Enköping 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

Enköping Municipality Enköping Municipality (''Enköpings kommun'') is a municipality in Uppsala County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Enköping. The present municipality consists of nearly forty original local government units. They were ...

, Uppsala County,

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 30,000 inhabitants in 2018.

Geography

Enköping is situated near Lake

Mälaren Mälaren ( , , or ), historically referred to as Lake Malar in English, is the third-largest freshwater lake in Sweden (after Vänern and Vättern). Its area is 1,140 km2 and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from e ...

, about 78 km west of

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. A comparably large number of Swedish cities are located in the vicinity of Enköping. The municipal slogan is therefore "Sweden's Closest City". This expression was created in 1965 when it was discovered by a local business that within a

radius In classical geometry, a radius ( : radii) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The name comes from the latin ''radius'', meaning ray but also the ...

of 120 kilometers, one finds 38 Swedish cities and a third of Sweden's population.

History

Near Enköping, there is some of the best preserved

rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...

from the Bronze Age present in central Sweden. The city of Enköping itself dates its history back to the 13th century but the city itself did not emerge until about 1250. Enköping was then as now situated by the rich farmlands close to lake

, leading to a wealthy rural population. The city has also always been a major crossroads for commerce, and excellent communications signify the city even today: The Mälar Railline (''Mälarbanan'') and the E18

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

provide ample means of travelling to the nearby major cities of

and

Västerås Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049. Västerås ...

. The city has several manufacturing industries, a hospital and the Swedish Armed Forces command and control an army electronic warfare centre

Ledningsregementet The Command and Control Regiment ( sv, Ledningsregementet, LedR), is the Swedish Armed Forces command and control and army electronic warfare center that traces its origins back to the 19th century. The regiment is currently garrisoned in Enköpi ...

(''LedR'').

Notable people

Amelia Andersdotter Amelia Anna Matilda Katarina Andersdotter (born 30 August 1987 in Uppsala) is a Swedish politician and former Member of the European Parliament (2011–2014), elected on the Pirate Party list in the 2009 election. Personal life Amelia Ande ...

Snoh Aalegra Snoh Sheri Nowrozi (born Shahrzad Fooladi, 13 September 1987), better known by her stage name, Snoh Aalegra (), is a Swedish singer based in Los Angeles. Her debut album ''Feels'' was released in 2017, followed by ''Ugh, Those Feels Again'' in 2 ...

, singer *

Elin Lanto Elin Lanto (born 22 July 1984) is a Swedish singer who has had several hits in her Sweden, home country, including the number one "I Won't Cry." Lanto came to further prominence after her performance of her song "Money (Elin Lanto song), Money" ...

, singerJeffrey de Hart, 'Crying Fame', in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' dated 20 November 2004, Vol. 116, No. 47, p. 77 *

Lars (archbishop) Lars was the name of the Archbishop of Sweden 1255–1267. Lars is a Swedish form for the Latin name Laurentius, which in English is Lawrence. This was the name Lars used as an archbishop. His birthname is unknown. Lars was recruited from the rec ...

is buried in the monastery there.

Sports

The following sports clubs are located in Enköping: * Enköpings SK *

Enköpings RK Enköpings Rugby Klubb - Also known as ERK - is situated in the town of Enköping, which has a population of approximately 40,000 people. The town is within a 40-minute drive of the major cities of Stockholm, Uppsala and Västerås. History ERK ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Enköping is twinned with: *

Santa Rosa, Laguna Santa Rosa, officially the City of Santa Rosa ( fil, Lungsod ng Santa Rosa), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Laguna (province), Laguna, Philippines. ...

, Philippines

References

External links

Find businesses and places in Enköping
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enkoping Municipal seats of Uppsala County Swedish municipal seats Populated places in Uppsala County Populated places in Enköping Municipality Market towns in Sweden