Askersund is a locality and the seat of

Askersund Municipality Askersund Municipality (''Askersunds kommun'') 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 ...

Örebro County Örebro County ( sv, Örebro län) 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 no ...

, Sweden with a population census 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 means "wisdom" in Greek language, Greek. It may refer to: *Sophia (wisdom) *Sophia (Gnosticism) *Sophia (given name) Places *Niulakita or Sophia, an island of Tuvalu *Sophia, Georgetown, a ward of Georgetown, Guyana *Sophia, North Carolin ...

was designed by

Olof tempelman Olov (or Olof) is a Swedish form of Olav/ Olaf, meaning "ancestor's descendant". A common short form of the name is ''Olle''. The name may refer to: *Per-Olov Ahrén (1926–2004), Swedish clergyman, bishop of Lund from 1980 to 1992 * Per-Olov B ...

and Askersund country Church by Jean de la Vallée and Erik Dahlberg. The city is located on the edge of the forest of Tiveden at Lake Alsen forming North of Lake

Vättern Vättern ( , ) is the second largest lake by surface area 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 o ...

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

, Stjernsund.

History

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

cities in Sweden ''Stad'' (Swedish: "town; city"; plural ''städer'') is a Swedish term that historically was used for urban centers of various sizes. Since 1971, ''stad'' has no administrative or legal significance in Sweden. History The status of towns in Swe ...

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

Statistics Sweden Statistics Sweden ( sv, Statistiska centralbyrån ; 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 responsibi ...

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 ( sv, Karlsborgs fästning) 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'' ...

, located on an island in Lake Vättern, now belonging to

Karlsborg Municipality Karlsborg Municipality (''Karlsborgs kommun'') 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 ...

. 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 bra ...

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