Linköping
Linköping in Östergötland is one of Sweden's most important church towns, with a medieval cathedral, an open-air museum, a leading university and the Swedish Air Force Museum.
Linköping is one of the largest cities in Sweden and belongs to the historical province of Östergötland. The area around the city is very fertile and lies along the Stångån river. Stockholm is 200 km away and can be reached via the European route E4, which skirts the north of Linköping. On the map the city looks like an upside-down “V”. In the middle of the city lies a former military training ground that separates the two arms of the “V”. This area, Tinnerö eklandskap, has been a nature reserve since 2006, protecting its oak landscape.
Linköping is one of Sweden’s most important church towns and has been a central place of the church since the 12th century. Vreta Abbey, which lies very close to the city, was founded in 1128. Linköping Cathedral, or at least parts of it, was also built at this time. The castle was built in the 13th century. Swedish kings visited Linköping during their Eriksgata, a journey through the country’s provinces on which newly elected kings had their rule confirmed. In 1600 Duke Charles, later King Charles IX, had five members of the Council of the Realm executed in the town’s market square, an event that went down in the history books as the “Linköping Bloodbath”. The executed men were supporters of the deposed King Sigismund, and the war between Sweden and Poland began in the same year. 100 years later almost the entire city burned down; only the cathedral and the castle were spared.
The open-air museum is one of the city’s sights, as it is itself laid out like a small town. It consists of 90 houses, some of them more than 250 years old. A visit to the cathedral is also worthwhile. It was built over a period of almost 350 years and finally completed in 1499, although the tower was only built 250 years later. The women’s football team Linköpings FC is very successful. Linköping is also home to Scandinavia’s largest concrete skatepark, the “Fun SkatePark”, where many international competitions are held.
Linköping has two airports: the civilian Linköping City Airport and the military Malmen Air Base, near which the Swedish Air Force Museum is located. In addition to the campus of the university, which is one of Sweden’s most important universities, there is the “Mjärdevi Science Park”, a huge technology centre. From 2006 to 2010 the world’s first biogas train, “Amanda”, also ran between Västervik and Linköping.