Stockholm

capital and largest city of Sweden

Stockholm is the capital city of Sweden. It is 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
Flag of Stockholm
Official logo of Stockholm
Stockholm is located in Sweden
Stockholm
Stockholm
Coordinates: 59°19′46″N 18°4′7″E / 59.32944°N 18.06861°E / 59.32944; 18.06861
CountrySweden
ProvinceSödermanland and Uppland
CountyStockholm County
Municipalities
First mention1252
Charter13th century
Area
 • City188 km2 (73 sq mi)
 • Urban
381.63 km2 (147.35 sq mi)
 • Metro
6,519 km2 (2,517 sq mi)
Population
 (31 December 2011)[1][2]
 • City864,324
 • Density4,600/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
 • Urban
1,372,565
 • Urban density3,597/km2 (9,320/sq mi)
 • Metro
2,091,473
 • Metro density320/km2 (830/sq mi)
DemonymStockholmare
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code+46-8
Websitewww.stockholm.se

Tyresta National Park is near Stockholm.

Geography

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Central Stockholm has four different parts - Kungsholmen, Södermalm, Norrmalm and Östermalm. Kungsholmen and Södermalm are islands, while Norrmalm and Östermalm are parts of the mainland. Also, there are several smaller islands in the inner city - Gamla Stan, Riddarholmen, Djurgården and Skeppsholmen. Since Stockholm has so many islands, it is sometimes referred to as the "Venice of the North".

Gamla Stan is the oldest part of the city - the name means "Old Town", and is usually called that in English. Djurgården is mostly a large park, but there are buildings on the island. Most of these are museums that commemorate Sweden's and Stockholm's past - like Skansen, a zoo with a Swedish theme. Skeppsholmen is an island that used to be a training ground and military school, but most of the buildings are now used for museums and art galleries, such as the Modern Museum, or the East Asian museum. Riddarholmen is a part of Gamla Stan, but actually a different island.

All of the islands in Stockholm are connected by several bridges. The biggest one is Västerbron, going from Kungsholmen to Södermalm.

History

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Birger Jarl is considered the founder of Stockholm. It is believed that he rebuilt a defense building in the 13th century on what is today the island of the Old town. Around the fortification, a town grew. The town grew mainly because of its sea and land trading.

Wikimania

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The last Wikimania conference is hosted in this city in 2019.

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 "Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km2 2005 och 2010" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  2. "Folkmängd i riket, län och kommuner 31 december 2011 och befolkningsförändringar 2011". Statistics Sweden.