Linköping

Linköping is a city in southern Sweden, home to around 167,000 people as of 2024. It is the main city of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. The city is famous for its beautiful cathedral and celebrated its 700th anniversary in 1987.

Today, Linköping is well known for its university and many high-technology companies. The city is working toward becoming a carbon-neutral community, aiming to achieve this by 2025. Located on the Östergötland Plain, Linköping is near the sea and close to another city, Norrköping, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) to the east.

History

The city of Linköping may have been named after an important meeting place called Lionga ting. This place was part of an old travel route known as the Eriksgata. The word "-köping" tells us there was a market there long ago.

Linköping has a rich history as an important religious center. It became a diocese, an area led by a bishop, around the year 1082, making it one of the oldest in Sweden. The first records of this diocese come from a document called the "List of Florence" in 1104. Near Linköping, a monastery named Vreta Kloster was founded in 1128. The city's beautiful cathedral dates back to the 1100s, though it has been updated over the years.

Important events took place in Linköping throughout history. In 1251, a king was crowned in the cathedral. Later, in 1598, a big disagreement between a king and his uncle was settled here, changing the course of Sweden's history. For many years, Linköping remained a small town until the 1930s when a new aircraft company, Saab, began operations, bringing growth. A university was opened in the 1960s, and today Linköping is known for technology and software work.

In 2022, archaeologists discovered an unusual Viking grave.

Climate

Linköping has a humid continental climate. This means its weather changes a lot between seasons. Summers are usually mild, with temperatures in the low 20s°C. Winters are cold, often just above freezing during the day and below at night.

Demography

In the year 2000, about 10.9% of people in Linköping were from other countries. By 2019, this grew to 23.1%. The top five groups of people born outside of Sweden were from Iraq, Somalia, Eritrea, Iran, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Culture

Linköping has many fun things to do for everyone. You can enjoy art, watch plays, learn about history, listen to music, visit markets, join festivals, and watch sports.

Some special places to see are the locks of Berg on the Göta Canal, the locks of the Kinda Canal, Old Linköping, Valla Wood, the Valla recreational area, the Air Force Museum, Linköping's cathedral, the Castle and Cathedral Museum, and the Östergötland County Museum. There is also an art gallery called Konsthallen Passagen in the main square.

Tornby, north of the city center, is a good place for shopping. The city and nearby areas have beautiful green spaces like Trädgårdsföreningen park and Tinnerö's oak woodland. You can explore lakes such as Roxen, Rängen, and Järnlunden, and the River Stångån/Kinda Canal, including the Göta Canal with the Berg locks, by walking, biking, or boating.

Linköping is home to the Linköping Symphony Orchestra. Every summer, the city hosts Östergötland Music Days, and every other May, it holds the Student Orchestra Festival. The Linköping University Male Voice Choir is one of the city's well-known choirs.

The area around the main square was redesigned in the 1960s. Some old houses were saved and moved to Old Linköping, near the university's main campus, where they form a living museum that many people visit.

NärCon, the largest anime and gaming event in the Nordic countries, takes place in Linköping.

Sport

Linköping has many strong sports teams. The city is known for its great floorball and volleyball teams. One famous team is Linköpings VC. There is also an exciting ice hockey team called Linköpings HC, which some fans call "Cluben." This hockey team joined with the women's football team to create Linköpings FC, which plays in the top league.

The city also has many other sports clubs, such as BK Derby, Derby/Linköping BK, and BK Kenty, among others.

Linköping has been important for orienteering and hosted the 1968 World Orienteering Championships. The city also has a long history with motorcycle speedway. A team called Filbyterna raced there from 1948 to 2010. They started at an old stadium in Ryd and later moved to the Sviestad Motorstadion, which still holds events today.

Politics and government

General elections were held in Sweden on 14 September 2014 to choose members for the Riksdag, county councils, and municipal assemblies.

In Linköping, parties like the Social Democrats, Green Party, and Liberal People's Party joined together to have a majority. The Swedish Air Force Museum is nearby.

Economy

Linköping has many important companies. One of the biggest is Saab. Saab makes the SAAB Gripen fighter jet and used to make the SAAB 340 airplane at the Linköping/Saab Airport. Because of this, the city is sometimes called "The flight city."

The city is also strong in technology. It has offices for big companies like Motorola, Ericsson, and Infor. It is also home to headquarters for IFS AB, Sectra AB, and Cambio Healthcare Systems AB. Toyota Industries Sweden AB has a subsidiary called BT Industries in the nearby town of Mjölby.

Transport

Linköping is a city south of Lake Roxen. It is part of old water paths like the Motala ström and the Göta Canal. Major roads such as the E4, Sweden’s main highway, cross the river Stångån near the city. It lies on a railway line linking Stockholm to Malmö and even the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen. The Linköping/Saab Airport offers daily flights to places like Amsterdam.

In 2019, Linköping started testing two self-driving buses. They travel a short 2 km route around the university campus.

Education

Linköping has Linköping University and a large hospital named Linköping University Hospital. There is also a school called Katedralskolan, or Cathedral School in English. It is the third oldest high school in the country.

Notable residents

Linköping has been home to many interesting people and groups. Some of them include:

• Jessica Adolfsson
• Magnus Andersson
• Jenni Asserholt
• Martin Axenrot
• Charlotta Berger
• Jöns Jacob Berzelius
• Hans Brask
• Elsa Brändström
• Fredrik Bringnäs
• Magnus Bäckstedt
• Oscar Cesare
• Tage Danielsson
• Dead Soul (band)
• Tobias Forge
• Gustav Forsling
• Cecilia Frode
• Thomas Funck
• Ghost (band)
• Glam Sam And His Combo (Mats Samuelsson)
• Ludwig Göransson
• Marie Göranzon
• Rutger Gunnarsson
• Gunnar Hoffsten
• Louise Hoffsten
• Patrik Jensen
• Magnus Johansson
• Sofie Louise Johansson
• Kettil Karlsson (Vasa)
• Jonna Lee (of iamamiwhoami)
• Paul Lindvall
• Anders Ljungstedt
• Martin Lönnebo
• Olaus Magnus
• Mercedes Masöhn
• Bruno K. Öijer
• Erik Sagström
• Henriette Sjöberg
• Margareta Suber
• Pierre Thorsson
• Carl-Johan Vallgren
• André Oscar Wallenberg
• Lars Winnerbäck

City districts

The city of Linköping has many different areas or districts where people live. Some of these districts include Innerstaden, Ramshäll, Vimanshäll, Djurgården, Ekholmen, and many more.

Jägarvallen

Jägarvallen is one of the districts in Linköping. It has homes and almost 400 people living there. The area is on the edge of the city, between Ryd and Malmen airfield. There are apartment buildings near Malmen airfield, and spaces for businesses on the other side.