Motala Municipality (''Motala kommun'') is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Östergötland County Östergötland County ( sv, Östergötlands län) is a county or ''län'' in southeastern Sweden. It has land borders with the counties of Kalmar to the southeast, Jönköping to the southwest, Örebro to the northwest, and Södermanland to the n ...

in southeast

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 ...

. Its seat is located in the

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 def ...

Motala Motala () is a locality and the seat of Motala Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 29,823 inhabitants (41,956 in the entire municipality) in 2010. It is the third largest city of Östergötland, following Linköping and Norrköping. M ...

. In 1971 Motala Municipality was formed by the amalgamation of the ''City of Motala'' with some of the adjacent rural municipalities. Three years later more entities were added, among them the former ''City of Vadstena''. In 1980 a new

Vadstena Municipality Vadstena Municipality (''Vadstena kommun'') is a municipality in Östergötland County in southeast Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Vadstena. The old ''City of Vadstena'' was during the nationwide local government reform of the 1970s m ...

was split off. Geographically, Motala is situated where

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 ...

drains into the river system of

Motala ström Motala ström is the river system that drains lake Vättern, the second largest lake in Sweden, into the Baltic Sea in Norrköping. It is named from the city Motala Motala () is a locality and the seat of Motala Municipality, Östergötland ...

, which was of central importance to the massive

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

of Sweden in the 19th century.

Sights and museums

* Charlottenborg Castle *

Godegård Godegård is a locality situated in Motala Municipality, Östergötland 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 ...

manorhouse with the Swedish Porcelain Museum *

Göta Canal The Göta Canal ( sv, Göta kanal) is a Swedish canal constructed in the early 19th century. The canal is long, of which were dug or blasted, with a width varying between and a maximum depth of about .Uno Svedin, Britt Hägerhäll Anianss ...

with locks *

Medevi Medevi Brunn is Scandinavia's oldest spa, located in Motala Municipality on the eastern shore of Lake Vättern, in north-west Östergötland, Sweden. History The spa was founded in 1678 by Count Gustaf Soop and the royal doctor Urban Hjärn ...

17th century

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

, the oldest in Sweden *

Motala Church Motala Church is situated in central Motala, in the province of Östergötland, 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 Kingdo ...

Motala Motor Museum Motala Motor Museum is a museum in Motala harbour, Sweden. The museum opened in and could be described as a "nostalgic museum". Over 200 vehicles; cars, mopeds, bicycles and 300 radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating ...

* The Museum of Motala Industrial History * Nubbekullen, birthplace of artist

August Malmström Johan August Malmström (14 October 1829 – 18 October 1901) was a Swedish painter. As an artist, he was known for his country motifs often featuring children. His most widely recognized work is ''Grindslanten'' (1885) featuring a typical s ...

* The Swedish Broadcasting Museum with the twin radio towers *

Ulvåsa Ulvåsa, or Ulfåsa, is a mansion by lake Boren outside Motala in Östergötland, Sweden. The construction of the present mansion began in the 16th century. In the early 19th century a third floor was added and it obtained its present archite ...

, manorhouse and medieval ruins of St Bridget's home * Varamon beach * Västra Stenby Church and rune stone * Övralid, manorhouse and home of author

Verner von Heidenstam Carl Gustaf Verner von Heidenstam (6 July 1859 – 20 May 1940) was a Swedish poet, novelist and laureate of the 1916 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1912. His poems and prose work are filled with a great joy ...

Localities

Figures as of 2000, from

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 ...

. #

30,136 (seat) # Borensberg 2,667 # Tjällmo 562 # Fornåsa 446 # Nykyrka 434 # Fågelsta 334 # Österstad 329 # Klockrike 275 #

200 The population decreased by approximately 2% in most of the localities between the earlier census 1995 and the one in 2000.

Industry

The largest employer is the municipality itself, employing circa 3,400 people. The next is the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

with 1,775. Of the private employers,

Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool. Electrolux products sell under a variety ...

and

Dometic Dometic Group is a Swedish company that manufactures a variety of products, notably for the recreational vehicle, marine, and hospitality industries in the areas of Food & Beverage, Climate, Power & Control, and other applications. It operates in ...

have a total of 1,400; Autoliv 425; Hycop 325;

Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab AB * Saab Automobile, a fo ...

Bofors AB Bofors ( , , ) is a former Swedish arms manufacturer which today is part of the British arms concern BAE Systems. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years. History Located in ...

Dynamics circa 300; And

Motala Verkstad AB Motala Verkstad is one of the oldest engineering companies in Sweden. The company was founded in 1822 during the construction of Göta Canal. Motala Verkstad has also built about 400 ships, 800 bridges (e.g. Västerbron, Skeppsholmsbron, Be ...

some 180. (sourc

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Motala is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with: *

Daugavpils Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the c ...

, Latvia *

Hyvinkää Hyvinkää (; sv, Hyvinge, ) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region, approximately north of the capital Helsinki. The city was chartered in 1960. The population of Hyvinkää is (). Its neighboring municipal ...

, Finland

References

External links

*
Motala Municipality
- Official site

From

Nordisk familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...

, 1913 {{authority control Municipalities of Östergötland County