Dissolution of the USSR in 1991 Sweden had lost its national threat and the demand for a strong defense organization was deemed unnecessary.

Östersund has had a long history as a marketplace with the already mentioned ancient Gregorie market, tracing its lineage back to the 11th century, held in early March.

Besides trading and public services Östersund has some larger companies such as Solectron, Cybercom, Volex, Husqvarna AB, Swedbank's telephone bank and Telia.

S/S Östersund sails from Arvesund, located at Storsjön's western shore but makes visits to Jamtli's steamboat jetty.

The stadium is also internationally renowned due to the topography of its ski tracks, the compact track-system and the fact that Östersund is usually quite a reliable locality for snow during the winter months.