Askersund is a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

and the seat of

Askersund Municipality Askersund Municipality () is a municipality in Örebro County in central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Askersund. The present municipality was created in 1971, when the former ''City of Askersund'' was merged with the rural municipal ...

Örebro County Örebro County () is a county or '' län'' in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Västra Götaland, Värmland, Dalarna, Västmanland, Södermanland and Östergötland. It is frequently culturally divided into the hilly northern region of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

with a

population census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given population, usually displayed in the form of statistics. This term is used ...

of 3,887 inhabitants in 2010.

Geography

Askersund is a popular tourist destination with swimming and nature experiences. The city centre is still marked by its wooden buildings and their two churches.

Sophia Magdalena Sophia Magdalena of Denmark (; ; 3 July 1746 – 21 August 1813) was Queen of Sweden from 1771 to 1792 as the wife of King Gustav III. Born into the House of Oldenburg, the royal family of Denmark-Norway, Sophia Magdalena was the first daughter ...

was designed by

Olof tempelman Olof Samuel Tempelman (February 21, 1745 in Källstad, Östergötland – July 27, 1816 in Stockholm) was a Swedish people, Swedish architect and, from 1779, professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. He was appointed royal architect in 1799 ...

and Askersund country Church by

Jean de la Vallée Jean de la Vallée ( – 12 March 1696) was a Swedish architect. Biography Born in France, he was the son of architect Simon de la Vallée (–1642). He made early trips in France and Italy where he studied the new baroque forms of architect ...

and

Erik Dahlberg Count Erik Jönsson Dahlbergh (10 October 1625 – 16 January 1703) was a Swedish military engineer, Governor-general, Field marshal and Master-general of the Ordinance. He rose to the level of nobility through his military competence. Acc ...

. The city is located on the edge of the forest of

Tiveden Tiveden is a long and wide densely forested rocky ridge in Sweden, throughout history notorious for its wilderness and dangers; historically a hiding place for outlaws. In historic times it, along with Tylöskog and Kolmården, formed the border b ...

at Lake Alsen forming North of Lake

Vättern Vättern ( , ) is the second-largest lake in Sweden, after Vänern, and the sixth-largest lake in Europe. It is a long, finger-shaped body of fresh water in south central Sweden, to the southeast of Vänern, pointing at the tip of Scandinavia. ...

and along the lake, just outside the city is Husabergsudde with bathing and camping. From the city, it has views of

Lake Vättern A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

and Tivedsskogen. On the other side of the water is

Prince Gustaf's Castle A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

, Stjernsund.

History

The town Askersund traces its origin from the 14th century. In 1643, it was significant enough to receive its

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

as one of the

cities in Sweden (Swedish: ; plural ) is a Swedish term that historically was used for urban centers of various sizes. Since 1971, has no administrative or legal significance in Sweden. History The status of towns in Sweden was formerly granted by a royal ch ...

. Despite its small size, Askersund is for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''city'', although

Statistics Sweden Statistics Sweden ( ; SCB, ) is the Swedish government agency operating under the Ministry of Finance and responsible for producing official statistics for decision-making, debate and research. The agency's responsibilities include: * developin ...

nowadays defines a city as a locality with more than 10,000 inhabitants. In the 19th century, Askersund was planned to be the site of one of the two supply fortresses for

Karlsborg Fortress Karlsborg Fortress () is situated on the Vanäs peninsula in Karlsborg by lake Vättern, the province of Västergötland, Sweden. Construction on the fortress began 1819 to realize the so-called ''central defense idea'' adopted by the Swedish mi ...

, located on an island in

, now belonging to

Karlsborg Municipality Karlsborg Municipality () is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Karlsborg. The present municipality was formed in 1971 when "old" Karlsborg was amalgamated with Mölltorp and Unden� ...

. In 1813,

Askersunds flickskola Askersunds flickskola (Askersund Girls' School), was a Swedish girls' school in Askersund, active from 1812 until 1906. It was the second school in Sweden to offer secondary education to female students. Formally, Askersunds flickskola was a branch ...

, the second institution to give females higher education in Sweden, was founded in Askersund.

References

Works cited

* Populated lakeshore places in Sweden Populated places in Askersund Municipality Municipal seats of Örebro County Swedish municipal seats {{Örebro-geo-stub