Norrköping, an old city in Sweden

This is a lens about my city. I was born here and now I live here. Norrköping is located in the county Östergötland to the east in Sweden by the Baltic Sea. Read more about Sweden here: irenemariassweden
1384 King Albrekt af Mecklenburg Announced Norrköping to be called a city. But because of fires in the city Hall, we cannot say for sure how much earlier the city was there....but it was!

Since then, Norrköping has been destroyed several times by enemies. First by the Danes 1657 and later by the Russians 1719. Norrköping has also been destroyed by big fires. One was 1655 and devestating. After 1719 the city was rebuilt, founded the oldest existing newspaper NT and regained the place of being the second city in Sweden until the end of 1800, when Gothenburg had expanded. Today many cities are larger.

Today you can see how the old buildings are together with more modern ones. The street "Drottninggatan" runs through the city from the beautiful Central station where you find accommodation in a Sweden hostel, to the Museum of Art. You can easily go thorough Norrköping on trams.

The photo here is of number 2, passing close to where I live! Welcome!The harbour in Norrköping can recieve deep going ships. It is very well located with railways and logistics to the rest of Sweden. 120 vessels came into the harbour 2005.

Norrköping is this year in the highest league of football (socker) in Sweden. Every time they have a match the trams have little flags with the teams symbol! So finally now - Norrköping won the match!!

Just outside Norrköping is a really nice Zoo. they have so much going on. You can drive by car and watch wild animals, see the Dophins jumping and watch the tigers being fed!! Norrköping also have an airport! Just get here!

Presentation in English

Norrkoping City Library - the most visited library in the whole of Sweden!

here is the link in English:

Norrkoping Library

Many students are here each day. And the citizens of Norrkoping are not the only ones to come here

The Viking era and earlier

Rock carvings from the stone age. If you look carefully you can see how they picture a ship or vessel pulled by horses on the sides. This is the way the vikings moved their ships into the country and through passages when they moved ahead.

There are also carvings of bear paws and of wild boar. Here are also full scale knives and spears to be seen. Many of these rock carvings are available for visitors in Himmelstalund and Fiskeby!

The rock carving sites of Norrköping are concentrated to the area around the river Motala ström (2 x 5 km), which was suitable for settlement during the Bronze Age (c 1800-500 BC), The pictures (more than 7300) are dominated by cup marks (c 4000) and ships, but the visitor also will discover humans, animals, weapons and sun symbols.

More pictures of Rock carvings

The safari park that originally opened in 1972 was closed to drive-through visitors in 2010, but was replaced by a low-going cableway in 2011. Inside the Zoo are accommodation in Sweden hotels!

Bracelet and coins

An old Silver Treasure is found south of Valdermarsvik. The coins and the bracelet is dated to be from year 1030-1050 CE.

Why the treasure was burried in the ground is often because people wanted to hide it from intruders. Now the coins and lovely bracelet is up in the open again. Mostly because of a fire in a house year 2002. The ground was dug and now the silver is found.

The Swedish coin is one of the first made.

Photos of the city

Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra, or SON was founded 1912. Today the Orchestra are world famous and have a new beautiful Concert hall - De Geer hall. See the house with pillars.

Still in use and loved

The so called "Industrial landscape" was mostly built 1850 - 1917.

But for 400 years, since 1600 the industries was built around the River Motala Ström passing through the city. Here were manufactured Clothes, Weapons, Paper and Ship building. Norrköping was manufacturing 70% of all the clothes in Sweden. 1975 though the last mashine stopped and a silence covered the Industrial area.

Today there are many departements of the state in these buildings. The quite famous Norrköping Symphoni Orchestra has a beautiful Concert hall here- De Geerhallen. Also offices and museums are here in these old buildings.

I work in one of these offices and one evening when I walked home I took that blurry photo with the chandelers. It was so beautiful with these old brick walls and three big lamps between them. Unfortunately I just had my mobile phone for the photo.

The yellow brick building is called "The Iron". From the beginning 1917 it was Textil Industri here and today a museum of Work.

Every spring and summer

In the Carl Johans Park in Norrköping the Cacti will be the City hall building in Norrkoping. The Cacti group has been planted since the beginning of last century and contains over 25 000 plants in different forms and colours. Since the weather CAN be cold even beginning June, the plants are there when the summer is here for sure.

The total cost for flowers in Norrköping per year is 2,9 million crowns - kronor.

Let me know when you are coming so I can put on the coffee.