Country Sweden Population 139,474 (2007) University Linkoping University Area 42.16 km2 | Founded 12th century | |
Points of interest Swedish Air Force Museum, Linkoping Cathedral, Vreta Abbey | ||
Linkoping is a city in southern Sweden, with 104,232 inhabitants in 2010. It is the seat of Linkoping Municipality and the capital of Ostergotland County. Linkoping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linkoping (Church of Sweden) and is well known for its cathedral. Linkoping is the center of an old cultural region and celebrated its 700th anniversary in 1987. Dominating the citys skyline from afar is the steeple of the cathedral.
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Map of Linkoping
Nowadays Linkoping is known for its university and its high-technology industry. Linkoping wants to create a sustainable development of the city and therefore plans to become a carbon neutral community by 2025.
History
The city is possibly named after the Lionga ting assembly which according to Medieval Scandinavian laws was the most important thing in Ostergotland. Exact location of the Lionga ting is not known, but it was along the Eriksgata. Koping means there was a market there.
Historically, Linkoping is famed for being an early diocese, second in Sweden (within its pre-1658 boundaries) only to Skara. The diocese is first mentioned in 1104 in the so-called "List of Florence" (Lionga. Kaupinga). The monastery of Vreta Kloster near Roxen north of Linkoping was established in 1128, and the oldest parts of the cathedral are also from the 12th century (although it has been changed many times since then, the eye-catching tower with copper roofing being a 19th-century product). On several occasions attempts to achieve a separate Swedish archdiocese were based in Linkoping, although, when they finally were successful in 1164, Uppsala was chosen instead.
Religious centers tend to become educational centers, and Linkoping was no exception. A cathedral school can be traced from 1266. In 1627 the current Linkoping cathedral school was established, making it the third oldest gymnasium in Sweden.
Also, Linkoping was the site for the final settlement of the dispute between king Sigismund III Vasa and his uncle Duke Charles, the latter prevailing in the battle of Stangebro (today a sports field near central Linkoping) on 25 September 1598. This ultimately led to the rise to the throne of Charles (de facto at the 1600 Riksdag of the Estates meeting in Linkoping and formally four years later) and the end of the short-lived Swedish-Polish personal union, as well as the execution of five of Charless political opponents on the main square of Linkoping on 20 March 1600.
Linkoping was a small town until 1937, when the Saab aircraft industry was formed, starting a period of rapid expansion. Linkoping University was established in the 1960s. Today the city is a center of high-technology and software industry.
Culture
Linkoping offers a wealth of leisure activities to people of all ages. Residents and visitors are able to enjoy art, theatre, history, concerts, markets, festivals and sporting events.
Special sights of interests are: the locks of Berg on the Gota Canal, the locks of the Kinda Canal, Gamla Linkoping, Vallaskogen and Valla fritidsomrade (Old Linkoping, Valla Wood, and the Valla recreational area), Flygvapenmuseum (the Air Force Museum), Linkopings domkyrka (the Cathedral), Slotts- och domkyrkomuseet (the Castle and Cathedral Museum) and Ostergotlands Lansmuseum (the Ostergotland County Museum). Konsthallen Passagen is an art gallery located in the main square.
Tornby, to the north of the city centre, is a vast shopping area with huge retail outlets and immense parking lots.
The city and its environs offer all sorts of green landscapes to see and experience. Two examples are a park named after the group responsible for it, Tradgardsforeningen (The Garden Society), and the Tinnero area with its oak woodland. Local bodies of water include the lakes Roxen, Rangen and Jarnlunden, the River Stangan/Kinda Canal and the Gota Canal with the Berg locks. These areas can be accessed by foot, bicycle, or boat.
Linkoping is the home of the Linkoping Symphony Orchestra. The city is one of the sites of the Ostergotland Music Days each summer, and the host of the Student Orchestra Festival in May every other year. One of the most notable choirs in Linkoping is the Linkoping University Male Voice Choir.
The area around the main square was re-planned in the 1960s and many old houses were destroyed. Some, however, were moved to Gamla Linkoping (Old Linkoping), in the citys western part, neighbouring the universitys main campus. It is a living museum environment and a popular site with both residents and tourists.
Economy
One of the biggest employers in Linkoping is Saab which among other products manufactures the SAAB Gripen fighter jet and where the SAAB 340 twin-engine commuter turboprop was produced. The city also has a strong presence in information technology based industries such as Sectra, IFS (Industrial and Financial Systems), Motorola, Ericsson, Cambio Healthcare Systems AB, and many others. Toyota Industries Sweden AB has a presence in Linkoping, as one of its subsidiaries, BT Industries, is located in nearby Mjolby. The Swedish Air Force Museum is located near the town.