Jönköping

From Freepedia

Jönköping ['jœncøːpiŋ] is a town in southern Sweden with 81,000 inhabitants, located at 57°47′ N 14°12′ E. It is the seat of Jönköping Municipality (pop. 120,000), that is in turn the seat of the Jönköping County, incorporating all nearby municipalities.

Geographically the town is situated by the southern end of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern.

1 History
2 Present
3 Notable natives
4 Education
5 See also
6 External links

History

Jönköping is a 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 Ostrogothia and Westrogothia. 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 May 18 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.

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, Hallandia and Blechingia — belonged to Denmark. Consequently, the city was plundered and burned several times, until a fortification was built in the 16th and 17th century.

Image:Sofiakyrkan.JPG

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

Jönköping is today one of the more popular cities for higher education at the University College of Jönköping. Jönköping's nickname is "Sweden's Jerusalem" because of the high amount of christian independent churches and their followers. Although the students along with the industries and international companies have introduced a more secular perspective, the nickname is still quite accurate.