Märsta () is a suburb of
Metropolitan Stockholm
Sweden has three metropolitan areas consisting of the areas surrounding the three largest cities, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. The statistics have been retrieved from Statistics Sweden and the statistics released on 10 November 2014. The off ...
, a
locality
Locality may refer to:
* Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada
* Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England
* Locality (linguistics)
* Locality (settlement)
* Suburbs and localitie ...
and the seat of
Sigtuna Municipality
Sigtuna Municipality () is a municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Märsta, approximately north of the Swedish capital, Stockholm. The municipality is a part of Metropolitan Stockholm.
The municipality c ...
,
Stockholm County,
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 ...
with 27,034 inhabitants in 2015.
The town is situated close to Stockholm's main international airport,
Arlanda
Stockholm Arlanda Airport is the main international airport serving Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It is located in Sigtuna Municipality, north of Stockholm and nearly southeast of Uppsala. The airport is located within Stockholm County. ...
. Even though its origins go back to around 500 AD, Märsta is a widespread modern residential area. Märsta has a mix of multi-storey dwellings and smaller houses. It is in a phase of expansion and new residential areas are built both in central parts of Märsta and in the surrounding areas like for instance Steningehöjden. Märsta can be reached by
Stockholm commuter rail
Stockholm commuter rail () is the commuter rail system in Stockholm County, Sweden. The system is an important part of the public transport in Stockholm, and is controlled by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik. The tracks are state-owned and administere ...
trains running at quarterly intervals during daytime and by bus from
Stockholm Arlanda Airport. The central parts of Märsta has a shopping area "Märsta Centrum" with various shops, pub and restaurants. Another smaller shopping area is "
Valsta
Valsta is a suburban area in the vicinity of Märsta, north of Stockholm, 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 t ...
Centrum". East of the central parts of Märsta there is an industrial area and a bit further east close to the airport a shopping mall "Eurostop". Most parts of Märsta and the municipality of Sigtuna can be reached with local bus services originating at the
Märsta Railway Station and also connecting with commuter trains.
Name
The origin of the name ''Märsta'' goes back to around 500 AD. At that time most of the valleys in ''Märsta'' were still under water, which explains the name. ''Mär-'' is found in the Swedish word "mjärde" which is a fishing tool, and ''-sta'' means a place (area or somekind of habitat) like the Swedish word "stad" meaning city. Märsta means "place to fish" or "fishing-place".
Geography
Märsta is situated north of ''Steningevik'', which is a bay of the lake
Mälaren
Mälaren ( , , or ), historically referred to as Lake Malar in English, is the third-largest freshwater lake in Sweden (after Vänern and Vättern). Its area is and its greatest depth is 64 m (210 ft). Mälaren spans from east to west. The l ...
. The center of the town is located in a valley called ''Märstadal'' and the area ''Sätuna'', which also holds the
train station
A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...
of the town.
The rest of the town's buildings spread upon and below the hills that form the valleys in Märsta. The stream that flows through the town out to Steningevik is called ''Märstaån''. It is also located along the motorway
E4 about 37 km north of central
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 ...
, 33 km south of
Uppsala
Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019.
Loc ...
and about 4 km from
Arlanda
Stockholm Arlanda Airport is the main international airport serving Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It is located in Sigtuna Municipality, north of Stockholm and nearly southeast of Uppsala. The airport is located within Stockholm County. ...
Airport.
Coat of arms
The
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
of Märsta resulted from merging the seals of the two
hundreds of Ärlinghundra and Seminghundra, which are today located in Märsta. The combined seal, showing a key and axe crossed in gold on a blood-red ground, is known to have been in use from 1568. The key was the symbol of Ärlinghundra and symbolised "the key to heaven's gates". The axe was the symbol of Seminghundra and symbolized the axe which killed
Saint Olaf
Saint Olaf ( – 29 July 1030), also called Olaf the Holy, Olaf II, Olaf Haraldsson, and Olaf the Stout or "Large", was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the ...
; Seminghundra was also known as an execution place for convicts during the Middle Ages.
Märsta existed as a municipality of its own between 1952 and 1970. The coat of arms was created in 1954 and became obsolete as municipal arms when Märsta was merged into
Sigtuna Municipality
Sigtuna Municipality () is a municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Märsta, approximately north of the Swedish capital, Stockholm. The municipality is a part of Metropolitan Stockholm.
The municipality c ...
in 1971.
History
The area has been populated since the
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
and due to the location of traditional Viking-land has rich archaeological remains from the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
,
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
and
Viking Age
The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...
. There are many
runestone
A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic alphabet, runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition of erecting runestones as a memorial to dead men began in the 4th centur ...
s and older ruins of stone castles and walls in the Märsta area.
The area of today's modern Märsta consisted of big farms and small communities, that were (and still are) typical for the landscape of the province
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea.
The name literally ...
.
Märsta was just one of these farms but due to the location and importance of travelling between Stockholm and Uppsala, the farm had to turn into an inn. The important travelling road can be traced back to the Viking Age and even older ages.
During the days of the
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...
many of the old nobles became land owners in the area and built palaces like ''Steninge'', ''Skånelaholm'', ''Rosersberg'' and ''Venngarn''.
Even Sweden's oldest public school is located in ''Husby-Ärlinghundra'', the parish of Märsta. It was built in 1697 and is today a museum.
The first telegraph pole in Sweden was placed in Märsta 1853 and the
train station
A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...
got built in the 1860s. It is currently the northern termini of the commuter railways in Stockholm, and a minor interchange to SJ. The name Märsta got along only because it was common for travellers even though they were placed on neighbouring farms.
The Märsta municipality was formed in 1952 due to a fusion of the parishes of ''Husby-Ärlinghundra'', ''Norrsunda'', ''Odensala'' and ''Skånela''. In 1967 the parishes of ''Vidbo'', ''Lunda'' and ''Skepptuna'' also merged into the municipality. In 1971 the cities of Sigtuna and Märsta were forged together and formed
Sigtuna Municipality
Sigtuna Municipality () is a municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Märsta, approximately north of the Swedish capital, Stockholm. The municipality is a part of Metropolitan Stockholm.
The municipality c ...
with Märsta as the seat of the ruling council.
In 1957 the Swedish government decided to build Stockholm's new international airport,
Stockholm Arlanda, at Halmsjön, east of Märsta. In its decision the government mentioned the building of a town where the employees at the new airport could live. The town was located IN Märsta. A plan for the residential area was made in 1960 and during the 1960s the population of Märsta quadrupled. A large part of the buildings in Märsta was built in the 1960s. Expansion of Märsta to the east is restricted due to the 55 dB(A) noise area restrictions in force. There are not many older houses in the central parts of Märsta but south of Märsta,
Steninge Castle
Steninge Palace (also known as Steninge Manor) is a Baroque palace overlooking Lake Mälaren near Märsta outside of Stockholm, Sweden. Built 1694–1698 to the design of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger ...
is located, with an environment dating back to 1690. Steninge Castle is a popular tourist attraction.
Culture and education
There is a private cinema, "Biokällan i Forum" in Märsta.
There is a public theatre facility, Sigtuna Municipal Theatre, "Kulturum" which is Märstas venue for theater, concerts and conferences. The theater was completed in autumn 1980 and was inaugurated in November of that year. The salon has 454 seats. Local productions, performances and conferences are held at "Kulturum". The theater is used for many different purposes, such as local productions, performances, arts school concerts, conferences and more. Once a month the City Council uses the Sigtuna Municipal Theatre as meeting room. Kulturum is in the same building as Märstas gymnasium, (Arlandagymnasiet).
Like many similar sized Swedish towns and central communities Märsta has pre school and pedagogical care facilities available to its citizens and also high schools and a gymnasium, (Arlandagymnasiet). Märsta also has a school for adult education. There is a public library in the town centre, (Märsta Centrum).
Business and employment
There are some local businesses in Märsta and also two major factories producing paint, Beckers Industrial Coatings AB,
producing industrial paint, and Becker Acroma, now part of
Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams is an American paints and coatings company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is primarily engaged in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coatings, floorcoverings, and related products with operations in over 120 coun ...
. There are also some transport and spedition companies in the area. But most employment opportunities for people living in Märsta are at
Stockholm Arlanda Airport and in Stockholm City.
Gallery
File:Marsta bostadsomrade.jpg, Residential area in Märsta
File:Highrise at Märsta Station Sweden.jpg, Residential high rise in Märsta
File:Märsta från Kanonkullen.jpg, Central parts of Märsta
File:Märsta Railway Station Twilight.jpg, Märsta Railway Station
File:Valsta Centrums nya hoghus.jpg, Valsta Centrum
File:Pendeltag Marsta Station.jpg, Commutertrain at Märsta Railway Station
File:Märsta City from Icehall.jpg, Märsta in the evening
File:Marsta Muren Tingvalla.jpg, Large residential complex in Tingvalla, Märsta
File:Sculpture "Blue Shape" by Larz Eldbåge in Marsta Sweden.jpg, The sculpture "Blue Shape" by Larz Eldbåge in Märsta
File:Märsta Kulturskola och Bibliotek.jpg, Märsta Music and Culture School and Library
File:Downtown_Marsta_Sweden.jpg, High rise in central parts of Märsta
File:Märsta Port in Märsta Sweden Panorama.jpg, Märsta Entrance Residential Area
File:Marsta Tower, Marsta, Sweden in daylight.jpg, New high rise at Märsta station seen from south
File:Märsta Water Tower By Night.JPG, Valsta Watertower in Märsta By Night
File:Marsta railway station north of Stockholm.jpg, Märsta railway station seen from train side.
File:Marsta Railway Station Sweden.jpg, Märsta railway station
File:Maarsta Tower in Sweden.jpg, High rise at Märsta railway station
File:Märsta station fp nr 1 Publish.jpg, Märsta railway station.
File:Märsta från luften nr 2 Publish.jpg, Märsta from east.
File:Marstanewcoloredhousesnr1 Publish.jpg, Residential area in the center of Märsta through a fish eye lens.
Image:HusbyÄrlinghundraKyrka.jpg, The church of Husby-Ärlinghundra. One of many churches in Märsta dating back to the early Medieval age.
File:Ekillagård bron small.jpg, Ekillagård Pedestrian Bridge.
File:Ekillaskolan Marsta Sweden.jpg, Ekillaskolan in Märsta.
File:Sculpture "The moon has landed" by Larz Eldbaage at Steningehojden, Marsta, Sweden.jpg, Sculpture in a roundabout at Steningehöjden.
File:Märstasyriskortodoxakyrkannr1 Publish.jpg, St Johannes Orthodox Church in Valsta
Valsta is a suburban area in the vicinity of Märsta, north of Stockholm, 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 t ...
, Märsta.
File:Färglada hus Märsta ww Publish.jpg, New residential area close to Märsta Centrum.
File:Arlandagymnasiet kunskapens hus Marsta Sweden.jpg, Arlandagymnasiet, a large Upper secondary school in Märsta
File:Forum and Cabinen in Marsta Sweden.jpg, Forum in Märsta, Sweden. This is a local cinema and cultural meeting point run by the municipality
File:Valsta Water Tower, Marsta, Sweden.jpg, Valsta watertower in Märsta is a famous landmark
File:Marsta Tower in daylight.jpg, New high rise building in centre of Märsta
File:Swedish commuter trains.jpg, Commuter trains waiting for next assignment in Märsta
File:Marsta Centrum Sweden.jpg, Entrance to Märsta Centrum shopping area
File:Saetuna school Marsta Stockholm Sweden.jpg, Saetuna Upper Primary school in Märsta
File:Pinbackshallen Marsta.jpg, Pinbackshallen indoor icehockey rink in Märsta
File:Arkaden again cc Publish.jpg, Arkaden close to Märsta Centrum
References
External links
Sigtuna Municipality– Official site
Märsta.nu– Information site
History About Native Home Districts Of Märsta– Official site (archived 3 March 2006)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsta
Populated places in Sigtuna Municipality
Municipal seats of Stockholm County
Swedish municipal seats
Viking Age populated places