Linköping (pronounced
"Linshooping") is Sweden's fifth biggest municipality. It is located in the northern part of the Götaland region and is the capital of Östergötland county. It has about 135,000 inhabitants in the municipality, including some countryside, and just under 100,000 in the city proper.
The city has the advantage of being a major city with all that it entails yet retaining the cozy quiet small town feel, largely due to the lack of high buildings (a result of the military airfield just outside the city).
Understand
Linköping is the clerical and administrative centre in a rich farmland district, the province and county Östergötland.
In the "battle of Stångebro" in 1598, the city fought on the Catholic side and lost. A memorial of the following "bloodbath of Linköping" is found outside the city hall.
Get in
By planeSkavsta Airport - Used by Ryanair. Lies 100km north-east of Linköping. A shuttle bus (90 min) overland link between central Linköping and Skavsta airport. Departs from the Resecentrum.Linköping Airport - Flights almost only to Stockholm, Trollhättan, Gothenburg (Göteborg), and Copenhagen.By trainThe Linköping train station (Resecentrum) lies just ten minutes walk from the center of the town.
By car200km south of Stockholm on the E4. Very good road (2h drive).45km south of Norrköping on the E4. Very good road (30 min drive).450km north of Malmö/Copenhagen on the E4. Very good road (5h drive).Get around
BusAll buslines originate at Resecentrum. You'll also find a reception desk there where you can find timetables or get help.
TaxiTaxis are on the expensive side. The meter is used to control the cost but always make sure that this is set when commencing a journey.
See
Linköping Cathedral . The first church was built on this site in the 12th century, and was expanded regularly over the following centuries, culminating on the 19th-century tower. Linköping is said to have had the first Christian bishop in Sweden, in a time when Lund was Danish and Uppsala was pagan.Linköping Castle , from the 13th century, was the bishop's residence until the Lutheran reformation in the 16th century. Now it is the residence of the sheriff (landshövding) for Östergötland county. The castle also houses a small museum. The City Hall (stadshuset) was erected as a secondary school (läroverk) in 1864. Above its entrance is the Latin phrase "Initium sapientie timor Domini" (fear of the Lord is the beginning of all learning). This power triangle is on the crest of a minor hill from which the city's main street (Storgatan) slopes down to the main square (Stortorget) and further down to the bridge (Stångebro) across river Stångån. In its extension, this street was part of the old country road to Norrköping and Stockholm. Public Buildings. Situated around the hill crest are the public library, the administrative buildings for the diocese, the bishop's residence, and a sports house (gymnastikhuset ) built in 1881. The current library was built in 1998, but the collections of the old cathedral library date back to before Gutenberg. Further north are the concert...
