Jönköping

For the municipality, see Jönköping Municipality. For the county or län, see Jönköping County.
Jönköping

Collage of Jönköping

Coat of arms
Jönköping
Coordinates: 57°46′58″N 14°09′38″E / 57.78278°N 14.16056°ECoordinates: 57°46′58″N 14°09′38″E / 57.78278°N 14.16056°E
Country Sweden
Province Småland
County Jönköping County
Municipality Jönköping Municipality
City status 1284
Area[1]
 • City 44.82 km2 (17.31 sq mi)
Elevation 104 m (341 ft)
Population (31 December 2013)[1]
 • City 61,559
 • Density 1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
 • Metro 93,662
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 551 xx
Area code(s) (+46) 36
Vehicle registration 1544
Website www.jonkoping.se

Jönköping (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈjœnːˈɕøːpiŋ] ( pronunciation)) is a city in southern Sweden with 61,559 inhabitants (2013). Jönköping is situated by the southern end of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern. The original town Jönköping has grown together with twin city Huskvarna (population 23,033) and suburb Norrahammar-Hovslätt (population 9,070), forming a contiguous urban area, with 93,662 inhabitants in 2013.

The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipality which has a population of 130,798 (2013) and is Sweden's 10th populous municipality. Jönköping is also the seat of Jönköping County which has a population of 341 235 (2013). Jönköping is the seat of a district court and a court of appeal as well as the Swedish National Courts Administration. It is the seat of the Swedish Board of Agriculture.[2]

History

The Sofia Church in Jönköping, Neo-Gothic style, 1888

Jönköping is an old trading center (Köping), since it was on a crossroad for the roads following along the rivers Nissan and Lagan, and the road between the provinces Östergötland and Västergötland. 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 18 May 1284, Jönköping received rights as a City in Sweden as one of the first communities in the country, by King Magnus Ladulås, who 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 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 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, Halland and Blekinge — belonged to Denmark. Consequently, the city was plundered and burned several times, until a fortification was built in the 16th and 17th century.

Jönköping is known for its matchstick industry 1845-1970.[3] Still today it is an important Swedish logistical center, with many companies' central warehouses (like IKEA, Electrolux and Husqvarna).

Present

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 in Jönköping, with fairs including Elmia Wood, the world’s largest forestry fair. Elmia’s fairs are the biggest of their kind in Europe for subcontractors, trucks, caravans and railways. Since 2001, Elmia has been the site of the world's largest LAN party, DreamHack with two events every year, Dreamhack Summer and Dreamhack Winter.

Notable people

Education

Climate

Jönköping's climate is humid continental (Köppen Dfb) bordering on subarctic with long, cold winters and short, warm summers.

Climate data for Jönköping
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) −1.1
(30)		 −0.5
(31.1)		 3.0
(37.4)		 8.5
(47.3)		 15.2
(59.4)		 19.6
(67.3)		 20.5
(68.9)		 19.6
(67.3)		 14.7
(58.5)		 9.8
(49.6)		 4.0
(39.2)		 0.6
(33.1)		 9.49
(49.09)
Daily mean °C (°F) −3.6
(25.5)		 −3.8
(25.2)		 −0.9
(30.4)		 3.7
(38.7)		 9.6
(49.3)		 13.9
(57)		 15.0
(59)		 14.1
(57.4)		 10.2
(50.4)		 6.4
(43.5)		 1.5
(34.7)		 −2.0
(28.4)		 5.34
(41.62)
Average low °C (°F) −6.6
(20.1)		 −7.3
(18.9)		 −4.6
(23.7)		 −1.1
(30)		 3.6
(38.5)		 7.6
(45.7)		 9.4
(48.9)		 8.7
(47.7)		 6.0
(42.8)		 3.1
(37.6)		 −1.2
(29.8)		 −5.1
(22.8)		 1.04
(33.88)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 48
(1.89)		 31
(1.22)		 38
(1.5)		 37
(1.46)		 46
(1.81)		 52
(2.05)		 73
(2.87)		 63
(2.48)		 71
(2.8)		 63
(2.48)		 66
(2.6)		 53
(2.09)		 641
(25.25)
Source: Hong Kong Observatory [4]


Panorama of central Jönköping


Sport

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Population in the country, counties and municipalities by sex and age". Statistics Sweden. 27 May 2013. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Swedish Board of Agriculture – How to find our headquarters". Swedish Board of Agriculture. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
  3. ↑ Ohlsen, Becky; Kaminski, Anna; Lundgren, K (June 1, 2012). Lonely Planet Sweden (5th edition ed.). Lonely Planet. ISBN 1741797268.
  4. ↑ "Climatological Normals of Jonkoping". Hong Kong SAR Government. Retrieved 2011-01-06.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jönköping.