Sweden, Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital city of Sweden, and also the biggest city in Sweden. It is on the east coast of the country. The city is built on islands, with canals and open water in the inner city. Stockholm is found between Sweden's third largest lake, Mälaren, and the Baltic Sea.

Stockholm has been Sweden's political and economic centre since the 13th century.

Today it is the largest municipality of Sweden, with a population of 776,000, while the populations of the Stockholm urban area and Metropolitan Stockholm are roughly 1.2 and 1.9 million, respectively.

With its location on the east coast of Sweden at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, by the Stockholm archipelago, it is widely renowned for its beauty.

History

Birger Jarl is considered the founder of Stockholm, because it is believed that he renovated a defense building in the ninth century on what is today the island of the Old town. Around the fortification, a town grew, much thanks to its sea and land trading.

The location appears in Norse sagas as Agnafit, and especially in connection with the legendary king Agne. The earliest mention of Stockholm in writing dates from 1252, when the mines in Bergslagen made it an important site in the iron trade. The first part of the name (stock) means log, while the second (holm) means islet, and refers to the islet Stadsholmen in central Stockholm which for centuries constituted the main part of Stockholm.
 
The 17th century saw Sweden rise into a major European power, reflected in the development of the city of Stockholm. From 1610 to 1680, the population multiplied sixfold. In 1634, Stockholm became the official capital of the Swedish empire. Trading rules were also created that gave Stockholm an essential monopoly over trade between foreign merchants and other Swedish and Scandinavian territories.

In the late 20th century, Stockholm became a modern, technologically-advanced, and ethnically diverse city. Many historical buildings were torn down, including the entire historical district of Klara , and replaced with modern architecture. Throughout the century, many industries shifted away from work-intensive activities into more high-technology and service-industry areas.

The city continued to expand and new districts were created, such as Rinkeby, and Tensta, some with high proportions of immigrants.

Geography

Location
Stockholm is located on Sweden's east coast, where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea. The central parts of the city consists of fourteen islands, all part of the archipelago. The geographical city centre is virtually situated on the water, in the bay Riddarfjärden. (Coordinates: 59°21′N 18°4′E.)

Stockholm Municipality
Stockholm Municipality is an administrative unit defined by geographical borders. The officially adapted name for the municipality is City of Stockholm (Stockholms stad in Swedish). As a municipality, the City of Stockholm is subdivided into district councils, or boroughs, which carry responsibility for primary school, social, leisure and cultural services within their respective areas. The City of Stockholm is usually described in terms of its three main parts: Stockholm City Centre (Innerstaden), South Stockholm (Söderort) and West Stockholm (Västerort).

Climate

Due to the city's high northern latitude, the climate of Stockholm is extremely varied with distinct seasons. At the winter solstice in late December, the day lasts about six hours, whereas at the summer solstice in late June, Stockholm's daylight period extends beyond eighteen hours. As a result, Stockholm is exposed to cold winters and mild summers. The highest temperature ever recorded in Stockholm was +38°C (100°F); the lowest was −32°C (−26°F). While unevenly distributed during the year, the number of annual sun hours usually amounts to over 1,800.

Typical temperatures for each season:

Winter: from −7°C to +2 (19 to 36°F)
Spring: between +5 and 15°C (41 to 59°F)
Summer: 20–25°C (68 to 77°F) or warmer
Autumn: between +5 and 18°C (41 to 64°F)

Economy

The vast majority of Stockholmians work in the service industry, which accounts for roughly 85% of jobs in Stockholm. The almost total absence of heavy industry makes Stockholm one of the world's cleanest metropols.

The last decade has seen a significant number of jobs created in high technology companies. Large employers include IBM, Ericsson, and Electrolux. Arguably one of the world's leading IT centres is located in Kista, in northern Stockholm.

Stockholm is Sweden's financial center. Major Swedish banks, such as Swedbank, Handelsbanken, and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, are headquartered in Stockholm, as are the major insurance companies Skandia and TryggHansa. Stockholm is also home to Sweden's foremost stock exchange, the Stockholm Stock Exchange (Stockholmsbörsen). Finally, about 45% of Swedish companies with more than 200 employees are headquartered in Stockholm.

In the last years, tourism has played an important part in the city's economy. Between 1991–2004, annual overnight stays increased from 4 to 7.7 million.

Culture

Apart from being a large city with an active cultural life, Stockholm, as Sweden's capital, houses many national cultural institutions. Most notably, there are two UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Stockholm area: the Royal Palace Drottningholm (within Ekerö Municipality) and the Forest Cemetery Skogskyrkogården.

Stockholm Old TownThe oldest part of Stockholm is the Stockholm Old Town, Gamla stan, with its main part on the islet Stadsholmen. It features the medieval street system, where two main streets (Österlånggatan and Västerlånggatan) cross it, and several small alleys diverging towards the water. Some notable buildings of the Gamla Stan are the large German Church (Tyska kyrkan), several mansions and palaces: the Riddarhuset (the House of Nobles), the Bonde Palace, the Tessin Palace and the Oxenstierna Palace.

During 1998 Stockholm was selected as the European City of Culture.

Media

Stockholm is basically the media center of Sweden. It has four nation wide daily newspapers, is also the central location of the publicly-funded radio (SR) and television (SVT); in addition, all other major television channels have their base in Stockholm (TV4 TV3, TV6 and Kanal 5). All major magazines are also located to Stockholm, as are the largest literature publisher, the Bonnier group.

Sports

The most popular spectator sports are football and ice hockey. The three most popular football teams in the Stockholm region are AIK, Hammarby IF and Djurgårdens IF. In ice hockey, Stockholm's highest rated team is Djurgårdens IF.

Historically, the city was the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics. From those days stem the Stockholms Olympiastadion which has since hosted numerous sports events, notably football and athletics, and is the current home arena of Djurgårdens IF. For the ice hockey team, the home arena is Stockholm Globe Arena, one of the largest spherical building in the world, but it is also hosting concerts and other events.