Jönköping

Jönköping
Jönköping University Foundation
Jönköping is located in Sweden
Jönköping
Coordinates:
Country Sweden
Province Småland
County Jönköping County
Municipality Jönköping Municipality
Area[1]
 - Total 44.33 km2 (17.1 sq mi)
Population (2005-12-31)[1]
 - Total 84,423
 - Density 1,905/km2 (4,933.9/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Jönköping (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈjœnɕøːpiŋ]) (yan-SHO-ping) is a city in Småland in southern Sweden with 84,420 inhabitants in 2005.[1] It is the 9th most populous city of Sweden.

The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipality which has a population of 122,194 (2006), and also the seat of Jönköping County which has a population of 331,539 (2006).

Jönköping is the seat of a district court and a court of appeal as well as the Swedish National Courts Administration. It is also the seat of the Swedish Board of Agriculture

Geographically the town is situated by the southern end of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern. The original town Jönköping has grown together with Huskvarna and Norrahammar forming a contiguous urban area, since 1971 wholly in the same municipality.

Contents

History

Jönköping is an old trading center (Köping), since it was located on a crossroad for the roads following along the rivers Nissan and Lagan, and the road between the provinces Östergötland and Västergötland. This was rather natural due to the geographical position of the city at the southern end of lake Vättern, which divided the two counties. On 18 May 1284, Jönköping received rights as a City in Sweden as one of the first communities in the country, by King Magnus Ladulås, who at that time largely ruled the nation from Vättern's largest island Visingsö. In the name of the city "Jön-" is derived from a creek, "Junebäcken", which was situated in the nowadays western part of the city, Talavid. This was the location of the first known settlement in the area. The second part of the name "-köping", as mentioned above, is an old word for a trading center or market place.

However, the geographical position of the city also left it vulnerable to foreign attacks, mainly from the Danes, coming from the south with the river roads; at that time, the provinces of what is today southern Sweden — Scania, Halland and Blekinge — belonged to Denmark. Consequently, the city was plundered and burned several times, until a fortification was built in the 16th and 17th century.

The Sofia church in Jönköping, Neo-Gothic style, 1888

Jönköping is known for its matchstick industry 1845-1970. Still today it is an important Swedish logistical center, with many companies' central warehouses situated there (like IKEA, Electrolux and Husqvarna).

Present

The urban area of Jönköping today includes the eastern industrial town of Huskvarna, with which it has grown together.

A major fair and exhibition center, Elmia is also located in Jönköping, with fairs including Elmia Wood, the world’s largest forestry fair. Elmia’s fairs are also the biggest of their kind in Europe for subcontractors, trucks, caravans and railways. Since 2002, Elmia has also been the site of the world's largest LAN party, DreamHack.

Notable natives

Local Musicians

Education

  • Jönköping International Business School (Internationella Handelshögskolan)
  • Jönköping School of Education and Communication (Högskolan för lärarutbildning och kommunikation)
  • Jönköping School of Engineering (Jönköpings tekniska högskola)
  • Jönköping School of Health Sciences (Hälsohögskolan)
Panorama of central Jönköping
Panorama


Sport

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km2 2000 och 2005" (in Swedish) (xls). Statistics Sweden. http://www.scb.se/statistik/MI/MI0810/2005A01B/T%c3%a4torternami0810tab1.xls. Retrieved 2009-05-09. 

External links

Murkrona.svg Jönköping is one of 133 places with the historical city status in Sweden.
Localities in Jönköping Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden
Localities:
Bankeryd  · Barnarp  · Bottnaryd  · Gränna  · Jönköping (seat)  · Kaxholmen  · Lekeryd  · Odensjö  · Öggestorp  · Ölmstad  · Örserum  · Skärstad  · Taberg  · Tenhult  · Trånghalla  · Tunnerstad
Municipalities and seats of Jönköping County
Municipalities
Aneby · Eksjö · Gislaved · Gnosjö · Habo · Jönköping · Mullsjö · Nässjö · Sävsjö · Tranås · Vaggeryd · Värnamo · Vetlanda
 Coat of arms of Jönköpings County
Municipal seats
Aneby · Eksjö · Gislaved · Gnosjö · Habo · Jönköping · Mullsjö · Nässjö · Sävsjö · Tranås · Vaggeryd and Skillingaryd · Värnamo · Vetlanda
Counties of Sweden · Sweden
Administrative seats of Swedish counties (län)
Swedish arms
Falun • Gävle • Gothenburg • Halmstad • Jönköping • Kalmar • Karlskrona • Karlstad • Linköping • Luleå • Malmö • Nyköping • Örebro • Östersund • Stockholm • Sundsvall • Umeå • Uppsala • Västerås • Växjö • Visby
 Swedish flag
30 most populous cities of Sweden
as of 2005, according to Statistics Sweden [1]
1. Stockholm 800,000
2. Gothenburg 510,500
3. Malmö 258,000
4. Uppsala 144,839
5. Västerås 107,000
6. Örebro 98,200
7. Linköping 97,400
8. Helsingborg 91,500
9. Jönköping 84,400
10. Norrköping 83,600
11. Lund 76,200
12. Umeå 75,600
13. Gävle 68,700
14. Borås 63,400
15. Södertälje 60,300
16. Eskilstuna 60,200
17. Täby 58,600
18. Karlstad 58,500
19. Halmstad 55,700
20. Växjö 55,600
21. Sundsvall 49,300
22. Luleå 45,500
23. Trollhättan 44,500
24. Östersund 43,800
25. Borlänge 39,400
26. Falun 36,400
27. Upplands Väsby 36,000
28. Tumba 35,300
29. Kalmar 35,200
30. Skövde 33,100