Jönköping

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Location in Sweden

Jönköping [ˈjœnçøːpiŋ] is a town in the province of Småland in southern Sweden with 81,000 inhabitants, located at 57°47′N 14°12′E.

The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipality (pop. 120,000), and also the seat of Jönköping County (pop. 327,000). Jönköping is also the largest city in the province of Småland and the tenth largest city in Sweden.

Geographically the town is situated by the southern end of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern. With a sandy beach running through the city, Jönköping is considered the second-most beautiful city in southern Sweden, after Gothenburg.

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

[edit] 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 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. 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, 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.

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).

[edit] Present

Jönköping is today one of the more popular cities for higher education at the University College of Jönköping. A considerable amount of foreign exchange students study in Jönköping each year as well. 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.

[edit] Notable natives

Johan Björnsson Printz, governor of the Swedish colony of New Sweden
John Bauer, illustrator, painter
Amy Diamond, singer
Agnetha Fältskog, ABBA
Dag Hammarskjöld, United Nations Secretary-General
Mona Johannesson, model
Nina Persson, The Cardigans
Viktor Rydberg, author
Carl Peter Thunberg, botanist
I'm From Barcelona, a 29-piece indie pop band

[edit] Education

University College of Jönköping

Jönköping International Business School (Internationella Handelshögskolan)
Jönköping School of Education and Communication (Högskolan för lärarutbildning och kommunikation)
Jönköping School of Engineering (Ingenjörshögskolan)
Jönköping School of Health Sciences (Hälsohögskolan)