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Eskilstuna () is a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...
and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County,
Sweden Sweden, ; fi, Ruotsi; fit, Ruotti; se, Ruoŧŧa; smj, Svierik; sje, Sverji; sju, Sverje; sma, Sveerje or ; yi, שוועדן, Shvedn; rmu, Svedikko; rmf, Sveittiko. formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic cou ...
. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna has a large
Sweden Finn Sweden Finns ( fi, ruotsinsuomalaiset; sv, sverigefinnar) are a Finnish-speaking national minority in Sweden. People with Finnish heritage comprise a relatively large share of the population of Sweden. In addition to a smaller part of Sweden F ...
population. The town is located on the River Eskilstunaån, which connects Lake Hjälmaren and Lake Mälaren.


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 Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
of neighbouring town Strängnäs, east of Eskilstuna, trying to convert them to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...
. Saint Eskil was buried in his
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
church in Tuna. Later the pagan city of Strängnäs was Christianised and was given the privilege of becoming
diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...
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 A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...
and
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieg ...
. 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 The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
and became one of the most important industrial cities of Sweden, earning the nickname "Stålstaden" ("The City of
Steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ...
"). 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. Eskilstuna is sometimes called ''The Sheffield of Sweden''. Both cities at their peak were home to numerous steel production companies.


Economy

Eskilstuna remains an important industrial city with internationally known companies such as Volvo Wheel loaders, main site for the heavy construction equipment division of Volvo, Assa (locks, keys), and
Stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
manufacturer Outokumpu, Thin Strip Nyby in Torshälla. Mälardalen University (''Mälardalens högskola''), founded in cooperation with the neighboring city of Västerås, has a campus in the city. The city also has a combined zoo and amusement park - Parken Zoo. The hospital, Mälarsjukhuset is one of the largest in the region, employing around 3000 people. Starting in 2012 the town has been pivoting towards a
green economy A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politi ...
, including
biogas Biogas is a mixture of gases, primarily consisting of methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste and food waste. I ...
-powered public transit and cogeneration plants, seven-colored recycling bins (compared to the standard Swedish five), and a
recycling center A materials recovery facility, materials reclamation facility, materials recycling facility or Multi re-use facility (MRF, pronounced "murf") is a specialized plant that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-u ...
with an attached second-hand mall.


Climate

Eskilstuna has a climate transitioning between continental and maritime with vast seasonal differences for a Southern Swedish climate. Unlike the coastal part of the Sörmlandic region, Eskilstuna has higher diurnal temperature variation and stronger waves of either heat or cold. With regards to daytime maximum and minimum temperatures, the weather station has been operated since 1961 with a total of three breaks of 2-3 years apiece in between 1984 and 2008.


Demography

As of December 31, 2019, Eskilstuna Municipality has a population of 106,859 people, making it the 15th largest municipality in Sweden.


Sport

The handball club Eskilstuna Guif plays in the national top division. They have reached the Swedish Championship final four times (1997, 2001, 2009 and 2011), but lost on each occasion. Eskilstuna is also home to EFK (Eskilstuna Flygklubb), Sweden's largest glider Flying Club which hosted the World Gliding Championships in 2006. Since 2017, Eskilstuna has a football team in the highest tier Allsvenskan, named AFC Eskilstuna, who changed both the team name and location from Solna after qualifying for the top league after the 2016 season, making them the first team in the Swedish top leagues of football changing hometown. The women's football team, Eskilstuna United DFF, has played in the highest tier since 2014, and finished as runner up in the 2015 season, making them qualify for the 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League. The speedway team in Eskilstuna,
Smederna Smederna is a motorcycle speedway club based in Eskilstuna, Sweden. The club competes in the highest speedway league in Sweden called the Elitserien and race its home matches at Smedstadion outside Eskilstuna. Ikaros Smederna was formerly known ...
, competes in the highest speedway league in Sweden,
Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...
and race its home matches at Smedstadion outside Eskilstuna. In
eSports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although or ...
, Eskilstuna is home to CS:GO player Maikelele. The stadium Tunavallen was a venue for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, hosting one match between
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
and
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
. It has also been used for several practice games for the Swedish National Youth Teams. Sports clubs using Tunavallen include AFC Eskilstuna, Eskilstuna United DFF, Eskilstuna City FK and IFK Eskilstuna.
Eskilstuna Södra FF Eskilstuna Södra FF is a Swedish football club located in Eskilstuna in Södermanland. The club is currently playing in Division 2, the fourth tier of Swedish football. Background Since their foundation, Eskilstuna Södra FF has participated ...
are based at Skogsängens IP and BK Sport is based at Ekängen.


Transport

Eskilstuna is served by the Svealandsbanan railway line between
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately 1 m ...
and Hallsberg. European route E20 passes the city. The city has an
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
, east of the centre.


European Cooperation

Eskilstuna is a member city of Eurotowns network.


People


Music

* Hel (band) *
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
(band) * Pain of Salvation (band) * Anni-Frid Lyngstad * Mika "Gas" Ieppä * Towa Carson * Joakim Berg * Daniel Gildenlöw * Kristoffer Gildenlöw


Athletes

* Anna Nordqvist *
Kent Carlsson Kent Carlsson (born 3 January 1968) is a former tennis player from Sweden. A seasoned claycourter, he won all nine of his ATP tour singles titles on the surface, including the 1988 Hamburg Masters. Carlsson achieved a career-high singles rank ...
* Kjell Johansson *Robert Andersson * Tomas Gustafson *
Tommy Jansson Per Tommy Jansson (2 October 1952 – 20 May 1976) was a motorcycle speedway rider. He was one of Sweden's most exciting speedway prospects in the 1970s but was killed in the Swedish Final a World Championship Qualifying Round meeting. He was th ...
*
Linnea Torstenson Linnea Marie Torstensson (born 30 March 1983) is a Swedish handballer who played for the Sweden national team. She competed in three Olympic Games (2008, 2012 & 2016). She was given the award of ''Cetățean de onoare'' ("Honorary Citizen") of ...
* Kristján Andrésson *
Lars Sandberg Lars Sandberg (born 25 June 1957) is a Swedish former footballer. He made 49 Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's assoc ...
* Joel Granfors


Footballers

*
Mika Väyrynen Mika Väyrynen (born 28 December 1981) is a Swedish-born Finnish former footballer. Club career Early career Väyrynen started his career with FC Lahti and joined FC Jokerit for the 2001 season. Heerenveen Midway through that year SC Heerenv ...
*
Kennet Andersson Bernt Kennet Andersson (born 6 October 1967) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Starting off his career with IFK Eskilstuna in the mid-1980s, he went on to play professionally in Sweden, Belgium, France, Italy, ...
*
Sebastian Larsson Bengt Ulf Sebastian Larsson (; born 6 June 1985) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Beginning his career at hometown club IFK Eskilstuna, Larsson was signed by Arsenal. He made three Premier League appear ...
* Marcus Danielson


Other

* Anna Nordqvist,
professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...
*
Anna of Finland Anna Vasa of Sweden (also Anne, pl, Anna Wazówna; 17 May 1568 – 26 February 1625) was a Polish and Swedish princess, starosta of Brodnica and Golub. She was the youngest child of King John III of Sweden and Catherine Jagiellon. She was cl ...
* Carl Victor Heljestrand * Fredrik Lindström * Yvonne Ryding, Miss Sweden 1984 and Miss Universe 1984 * Bolinder-Munktell, a tractor manufacturer that merged with Volvo * Susanne Aalto, radio astronomer


See also

* Eskilstunaån


References


External links


Official website
(in Swedish, French, German, English and Finnish)
Tågtider för Eskilstuna C
{{Attached KML Finnish diaspora Populated places in Södermanland County Populated places in Eskilstuna Municipality Municipal seats of Södermanland County Swedish municipal seats Cities in Södermanland County