Jönköping

Jönköping belongs to the historical province of Småland and, according to Statistics Sweden (SCB), its urban area (tätort) has around 103,000 inhabitants (2023). Jönköping has held town status since 1284 and is known as a very old trading place. One of the most important Swedish Riksdag assemblies was held here in 1599. In 1612 the Swedes burned the whole town to the ground so that the advancing Danish troops would have nowhere to quarter. The peace treaty ending the Dano-Swedish War of 1808–1809 was also signed here.

The city became internationally known for its match industry. The world-leading company Swedish Match (formerly “Svenska Tändsticks”) had its headquarters in Jönköping until 1970.

For around 30 years the Elmia exhibition centre in Jönköping hosted DreamHack, regarded as the world’s largest LAN party; in 2024 the event moved to Stockholm. Alongside ice hockey, football plays an important role in the city. In 2011 some matches of the Men’s World Handball Championship were held at the Kinnarps Arena. The open-air museum in the city park is one of Jönköping’s main attractions, and the bird museum, also in the city park, is worth a visit too. There is also the Match Museum and the factory museum of Husqvarna, a company that today mainly produces garden equipment, especially chainsaws and lawnmowers. Here you will find the smiths’ village, where the smiths who worked as gunsmiths for Husqvarna once lived. The grounds of the Match Museum are also home to one of the country’s largest radio museums, with more than 1,000 different radios as well as literature and accessories; altogether the museum covers more than 80 years of radio technology development. There is also a museum displaying countless works by the fairy-tale artist John Bauer, whose characters are known far beyond Sweden’s borders. The famous 1897 balloon polar expedition led by Salomon August Andrée, who was born in Gränna (now part of Jönköping Municipality), is on display in the Polar Museum in Gränna. The smaller Rådhusparken park, right in the city centre, and the tower of Sofia Church are also well worth seeing. In addition, the city has a large number of theatres and art galleries.

Jönköping is considered one of the most important centres of forestry and agriculture. More and more large companies are also locating their warehouses here, as the city is regarded as an important trading hub and logistics centre between Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. More than 12,000 students are enrolled at Jönköping University. It has four schools, focusing on engineering, business, health and communication or education, with the business school in particular enjoying an international reputation. Agnetha Fältskog, formerly of ABBA, and Nina Persson, the singer of The Cardigans, both come from Jönköping. Shopping is well catered for too: there is a huge market right in the centre, and apart from numerous department stores there is also a large shopping centre by the motorway.