Eskilstuna

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Eskilstuna
Eskilstuna River and Gamla Stan (Old Town)
Eskilstuna
Coordinates: 59°22′N 16°31′E / 59.367°N 16.517°E / 59.367; 16.517Coordinates: 59°22′N 16°31′E / 59.367°N 16.517°E / 59.367; 16.517
Country	Sweden
Province	Södermanland
County	Södermanland County
Municipality	Eskilstuna Municipality
Area [1]
- Total	29.75 km2 (11.5 sq mi)
Population (2005-12-31)[1]
- Total	60,185
- Density	2,023/km2 (5,239.5/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Eskilstuna (Swedish pronunciation: [ɛskilstʉːna]) is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 60,185 inhabitants in 2005.^[1] Eskilstuna has a large Sweden Finn population.

The town is located on the River Eskilstunaån (or Torshällaån or Hyndvadsån depending on where you are on the river), which connects Lake Hjälmaren and Lake Mälaren.

It is served by the Svealand railway line (Svealandsbanan) between Stockholm and Hallsberg. The connections to the capital have improved in the last years - a train ride between the two cities now takes about an hour - and Eskilstuna has attracted many new inhabitants who commute to their places of work in greater Stockholm.

European route E20 also passes the city.

Contents 1 History 2 Twin Towns 3 Notable Natives 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

Eskilstuna's history dates back to medieval times when English monk Saint Eskil made "Tuna" his base and diocese of the South coast of Lake Mälaren. Saint Eskil was stoned to death by the pagan vikings of neighbouring town Strängnäs, 30 km east of Eskilstuna, trying to convert them to Christianity.^{[citation needed]} Saint Eskil was buried in his monastery church in Tuna. Later the pagan city of Strängnäs was Christianised and was given the privilege of becoming diocese of South Lake Mälaren. Later "Eskil" was added in to the word "Tuna". However, the town of Eskilstuna did not receive municipal privileges due to its proximity to the medieval city of Torshälla. The monastery of Saint Eskil was completely destroyed by Swedish king Gustav Vasa during the Protestant Reformation and was replaced with the royal castle of Eskilstuna House.

The city's first city privileges were granted in 1659, and its boundaries included Tunafors and the newly-founded town of Karl Gustavs Stad ("City of Karl Gustav"), located on the west side of the river. Karl Gustavs Stad was built around the iron forges of master smith Reinhold Rademacher, encouraged by King Karl X Gustav. The first products of the forges were small arms and artillery.

Karl Gustavs Stad was a free town from 1771, where manufacturers and craftsmen were allowed to establish tax-free workshops and factories. The town was merged with the rest of Eskilstuna in 1879.

The city grew enormously during the Industrial Revolution and became one of the most important industrial cities of Sweden, earning the nickname "Stålstaden" ("The City of Steel"). Aside from firearms, the city also produced cutlery, scissors, keys, machine tools and precision instruments. As a tribute to the steel industry, the figure of a steel worker is included in the city's coat of arms.

The city remains an important industrial city with internationally-known companies such as Volvo Wheelloaders and main site for the heavy machinery division of Volvo and Assa (locks, keys). The modern co-establishment of the Mälardalen University (Mälardalens högskola) together with the twice as large neighbouring city of Västerås, has also given Eskilstuna an academic touch. The city also has a combined zoo and amusement park - Parken Zoo, most famous for its white tigers.

The most successful sports clubs of the city are the Smederna Speedway motorcycle racing club (Blacksmiths), and the handball club GUIF, which have both placed in the top divisions of their respective sports in Sweden for many years.

Eskilstuna is sometimes called The Sheffield of Sweden. The origin of this comparison with Sheffield is unknown, even though the both cities share the characteristics of being early industrialised and later struck with mass unemployment. There's probably a connection to the common history of Steel and steel-related industry as well.

[edit] Twin Towns

Eskilstuna has been twinned with Gatchina, in Russia since 1943, Luton, in England since 1949, and with Lviv in Ukraine since 1994, Esbjerg in Denmark, Jyväskylä in Finland, Stavanger in Norway, Erlangen in Germany. These cities has a street and parkes named after them in a part of town called Västermalm

[edit] Notable Natives

• Andrea Augustinsson, Goa'uld system lord.
• Anna Vasa (1568-1625), royal sister of the monarch of Poland, Sweden and Lithuania, Sigismund III Vasa.
• Kennet Andersson (born 6 October 1967), former international football player, 5 goals in the 1994 World Cup
• Robert Andersson, bowling pairs world champion 2006
• Kent Carlsson (born 3 January 1968), former world top 6 ranked tennis player
• Towa Carson (born 31 March 1936), popular schlager (pop ballad) singer, Melodifestivalen participant (1960s through 2000s)
• Folke Heybroek (1913-1983), artist, sculptor and illustrator
• Tommy Jansson (1953-1976), speedway-pairs world champion 1973 and 1975.
• Sebastian Larsson (born 6 June 1985) football player who currently plays for Birmingham City, former Arsenal player
• Kjell Johansson (born 5 October 1946), former world champion table tennis player
• Daniel Gildenlöw (born 5 June 1973), member of progressive metal band Pain of Salvation.
• Tomas Gustafson, former triple Olympic champion in Speedskating.
• Mika "Gas" Karppinen (born 8 February 1971), drummer of Finnish band HIM
• Kent, founded 1990, one of Sweden's best-selling Rock Groups; lead vocalist and main songwriter Joakim Berg
• Fredrik Lindström, linguistics expert, author, comedian and TV host.
• Anni-Frid Lyngstad (born 15 November 1945), member of ABBA
• Christoforos Mouratidis (born 4 June 1983), submission wrestler, Muaythai fighter
• Anna Nordqvist (born 10 June 1987), golfer; winner of 2009 LPGA Championship
• Yvonne Ryding (born 14 December 1962), Miss Universe 1984
• David Tenser (born 28 November 1979), male model^[2]
• Mika Väyrynen (born 28 December 1981), Finnish international football player representing SC Heerenveen

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eskilstuna

• Eskilstuna - Official site (in Swedish, French, German, English and Finnish)

v • d • e Localities in Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden Localities: Alberga  · Ärla  · Bälgviken  · Eskilstuna (seat)  · Hällberga  · Hällbybrunn  · Hållsta  · Kjulaås  · Kvicksund (part of)  · Skogstorp  · Sundbyholm  · Torshälla  · Torshälla huvud  · Tumbo  · Västra Borsökna

v • d • e Municipalities and seats of Södermanland County Municipalities Eskilstuna · Flen · Gnesta · Katrineholm · Nyköping · Oxelösund · Strängnäs · Trosa · Vingåker Municipal seats Eskilstuna · Flen · Gnesta · Katrineholm · Nyköping · Oxelösund · Strängnäs · Trosa · Vingåker Counties of Sweden · Sweden

v • d • e 30 most populous cities of Sweden as of 2005, according to Statistics Sweden [1] 1. Stockholm 1,252,000 2. Gothenburg 510,500 3. Malmö 258,000 4. Uppsala 128,400 5. Västerås 107,000 6. Örebro 98,200 7. Linköping 97,400 8. Helsingborg 91,500 9. Jönköping 84,400 10. Norrköping 83,600 11. Lund 76,200 12. Umeå 75,600 13. Gävle 68,700 14. Borås 63,400 15. Södertälje 60,300 16. Eskilstuna 60,200 17. Täby 58,600 18. Karlstad 58,500 19. Halmstad 55,700 20. Växjö 55,600 21. Sundsvall 49,300 22. Luleå 45,500 23. Trollhättan 44,500 24. Östersund 43,800 25. Borlänge 39,400 26. Falun 36,400 27. Upplands Väsby 36,000 28. Tumba 35,300 29. Kalmar 35,200 30. Skövde 33,100

v • d • e 50 most populous cities in Scandinavia  Denmark ·  Norway ·  Sweden 1.  Stockholm 1,252,000 2.  Copenhagen 1,167,569 3.  Oslo 857,000 4.  Helsinki 578,126 5.  Gothenburg 510,500 6.  Malmö 258,000 7.  Espoo 242,372 8.  Århus 228,700 9.  Bergen 223,600 10.  Tampere 209,744 11.  Vantaa 196,228 12.  Stavanger 185,900 13.  Turku 175,738 14.  Trondheim 156,800 15.  Odense 152,100 16.  Oulu 137,360 17.  Uppsala 128,400 18.  Jyväskylä 128,245 19.  Ålborg 121,500 20. Template:Country data ICELAND Reykjavík 120,165 21.  Västerås 107,000 22.  Fredrikstad1 100,500 23.  Lahti 100,252 24.  Örebro 98,200 25.  Linköping 97,400 26.  Drammen 94,900 27.  Kuopio 92,018 28.  Helsingborg 91,500 29.  Skien 86,300 30.  Jönköping 84,400 31.  Norrköping 83,600 32.  Pori 76,434 32.  Lund 76,200 33.  Umeå 75,600 34.  Joensuu 72,368 35.  Esbjerg 71,900 36.  Lappeenranta 70,354 37.  Gävle 68,700 38.  Kristiansand 66,500 39.  Hämeenlinna 66,210 40.  Borås 63,400 41.  Södertälje 60,300 42.  Eskilstuna 60,200 43.  Rovaniemi 59,351 44.  Vaasa 58,746 45.  Täby 58,600 46.  Karlstad 58,500 47.  Randers 55,900 48.  Halmstad 55,700 49.  Växjö 55,600 50.  Kolding 55,000 1 with Sarpsborg. Data according to Statistics Sweden [2] · Statistics Denmark [3] · Statistics Norway [4]