Eskilstuna () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna has a large Sweden Finn population. The town is located on the River Eskilstunaån, which connects

Lake Hjälmaren A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

and

Lake Mälaren A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

History

Eskilstuna's history dates back to medieval times when English

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

Saint Eskil made "Tuna" his base and diocese of the South coast of

. Saint Eskil was stoned to death by the pagan

vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

of neighbouring town Strängnäs, east of Eskilstuna, trying to convert them to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Saint Eskil was buried in his

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

church in Tuna. Later the pagan city of Strängnäs was Christianised and was given the privilege of becoming

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of South Lake Mälaren. Later "Eskil" was added in to the word "Tuna". However, the town of Eskilstuna did not receive municipal privileges due to its proximity to the medieval city of Torshälla. The monastery of Saint Eskil was completely destroyed by Swedish king Gustav Vasa during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

and was replaced with the royal castle of Eskilstuna House. The city's first city privileges were granted in 1659, and its boundaries included Tunafors and the newly founded town of ''Karl Gustavs Stad'' ("City of Karl Gustav"), located on the west side of the river. Karl Gustavs Stad was built around the iron forges of master smith Reinhold Rademacher, encouraged by King Karl X Gustav. The first products of the forges were

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

Karl Gustavs Stad was a free town from 1771, where manufacturers and craftsmen were allowed to establish tax-free workshops and factories. The town was merged with the rest of Eskilstuna in 1879. Eskilstuna river

The city grew enormously during the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

and became one of the most important industrial cities of Sweden, earning the nickname "Stålstaden" ("The City of

Steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

"). Aside from firearms, the city also produced

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...

scissor Scissors are hand-operated shearing tools. A pair of scissors consists of a pair of metal blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles (bows) opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutti ...

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, boring, grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. All m ...

s and precision instruments. As a tribute to the steel industry, the figure of a steel worker is included in the city's coat of arms. Eskilstuna is sometimes called ''The

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

of Sweden''. Both cities at their peak were home to numerous steel production companies.

Economy

Eskilstuna remains an important industrial city with internationally known companies such as

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

Wheel loaders, main site for the heavy construction equipment division of Volvo,

Assa Assa may refer to: Places * Assa (Chalcidice), a town of Chalcidice in ancient Macedonia, Greece * Assa, Morocco, a town in Southern Morocco in the Jbel Ouarkziz * Asa River (Kazakhstan), river in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan * Assa (river), river ...

(locks, keys), and

Stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

manufacturer

Outokumpu Outokumpu Oyj is a group of international companies headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, employing 10,600 employees in more than 30 countries. Outokumpu is the largest producer of stainless steel in Europe and the second largest producer in the A ...

, Thin Strip Nyby in Torshälla. Mälardalen University (''Mälardalens högskola''), founded in cooperation with the neighboring city of

Västerås Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049. Västerås ...

, has a campus in the city. The city also has a combined

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

and

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

- Parken Zoo. The hospital, Mälarsjukhuset is one of the largest in the region, employing around 3000 people. Starting in 2012 the town has been pivoting towards a

green economy A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politi ...

, including biogas-powered

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

and

cogeneration Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...

plants, seven-colored

recycling bin A recycling bin (or recycle bin) is a container used to hold recyclables before they are taken to recycling centers. Recycling bins exist in various sizes for use inside and outside homes, offices, and large public facilities. Separate cont ...

s (compared to the standard Swedish five), and a

recycling center A materials recovery facility, materials reclamation facility, materials recycling facility or Multi re-use facility (MRF, pronounced "murf") is a specialized plant that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-u ...

with an attached second-hand mall.

Climate

Eskilstuna has a climate transitioning between continental and

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...

with vast seasonal differences for a Southern Swedish climate. Unlike the coastal part of the Sörmlandic region, Eskilstuna has higher diurnal temperature variation and stronger waves of either heat or cold. With regards to daytime maximum and minimum temperatures, the weather station has been operated since 1961 with a total of three breaks of 2-3 years apiece in between 1984 and 2008.

Demography

As of December 31, 2019, Eskilstuna Municipality has a population of 106,859 people, making it the 15th largest municipality in Sweden.

Sport

The handball club

Eskilstuna Guif Eskilstuna Guif is a handball club based in Eskilstuna, Sweden, which currently competes in Handbollsligan, the top domestic handball league. The club was founded in 1896 as Godtemplarnas Ungdoms- och Idrottsförening (The Good Templars' Youth and ...

plays in the national top division. They have reached the Swedish Championship final four times (1997, 2001, 2009 and 2011), but lost on each occasion. Eskilstuna is also home to EFK (Eskilstuna Flygklubb), Sweden's largest glider Flying Club which hosted the World Gliding Championships in 2006. Since 2017, Eskilstuna has a football team in the highest tier

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

, named AFC Eskilstuna, who changed both the team name and location from Solna after qualifying for the top league after the 2016 season, making them the first team in the Swedish top leagues of football changing hometown. The women's football team, Eskilstuna United DFF, has played in the highest tier since 2014, and finished as runner up in the 2015 season, making them qualify for the

2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League The 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League was the 16th edition of the European women's club football championship organised by UEFA, and the 8th edition since being rebranded as the UEFA Women's Champions League. The final was held at the Cardi ...

. The speedway team in Eskilstuna,

Smederna Smederna is a motorcycle speedway club based in Eskilstuna, Sweden. The club competes in the highest speedway league in Sweden called the Elitserien and race its home matches at Smedstadion outside Eskilstuna. Ikaros Smederna was formerly kno ...

, competes in the highest speedway league in Sweden,

Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...

and race its home matches at Smedstadion outside Eskilstuna. In

eSports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

, Eskilstuna is home to CS:GO player

Maikelele Mikail Bill (born 3 May 1991), better known as Maikelele, is a retired Swedish professional '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' player . He has played in teams like qwerty, G2 Esports, Team Kinguin, LGB eSports, Ninjas in Pyjamas, mousesports, ...

. The stadium

Tunavallen Tunavallen is a multi-use stadium in Eskilstuna, Sweden. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 7,800 seated spectators. The original stadium was one of the venues for the 1958 FIFA World Cup. It was also the venue f ...

was a venue for the

1958 FIFA World Cup The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the sixth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country. Brazil be ...

, hosting one match between

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. It has also been used for several practice games for the Swedish National Youth Teams. Sports clubs using Tunavallen include AFC Eskilstuna, Eskilstuna United DFF,

Eskilstuna City FK Eskilstuna City FK is a Swedish football club located in Eskilstuna. The club is playing in Division 2. IK City from Eskilstuna, who got promoted to the top league in 1925 in Sweden, in the original match kit: light and dark blue striped shi ...

and

IFK Eskilstuna IFK Eskilstuna is a Swedish football club located in Eskilstuna in Södermanland County. In their early seasons IFK had a proud record as an Allsvenskan club but they now play in Division 2 Västra Svealand, which is the fourth tier of Swedish f ...

. Eskilstuna Södra FF are based at Skogsängens IP and BK Sport is based at Ekängen.

Transport

Eskilstuna is served by the

Svealandsbanan Svealandsbanan is the Swedish name of the ''Svealand Railway'', which runs between Södertälje and Valskog (near Arboga) via Mariefred Läggesta, Strängnäs and Eskilstuna. The length is . The railway was opened between Södertälje and Eskils ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line between

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and Hallsberg. European route E20 passes the city. The city has an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

, east of the centre.

European Cooperation

Eskilstuna is a member city of

Eurotowns network Eurotowns is a network of medium-sized European cities with a population between 50,000 and 250,000 inhabitants. The organisation was founded in 1991. Its members include Avilés, Böblingen, Chelm, Detmold, Eskilstuna, Gävle, Girona, Haarl ...

People

Music

* Hel (band) *

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

(band) * Pain of Salvation (band) *

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of Plauen (born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad on 15 November 1945), also known by her nickname "Frida", is a Norwegian-born Swedish singer, songwriter and environmentalist, who is best known as one of the foun ...

* Mika "Gas" Ieppä *

Towa Carson Birgit Rose-Marie Anlert (née Carlsson, born 31 March 1936), known professionally as Towa Carson, is a Swedish schlager singer. She debuted in 1954 and had the most success in the 1950s and 1960s, with hits such as ''"De tre klockorna"'' (S ...

* Joakim Berg * Daniel Gildenlöw * Kristoffer Gildenlöw

Athletes

* Anna Nordqvist *

Kent Carlsson Kent Carlsson (born 3 January 1968) is a former tennis player from Sweden. A seasoned claycourter, he won all nine of his ATP tour singles titles on the surface, including the 1988 Hamburg Masters. Carlsson achieved a career-high singles ranki ...

* Kjell Johansson *Robert Andersson * Tomas Gustafson *

Tommy Jansson Per Tommy Jansson (2 October 1952 – 20 May 1976) was a motorcycle speedway rider. He was one of Sweden's most exciting speedway prospects in the 1970s but was killed in the Swedish Final a World Championship Qualifying Round meeting. He was t ...

Linnea Torstenson Linnea Marie Torstensson (born 30 March 1983) is a Swedish handballer who played for the Sweden national team. She competed in three Olympic Games (2008, 2012 & 2016). She was given the award of ''Cetățean de onoare'' ("Honorary Citizen") of ...

* Kristján Andrésson * Lars Sandberg * Joel Granfors

Footballers A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Mika Väyrynen Mika Väyrynen (born 28 December 1981) is a Swedish-born Finnish former footballer. Club career Early career Väyrynen started his career with FC Lahti and joined FC Jokerit for the 2001 season. Heerenveen Midway through that year SC Heerenv ...

Kennet Andersson Bernt Kennet Andersson (born 6 October 1967) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Starting off his career with IFK Eskilstuna in the mid-1980s, he went on to play professionally in Sweden, Belgium, France, Italy, ...

Sebastian Larsson Bengt Ulf Sebastian Larsson (; born 6 June 1985) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Beginning his career at hometown club IFK Eskilstuna, Larsson was signed by Arsenal. He made three Premier League appearanc ...

* Marcus Danielson

Other

* Anna Nordqvist,

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

Anna of Finland Anna Vasa of Sweden (also Anne, pl, Anna Wazówna; 17 May 1568 – 26 February 1625) was a Polish and Swedish princess, starosta of Brodnica and Golub. She was the youngest child of King John III of Sweden and Catherine Jagiellon. She was cl ...

Carl Victor Heljestrand Carl Victor Heljestrand was a Swedish industrialist who lived and worked in Eskilstuna, Sweden for most of his life. He was born in Eskilstuna on 30 January 1816 and died on 29 July 1861. He is noted for his work in the company started by his fa ...

* Fredrik Lindström * Yvonne Ryding, Miss Sweden 1984 and

Miss Universe 1984 Miss Universe 1984, the 33rd Miss Universe pageant, was held on 9 July 1984 at the James L. Knight Convention Center in Miami, Florida, United States. Yvonne Ryding of Sweden was crowned by Lorraine Downes of New Zealand. 81 contestants competed i ...

Bolinder-Munktell AB Bolinder-Munktell (BM) was a tractor and machines manufacturer founded in Eskilstuna, Sweden in 1932 through the merger of the mechanical companies Bolinder and Munktell. Bolinder are also well known as manufacturers of 'Semi-Diesel' or ...

, a tractor manufacturer that merged with

* Susanne Aalto, radio astronomer

References

External links

Official website
(in Swedish, French, German, English and Finnish)
Tågtider för Eskilstuna C
{{Attached KML Finnish diaspora Populated places in Södermanland County Populated places in Eskilstuna Municipality Municipal seats of Södermanland County Swedish municipal seats Cities in Södermanland County