Vaxholm 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

Vaxholm Municipality Vaxholm Municipality (''Vaxholms kommun'' or ''Vaxholms stad'') is a municipality within Stockholm archipelago in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. The municipal slogan is "Vaxholm – the capital of the archipelago", due to its centra ...

Stockholm County Stockholm County ( sv, Stockholms län, link=no ) is a county or ''län'' (in Swedish) on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockho ...

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 countries, Nordic c ...

. It is located on the island of in the Stockholm archipelago. The name Vaxholm comes from

Vaxholm Castle Vaxholm Fortress ( sv, Vaxholms fästning) is a historic fortification on the island of Vaxholmen in the Stockholm archipelago just east of the Swedish town of Vaxholm. The fortress is accessed by the Kastellet ferry, an electrically powered c ...

, which was constructed in 1549 on an islet with this name on the inlet to Stockholm, for defence purposes, by King

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...

. For historical reasons it has always been referred to as a ''city'', despite the small number of inhabitants, which as of 2010 total was 4,857. Vaxholm Municipality prefers to use the designation ''Vaxholms stad'' (City of Vaxholm) for its whole territory, including 64 islets in the Stockholm archipelago, a usage which is somewhat confusing.

History

The town of Vaxholm was established in 1558, when King

bought some farms from Count

Per Brahe the Elder Per Brahe the Elder (1520–1590) was a Swedish statesman. Brahe was the son of Joakim Brahe (died 1520 in the Stockholm Bloodbath) and Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa, the sister of Gustav Eriksson Vasa, who became King of Sweden in 1523. Brahe wa ...

. It later received rights as a merchant town (''

köping ''Köping'' was a Swedish denomination for a market town since the Middle Ages, derived from the Old Norse word ''kaupang''. The designation was officially abolished with the municipal reform of 1971, when Sweden was subdivided into the Municip ...

'') and in 1652 was granted the

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

. The designated coat of arms reminds of the fortifications as well as shipping industry. During the 19th century, it hardly expanded. In the 1880s, it became a popular spa town, and many wooden summer houses were built by people from

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

. It was not until 1912 that it allowed houses to be built from materials other than wood, giving the town a distinctive appearance.

Transportation

Vaxholm is situated on an island, but is linked to the Swedish mainland by a series of road bridges, and a bus service connects the town to

city. The Waxholmsbolaget and other ferry lines also provide boat services to central Stockholm and many of the other islands of the Stockholm archipelago. The car ferry connects Vaxholm to the island of across the strait. The

Kastellet ferry Kastellet may refer to: Denmark * Kastellet (Roskilde), a historic house * Kastellet, Copenhagen, a citadel Norway * Kastellet tram stop, an Oslo Tramway station Sweden * Kastellet, Stockholm, a citadel * Kastellet ferry, a passenger ferry in ...

, an electrically powered

cable ferry A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

provides passenger access to Vaxholm Castle on its islet in the middle of the Kodjupet.

Sports

The following sports clubs are located in Vaxholm : * IFK Vaxholm * Vaxholms IBF * Vaxholms TK * IK Waxholm * Waxholms KK

Gallery

References

External links

Locality of Vaxholm
- Official site
A Day out to Vaxholm from Stockholm
- Travel Magazine, 2013 {{Authority control Stockholm archipelago Metropolitan Stockholm Municipal seats of Stockholm County Swedish municipal seats Populated places in Vaxholm Municipality Coastal cities and towns in Sweden Populated places established in 1558 fi:Vaxholmin kunta