KARLSTAD [CARLSTAD]  , a town of Sweden, the capital of the district (lan) of Vermland, on the island of Tingvalla under the northern shore of Lake Vener, 205 M . W. of Stockholm by the Christiania railway . Pop . (19oo), 11,869 . The fine Klar River here enters the lake, descending from the mountains of the frontier . To the north-west lies the Fryksdal or valley of the Nora River, containing three beautiful lakes and fancifully named the " Swedish Switzerland." In this and other parts of the district are numerous iron-works . Karlstad was founded in 1584 . It is the seat of a bishop and has a cathedral . Trade is carried on by way of the lake and the Gota canal . There are mechanical works, match factories and stockinet factories, and a mineral spring rich in iron, the water of which is bottled for export . Under the constitution of united Sweden and Norway, in the event of the necessity of electing a Regent and the disagreement„ of the parliaments of the two countries, Karlstad was indicated as the meeting-place of a delegacy for the purpose . Here, on the 31st of August 1905 the conference met to decide upon the severance of the union between Sweden and Norway, the delegates concluding their work on the 23rd of September .