Vaxholm

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Coordinates: 59°25′N 18°19′E / 59.417, 18.317
Vaxholm
Vaxholm
Country	Sweden
Municipality	Vaxholm Municipality
County	Stockholm County
Province	Uppland
Area ^[1]
- Total	1.6 km² (0.6 sq mi)
Population (2005-12-31)^[1]
- Total	4,817
- Density	3,003/km² (7,777.7/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Vaxholm is a town in the Stockholm archipelago in central Sweden. It has 4,887 inhabitants and is the seat of Vaxholm Municipality.

Vaxholm is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a city. According to Statistics Sweden, however, only localities with more than 10,000 inhabitants are counted as cities. Furthermore Vaxholm Municipality prefers to use the designation Vaxholms stad (City of Vaxholm) for its whole territory, including 64 islets in the Stockholm archipelago.

The name Vaxholm comes from Vaxholm Castle, which was constructed in 1549 on an islet with this name on the inlet to Stockholm, for defense purposes, by King Gustav Vasa.

The town Vaxholm was established in 1558, when King Gustav Vasa bought some farms from Count Per Brahe (the elder). It later received rights as a merchant town (köping) and in 1652 was granted the Royal Charter. The designated coat of arms reminds of the fortifications as well as shipping industry.

During the 19th century, it hardly expanded. In the 1880s, it became a popular spa town, and many wooded summer houses were built by people from Stockholm.

Not until 1912 was it allowed to build houses from materials other than wood, giving the town a distinctive character.