Märsta

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**Märsta**
	City arms
	59°37′N 17°51′ E
	Charter	1952 (never granted)
	Municipality	Sigtuna Municipality
	County	Stockholm County
	Province	Uppland
	Population	26,800 (2005)

Märsta is a suburb of Metropolitan Stockholm, and the seat of Sigtuna Municipality in Sweden. Märsta has 26,800 inhabitants out of a total 36,937 (Sep. 2006) for the whole of Sigtuna Municipality.

The town is probably best known for its airport, Arlanda.

1 Name
2 Geography
3 Coat of Arms
4 History
5 Twin Cities
6 External links

[edit] Name

The origin of the name Märsta goes back to around 500 AD. At that time most of the valleys in Märsta were still under water, which explains the name. Mär- is found in the Swedish word "mjärde" which is a fishing tool, and -sta means a place (area or somekind of habitat) like the Swedish word "stad". Märsta means "place to fish" or "fishing-place".

[edit] Geography

Märsta is situated very close to Steningevik, which is a bay of the lake Mälaren. The center of the town is located in a valley called Märstadal and the area Sätuna, which also holds the train station of the town. The rest of the town's buildings spread upon and below the hills that form the valleys in Märsta. The stream that flows through the town out to Steningevik is called Märstaån. It is also located along the motorway E4 about 37 km north of central Stockholm, 33 km south of Uppsala and about 4 km from Arlanda Airport.

[edit] Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of Märsta is a result by the merging of the seals of the two hundreds of Ärlinghundra and Seminghundra, which are today located in Märsta. The combined seal is known from 1568. The key was the symbol of Ärlinghundra and symbolize "the key to heavens gates". The axe was the symbol of Seminghundra and symbolize "the axe who killed Saint Olaf". Seminghundra is also known for an execution place for convicts during the middle ages. The color of the key and axe is golden and the color of the shield is (blood)red.

[edit] History

The church of Husby-Ärlinghundra. One of many churches in Märsta dating back to the early Medieval age.

The area has been populated since the stone age and due to the location of traditional viking-land it still bares a lot of treasures from the bronze age, iron age and viking age. One can find many rune stones and older ruins of stone castels and walls in the area of Märsta.

The area of today's modern Märsta did consist of big farms and small communities, that were (and still are) typical for the landscape of the province Uppland. Märsta was just one of these farms but due to the location and importance of travelling between Stockholm and Uppsala, the farm had to turn into an inn. The important travelling road can be traced back to the viking age and even older ages.

During the days of the Swedish Empire many of the old nobles became land owners in the area and built palaces like Steninge, Skånelaholm, Rosersberg and Venngarn. Even Sweden's oldest public school is located in Husby-Ärlinghundra, the parish of Märsta. It was built in 1697 and is today a museum. The first telegraph pole in Sweden was placed in Märsta 1853 and the train station got built in the 1860s. It is currently the northern termini of the commuter railways in Stockholm, and a minor interchange to SJ. The name Märsta got along only because it was common for travellers even though they were placed on neighbouring farms.

The town was formed and started to expand in the 1950s due to the expansion of Arlanda Airport. The Märsta municipality was formed in 1952 due to a fusion of the parishes of Husby-Ärlinghundra, Norrsunda, Odensala and Skånela. In 1967 the parishes of Vidbo, Lunda and Skepptuna also merged into the municipality. In 1971 the cities of Sigtuna and Märsta were forged together and formed Sigtuna Municipality with Märsta as the seat of the ruling council.

[edit] Twin Cities

Märsta is twinned with:

Märsta has a whole residential area dedicated to its twin cities and named four streets after their names. The residential area is callad "Vänortsringen", which means The Friend Towns Ring i.e. the twinned cities circle.