Province: Ostergotland Ian.
Region: Ostergotland.
Altitude: 40 m (130 ft). Population: 110,000.
Postal code: S-58 Telephone code: 013.
T Linkopings Turistbyra,
Stora Torget,
S-58223 Linkoping; tel. 12 02 79 (June-August only).
HOTELS. Stora Hotellet, Stora Torget 9, 104 Diplomat Roxen, Skagetorp Centrum, 180 bž SP: Frimurarehotelet, St Larsgatan 14,200 Esso Motor Hotel, Rydsvagen, 1 58 bž SP: Park, Jarnvagsgatan 6, 75 Hotel du Nord, Repslagaregatan 5, 26 Ostergyllen, Hamngatan 2B, 65 b.
Linkoping, capital of the province of Ostergotland, the see of a bishop and a university town, lies on the W bank ofthe St&ng , which flows into Lake Roxen a little way N of the town, on the road from Stockholm to Gothenburg. The name of the town first appears in the records in 1120, in connection with the founding of Vreta Abbey. At a church council held in Linkoping in 1152, Sweden was declared a province of the Church of Rome. Here, on the banks ofthe Stdngd, Duke Charles of Sodermanland (Charles IX, the defender of the Reformation) defeated King Sigismund of Poland, John Ill’s Catholic son, in 1598. Sigismund’s supporters were executed in the main square of Linkoping in 1600, in what became known as the Bloodbath of Linkoping.
SIGHTS. The main square of Linkoping is the Stora Torg, with the Folkung Fountain (Folkungabrunn, 1927), one of Carl Milles’s best-known works; it depicts Folke Filbyter, legendary ancestor of the royal family of the Folkungs. To the E stands St Lars’Church which has a 12th c. tower; the church contains pictures by one of the leading Swedish painters of the Romantic school, Pehr Horberg (1 746-1 81 6), noted for his primitive style and fine use of colour. The Cathedral, to the NW of the Stora Torg, was begun about 1150 in Romanesque style (N doorway) and later altered and enlarged in Gothic style; the tower, 1 05 m (345 ft) high, was added in 1 886. The late Gothic choir was the work of Master Gerlach of Cologne. To the right of the altar is the marble sarcophagus of the Lutheran Bishop Terserus (d. 1678); in the S transept is an altarpiece by the Dutch master van Heemskerck (d. 1574), which John III bought in 1 581 for 1200 tons of wheat. To the N of the Cathedral are the Bishop’s Palace (1 733) and the Diocesan Library (old manuscripts, rare books). SW of the Cathedral, in the King’s Garden (KungstradgSrden), stands the Castle (built before 1500, restored 1931-2), now the governor’s residence.
In the VasatorgXoVne N, reached from the Cathedral by way of GrSbrodragatan, are the Municipal Museum and the Ostergdt-land Museum (ethnographical collections; good picture gallery, with works by Cranach). On the banks of the StSngS, to the E, is the Stangebro Monument, commemorating the battle of 1598. The bridge itself, linking the two halves of the town, vvas built in 1 655. The old part of the town, Gamla Linkoping, is noted for its assemblage of old buildings, mostly timber houses, which were transferred here from the middle of the town, beginning in 1950. A number of historic old buildings from the province of Ostergotland were also brought here. Many craft workers have now established themselves in this part of the town.
SURROUN DINGS. One attractive excursion is a trip on the Kinda Canal, which links Lake Roxen with a number of other lakes to the S and through which the Stcinga flows. The canal, 80 km (50 miles) long, has
1 5 locks. The boat passes old manor-houses (among them the handsome Sturefors manor-house (1704) on Lake Erlang), and the trip ends at Horn, at the S end of Lake Asund.
8 km (5 miles) E of Linkoping is the 12th c. round church (restored 1940) of VSrdsberg, with 16th c. paintings in the vaulting. 6 km (4 miles) E is Askeby church (remains of a 12th c. nunnery). 7 km (4 miles) N W stands Karga church, built by King Sverker (d. 1156) on the old pagan cult site of Allguvi (the shrine of all the gods). The church has numerous paintings; those in the nave are by Master Amund, those in the choir by his pupil the Master of Risinge.
11 km (7 miles) N W on the road to Motala we come to Vreta abbey church, a 13th c. building (restored 191 5-22), which belonged to a house of Cistercian nuns. Immediately N of the church, which contains several monuments, are the foundations of the old abbey buildings.
Linkoping Sweden Map Photo Gallery
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