Vetlanda () 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

Vetlanda Municipality Vetlanda Municipality (''Vetlanda kommun'') is a Municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Jönköping County, southern Sweden. The town of Vetlanda is the municipality's seat. The municipality was created in 1971 when the ''City of Vetlanda'' (i ...

Jönköping County Jönköping County ( sv, Jönköpings län) is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The total county population was 356,291 inhabitants in Sept ...

, Sweden with 13,050 inhabitants in 2010.

History

Vetlanda was still nothing more than a village for several centuries. With the 1840s population boom in Småland, and the industrial revolution winning ground in Sweden, the industry expanded and people settled in the village. With the railways crossing Vetlanda in the late 19th century the population further blossomed, and Vetlanda got the title of 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 def ...

on New Year's Day 1920, at which time its population amounted to 3,015. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was selected as an ear of wheat, a derivation of the arms for the old jurisdiction Östra Härad ( sv), wherein ''Vitala'' was rumoured to have been the centre, that depicted three ears of

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

. The present spelling ''Vetlanda'' did not come into use until the 1920s, before that it was known as ''Hvetlanda'', a form that can be found in several companies and organizations. In the 19th century, wood

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

got a stronghold in Vetlanda, a

position Position often refers to: * Position (geometry), the spatial location (rather than orientation) of an entity * Position, a job or occupation Position may also refer to: Games and recreation * Position (poker), location relative to the dealer * ...

it still has today. Manufacturing is large in Vetlanda: besides wood industries there are also strong metal industries and other factories. In 2021, the city was a scene to a mass stabbing attack.

Sport

The city used to have one of the oldest rowing clubs in the country, ''Vetlanda Roddarsällskap'', which disbanded in 1982. Vetlanda also has two sports teams that compete in the highest league in their sports, Elit Vetlanda

Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

and Vetlanda bandyklubb. VBK has won the Swedish bandy championship three times, 1986, 1991 and 1992 and European Cup once, 1991. Skirö-Nävelsjö Bandy, playing in the second-tier Allsvenskan, is also situated in Vetlanda. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, the B-pool of the

Bandy World Championship The Bandy World Championship is a competition between bandy-playing nations' men's teams. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy. It is distinct from the Bandy World Cup, a club competition, and from the W ...

was played in Vetlanda.

Notable natives

* Elitserien ice hockey player

Alexander Ytterell Alexander Ytterell (born July 1, 1991) is a Swedish professional ice-hockey player currently playing with Djurgårdens IF in the HockeyAllsvenskan (Allsv). He played with Södertälje SK in the Elitserien during the 2010–11 Elitserien season. ...

(born July 1, 1991) * NHL ice hockey player

Johan Franzén Johan Marcus Gunnar Franzén (; born 23 December 1979) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey winger who played 11 seasons for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). His career ended early in the 2015-16 season due to ...

(born December 23, 1979) * NHL ice hockey player

Mattias Tedenby Mattias Tedenby (born February 21, 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Playing career Tedenby started his playing career in the Swedish elite league club HV71's ...

(born February 21, 1990) * NHL ice hockey player

Erik Karlsson Erik Sven Gunnar Karlsson (; born 31 May 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Karlsson was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Otta ...

(born May 31, 1990) * Sculptor Peter David Edstrom (born March 27, 1873) * Singer and media personality

Lena Philipsson Maria Magdalena Philipsson (born 19 January 1966), known by her stage name Lena Philipsson, is a Swedish singer, songwriter and media personality. She represented Sweden in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing fifth. Career Philipsson ...

(born January 19, 1966) * Music producer and songwriter Putte Nelsson (born December 5, 1971) * Thomas H Jonasson Speedway Rider (born November 27, 1988)

References

{{Attached KML Populated places in Jönköping County Populated places in Vetlanda Municipality Municipal seats of Jönköping County Swedish municipal seats