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Jönköping
Collage of Jönköping
Collage of Jönköping
Coat of arms of Jönköping
Coat of arms
Jönköping is located in Jönköping
Jönköping
Jönköping
Location in Jönköping
Jönköping is located in Sweden
Jönköping
Jönköping
Location in Sweden
Country  Sweden
Province Småland
County Jönköping County
Municipality Jönköping Municipality
City status 1284
Area
 • City 44.82 km2 (17.31 sq mi)
Elevation
104 m (341 ft)
Population
 (31 May 2022)
 • City 112,766
 • Density 2,515.98/km2 (6,516.3/sq mi)
 • Metro
144,699
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
555 xx
Area code(s) (+46) 36
Vehicle registration 1544
Climate Dfb

Jönköping (/ˈjɜːn(t)ʃɜːpɪŋ/, Swedish: [ˈjœ̂nːˌɕøːpɪŋ]) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. In late 2019, Jönköping was seen as the city with best future prospects in Sweden by WSP.

The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipality, which has a population of 144,699 (2022) and is Småland's most populous municipality. Jönköping is also the seat of Jönköping County which has a population of 367,064 (2022). Jönköping is the seat of a district court and a court of appeal as well as the Swedish National Courts Administration. It is also the seat of the Swedish Board of Agriculture.

History

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

Jönköping is an old trading centre (Köping) situated at a natural crossroads for routes following the rivers Nissan and Lagan, and the road connecting the provinces of Östergötland and Västergötland, a result of the town's geographical position at the southern end of lake Vättern, which divides the two provinces.

On 18 May 1284 Jönköping became the first City in Sweden to be granted its rights by king Magnus Ladulås, who ruled mostly from Vättern's largest island Visingsö. The first part of the city's name, "Jön", is derived from a creek, "Junebäcken", in Talavid, in what is now the western part of the city. The second part of the name "köping", is, as mentioned above, an old word for a trading centre or market place.

The geographical position of the city also left it vulnerable to attack via the river routes that led south, mainly from Danes. At that time the provinces of what is today southern Sweden – Scania, Halland and Blekinge – belonged to Denmark. The city was plundered and burned several times until it was fortified during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Jönköping was known for its matchstick industry between 1845 and 1970. The phosphorus match was invented in 1831, and these matches became very popular because one could strike it against any surface to ignite it. However, the problem was that they ignited too easily, caused a lot of accidents and were toxic. In 1844, Swedish professor Gustav Erik Pasch patented a new invention, "Safety matches – Strike against the box only". To prevent the matches from igniting so easily, Gustav Erik Pasch separated the chemicals in the match head and placed the phosphorus on a separate surface on the outside of the box for striking ignition. Johan Edvard and Carl Frans Lundström took Pasch's patent and improved it. Later, they manufactured their new Safety matches in their factory in Jönköping. Today, the Match Museum is located in Jönköping's first match factory.

Present

The urban area of Jönköping today includes the eastern industrial town of Huskvarna, with which it has grown together.

Elmia, a major trade fair and exhibition centre, is situated in Jönköping. Elmia Wood is the world's largest forestry fair, and fairs for subcontractors, trucks, caravans and railways are the biggest of their kind in Europe. 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.

The city is an important Nordic logistical center, with many companies' central warehouses (such as Elkjøp, IKEA, Electrolux and Husqvarna) situated there.

Demography

Population

As of 2018, Jönköping has a total population of 139,222.

Gender 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Female 66,404 66,987 67,823 68,722 69,426 70,265
Male 65,736 66,323 67,474 68,759 69,796 70,816
Total 132,140 133,310 135,297 137,481 139,222 141,081

Population changes

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Population increase 1,342 1,170 1,987 2,184 1,741 1,859
Born 1,677 1,662 1,715 1,615 1,688 1,644
Deceased 1,169 1,217 1,101 1,202 1,253 1,100

Average age 2019

Area Female Male Female and Male
Jönköping 41.3 39.2 40.3

Notable people

Swedish author Viktor rydberg with signature
Viktor Rydberg, 1877
  • Johan Björnsson Printz, (1592–1663) governor of the Swedish colony of New Sweden
  • Carl Peter Thunberg, (1743–1828), botanist
  • Aurore Storckenfeldt, (1816–1900), educator
  • Swante M. Swenson, (1816–1896) founder of the SMS ranches in Texas
  • Viktor Rydberg (1828–1895), author,
  • Carl Lotave, (1872–1924) artist, portrait painter
  • John Bauer, (1882–1918) illustrator, painter
  • Bernhard Karlgren, (1889–1978) sinologist and linguist
  • Dag Hammarskjöld, (1905–1961) former United Nations Secretary-General
  • Martin Allwood, (1916–1999) an educator, writer, sociologist, translator and professor.
  • Per G. Malm, (1948–2016) leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  • Carl Henrik Fredriksson, (born 1965) editor-in-chief and co-founder of Eurozine
  • Vladimir Oravsky (born 1947) author and film director
  • Jacob Karlzon (born 1970)
  • Fredrik Neij, (born 1978) founder of The Pirate Bay BitTorrent-tracker
  • David F. Sandberg, (born 1981) film director
  • Mona Johannesson, (born 1987), model

Music

Agnetha Fältskog 2013-07-22 002 (cropped)
Agnetha Fältskog, 2013
  • Agnetha Fältskog, (born 1950) singer/songwriter and member of ABBA
  • Nina Persson, (born 1974) vocalist with The Cardigans
  • Amy Diamond, (born 1992), singer
  • The Motorhomes, (created in 1997) rock band
  • The Mary Onettes, (formed in 2000) indie rock band
  • I'm from Barcelona, (formed in 2005) 29-piece indie pop band
  • Aril Brikha, (born 1976) techno-musician

Sport

  • Gunhild Larking, (born 1936) high jump
  • Göran Kropp, (1966–2002) mountaineer
  • Anders Gustafsson, (born 1979) kayaker, Olympian
  • Sofia Paldanius, (born 1979) kayaker, Olympian
  • Stefan Liv, (1980–2011) an ice hockey goaltender

Art

  • Jönköpings läns museum

Education

High schools

Tertiary education

  • Jönköping University Foundation
  • Södra Vätterbygdens Folkhögskola
  • The Institute for Postgraduate Dental Education

Climate

Jönköping's climate was humid continental (Köppen Dfb) with long, cold winters and short, warm summers during the 1961–1990 period. However, the window between subarctic and oceanic is very small in this marine-influenced climate type, and in recent years the climate has more resembled very cold oceanic. However, figures are slightly skewed due to the weather station being located at the airport which is at an elevation of 228 metres (748 ft), whereas the city centre is at 100 metres (330 ft). This likely renders up to between half a degree to a full degree milder temperatures in the urban centre.

Climate data for Jönköping Airport 2002–2018; extremes since 1901
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 11.5
(52.7)
15.8
(60.4)
21.1
(70.0)
26.3
(79.3)
30.9
(87.6)
34.5
(94.1)
36.7
(98.1)
34.2
(93.6)
29.5
(85.1)
22.4
(72.3)
17.0
(62.6)
12.7
(54.9)
36.7
(98.1)
Mean maximum °C (°F) 8.7
(47.7)
11.1
(52.0)
16.3
(61.3)
21.3
(70.3)
26.8
(80.2)
30.3
(86.5)
31.5
(88.7)
29.6
(85.3)
24.2
(75.6)
18.3
(64.9)
14.0
(57.2)
10.4
(50.7)
32.5
(90.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 1.2
(34.2)
1.7
(35.1)
5.6
(42.1)
12.0
(53.6)
17.3
(63.1)
20.5
(68.9)
22.9
(73.2)
22.3
(72.1)
17.3
(63.1)
10.9
(51.6)
6.0
(42.8)
3.0
(37.4)
11.7
(53.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) −1.5
(29.3)
−1.3
(29.7)
2.2
(36.0)
6.7
(44.1)
12.0
(53.6)
15.4
(59.7)
18.1
(64.6)
17.6
(63.7)
12.9
(55.2)
8.1
(46.6)
3.7
(38.7)
1.0
(33.8)
7.9
(46.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −4.2
(24.4)
−4.2
(24.4)
−1.9
(28.6)
2.4
(36.3)
6.5
(43.7)
11.1
(52.0)
13.2
(55.8)
12.7
(54.9)
8.6
(47.5)
5.2
(41.4)
1.9
(35.4)
−1.2
(29.8)
4.2
(39.5)
Mean minimum °C (°F) −14.8
(5.4)
−14.2
(6.4)
−9.9
(14.2)
−6.1
(21.0)
−2.3
(27.9)
3.8
(38.8)
7.7
(45.9)
5.2
(41.4)
−0.2
(31.6)
−4.7
(23.5)
−8.4
(16.9)
−11.6
(11.1)
−15.6
(3.9)
Record low °C (°F) −31.8
(−25.2)
−34.2
(−29.6)
−29.1
(−20.4)
−16.9
(1.6)
−5.8
(21.6)
−0.2
(31.6)
1.7
(35.1)
0.6
(33.1)
−5.3
(22.5)
−11.6
(11.1)
−19.5
(−3.1)
−25.8
(−14.4)
−34.2
(−29.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 36.2
(1.43)
29.5
(1.16)
20.4
(0.80)
27.7
(1.09)
38.4
(1.51)
56.9
(2.24)
80.4
(3.17)
85.6
(3.37)
60.1
(2.37)
58.0
(2.28)
52.1
(2.05)
49.5
(1.95)
594.8
(23.42)
Source 1: SMHI Average Data 2002–2018
Source 2: SMHI Open Data
Panorama of central Jönköping

Sport

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Jönköping para niños

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