''Köping'' was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

denomination for a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

since

the Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

, derived from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

word ''

kaupang Kaupang was a Viking Age village that is generally considered to be the first town/marketplace in Norway. It is located near the present-day village of Tjøllingvollen in Larvik Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The village of ''Kaupang'' ...

''. The designation was officially abolished with the municipal reform of 1971, when

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

was subdivided into the

Municipalities of Sweden The municipalities of Sweden () are its generally smaller but co-equal local government Legal entity, entities. There are 290 municipalities which are responsible for a large proportion of local services, including schools, emergency services a ...

(currently amounting to 290). As present-day

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

was once a part of Sweden, the Finnish word ''kauppala'' has the same meaning. In modern Finnish, the word ''kaupunki'', borrowed from the Old Norse word ''kaupang'', is the main word for town and city. Swedish ''köping'' and the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

''chipping'' are also

cognates In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the soun ...

as is the Norwegian word ''

kjøpstad A (historically ''kjøbstad'', ''kjöbstad'', or ''kaupstad'', from ) is an old Scandinavian term for a "market town" in Denmark–Norway for several hundred years. Kjøpstads were places of trade and exporting materials (e.g. timber, flour, iron ...

'' and the Danish toponymical suffix '' -købing''.

Sweden

History

In 1863 the first

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

acts were implemented in Sweden. There were two acts, one for

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and one for rural areas. Of the around 2,500 municipalities, 89 had

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

and thus had the right to call themselves ''stad'' (city). Under the "rural" act there were also eight localities given the status of ''köping'', which positioned them between a rural municipality and a town (see

municipalköping Municipalköping was a type of local government (municipality) in Sweden. Mostly these were minor trade towns with very limited city rights (market rights), which were delegated from larger cities in the same region. In 1863 the first local gover ...

). The number of localities designated as ''köping'' rose dramatically during the 20th century and reached its peak in 1959, when they were 95. Many new settlements during the industrialization of Sweden, as well as some of the suburbs in the metropolitan areas, first received the title of ''köping'' and it was also made part of their name (such as Linköping or Nyköping). They later grew further and received town privileges, but kept the ''köping'' ending of their names. See the list below. It has been found that a vast majority, nearly 70%, of such designated market-towns lie within an area of in south-central Sweden, especially in the highly economically productive region immediately west and south of Stockholm, in

Södermanland Södermanland ( ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latinisation of names, Latinized form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden, historical province (or ) on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Österg� ...

Örebro Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

, and

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...

counties. A large-scale merger of Swedish municipalities in 1971 removed the distinctions between towns, market towns and rural municipalities. Many of the former market towns are now seats of municipalities. In contrast to the term ''stad'', ''köping'' is seldom used in everyday speech today.

Toponyms containing the word ''köping''

Municipal Seats

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

(104,232 inhabitants) *

(89,396) *

Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...

(87,247) *

Nyköping Nyköping () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden, with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the ...

(29,891) *

Lidköping Lidköping () is a locality and the seat of Lidköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about 40,000 inhabitants in 2021. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Vänern and sometimes refers to itself as "Lidkö ...

(25,644) *

Enköping Enköping is a locality and the seat of Enköping Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 30,000 inhabitants in 2018. Geography Enköping is situated near Lake Mälaren, about 78 km west of Stockholm. A comparably large number of S ...

(21,121) *

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 Munic ...

(17,743) *

Falköping Falköping () is a locality and the seat of Falköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 16,350 inhabitants in 2010. History The town of Falköping was first spoken of in the Icelandic ''Rimbegla'' (around 1100 A.D.), ...

(16,350) *

Söderköping Söderköping is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Söderköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,992 inhabitants in 2010. Söderköping is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still refe ...

(6,992)

Minor Localities

Malmköping Malmköping is a locality situated in Flen Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 2 180 inhabitants in 2020. Malmköping is located about 15 kilometers north-east of the municipal seat Flen. It is a tourist attraction due to its many an ...

(1,977) *

Köpingsvik Köpingsvik is a locality situated in Borgholm Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 599 inhabitants in 2010. It is located about east of the city of Borgholm on the island Öland. Köpingsvik is known as a tourist center, offering large and ...

(599) *

Äsköping Äsköping is a locality situated in Katrineholm Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 342 inhabitants in 2010. It is the main settlement of the Julita district of the municipality and also located close to the namesake manor. Riksdag ...

(342)

Localities/Parishes in the Diocese of Lund

* Löddeköpinge (6,290) *

Hököpinge Hököpinge is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality situated in Vellinge Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 1,105 inhabitants in 2010. It lies about 2 km north of Vellinge. The village contains mostly older buildings along small roads. Ho ...

(1,105) *Dalköpinge *Kyrkoköpinge *Sireköpinge *Stora Köpinge :sv:Stora Köpinge socken

Köping titles issued 1863–1959

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koping Koping Former administrative divisions of Sweden