Hjo

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Hjo
Hamngatan in Hjo
Hamngatan in Hjo
Hjo (Sweden)
Hjo
Hjo
Coordinates: 58°18′N 14°17′E / 58.3, 14.283
Country Sweden
Municipality Hjo Municipality
County Västra Götaland County
Province Västergötland
Area [1]
 - Total 4.46 km² (1.7 sq mi)
Population (2005-12-31)[1]
 - Total 6,075
 - Density 1,362/km² (3,527.6/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Hjo is a city by Lake Vättern in Västergötland, Sweden, and the seat of Hjo Municipality in Västra Götaland County. It has a population of 6,075 (2005).

[edit] History

Hjo is known to have had a charter as early as 1413. Hjo is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a city. Statistics Sweden, however, only counts localities with more than 10,000 inhabitants as cities.

Many wooden towns have suffered fires, but Hjo has been relatively spared, apart from when the church and some adjacent houses burnt down in 1794. The city structure is therefore almost exactly the same as in medieval times.

Hjo works together with the cities of Eksjö and Nora to develop wooden towns as tourist attractions, under the joint name "Three wooden towns" (Tre trästäder).

[edit] References

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Hjo is one of 134 towns with the historical City status in Sweden.

Coordinates: 58°18′N, 14°17′E