Askersund is a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

and the seat of

Askersund Municipality Askersund Municipality (''Askersunds kommun'') is a municipality in Örebro County in central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Askersund. The present municipality was created in 1971, when the former ''City of Askersund'' was merged wit ...

Örebro County Örebro County ( sv, Örebro län) is a county or '' län'' in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Västra Götaland, Värmland, Dalarna, Västmanland, Södermanland and Östergötland. It is frequently culturally divided into the hilly n ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

with a

population census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 3,887 inhabitants in 2010.

Geography

Askersund is a popular tourist destination with swimming and nature experiences. The city centre is still marked by its wooden buildings and their two churches. Sophia Magdalena was designed by

Olof tempelman Olov (or Olof) is a Swedish form of Olav/Olaf, meaning "ancestor's descendant". A common short form of the name is ''Olle''. The name may refer to: * Per-Olov Ahrén (1926–2004), Swedish clergyman, bishop of Lund from 1980 to 1992 *Per-Olov Br ...

and Askersund country Church by

Jean de la Vallée Jean de la Vallée (ca 1620 – 12 March 1696) was a Swedish architect. Biography Born in France, he was the son of architect Simon de la Vallée (ca 1595–1642). He made early trips in France and Italy where he studied the new baroque form ...

and

Erik Dahlberg '' Count Erik Jönsson Dahlbergh (10 October 162516 January 1703) was a Swedish military engineer, Governor-general and Field marshal. He rose to the level of nobility through his military competence. As an architect and draftsman, he was reno ...

. The city is located on the edge of the forest of

Tiveden Tiveden is a long and wide densely forested rocky ridge in Sweden, throughout history notorious for its wilderness and dangers; historically a hiding place for outlaws. In historic times it, along with Tylöskog and Kolmården, formed the bord ...

at Lake Alsen forming North of Lake

Vättern Vättern ( , ) is the second largest lake by surface area in Sweden, after Vänern, and the sixth largest lake in Europe. It is a long, finger-shaped body of fresh water in south central Sweden, to the southeast of Vänern, pointing at the tip of ...

and along the lake, just outside the city is Husabergsudde with bathing and camping. From the city, it has views of

Lake Vättern A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

and Tivedsskogen. On the other side of the water is Prince Gustaf's Castle, Stjernsund.

History

The town Askersund traces its origin from the 14th century. In 1643, it was significant enough to receive its

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

as one of the cities in Sweden. Despite its small size, Askersund is for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''city'', although

Statistics Sweden Statistics Sweden ( sv, Statistiska centralbyrån ; SCB) is the Swedish government agency operating under the Ministry of Finance and responsible for producing official statistics for decision-making, debate and research. The agency's responsib ...

nowadays defines a city as a locality with more than 10,000 inhabitants. In the 19th century, Askersund was planned to be the site of one of the two supply fortresses for

Karlsborg Fortress Karlsborg Fortress ( sv, Karlsborgs fästning) is situated on the Vanäs peninsula in Karlsborg by lake Vättern, the province of Västergötland, Sweden. Construction on the fortress began 1819 to realize the so-called ''central defense idea'' ad ...

, located on an island in

, now belonging to

Karlsborg Municipality Karlsborg Municipality (''Karlsborgs kommun'') is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Karlsborg. The present municipality was formed in 1971 when "old" Karlsborg was amalgamated with ...

. In 1813,

Askersunds flickskola Askersunds flickskola (Askersund Girls' School), was a Swedish girls' school in Askersund, active from 1812 until 1906. It was the second school in Sweden to offer secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phas ...

, the second institution to give females higher education in Sweden, was founded in Askersund.

References

Works cited

* Populated lakeshore places in Sweden Populated places in Örebro County Populated places in Askersund Municipality Municipal seats of Örebro County Swedish municipal seats {{Örebro-geo-stub