Jönköping (, ) 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 ...
in southern
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 ...
with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake,
Vättern, in the province of
Småland
Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...
.
The city is the seat of
Jönköping Municipality, which has a population of 144,699 (2022) and is Småland's most populous municipality. Jönköping is also the seat of
Jönköping County
Jönköping County ( sv, Jönköpings län) is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The total county population was 356,291 inhabitants in Septe ...
which has a population of 367,064 (2022). Jönköping is the seat of a district court and a court of appeal as well as the Swedish National Courts Administration. It is the seat of the
Swedish Board of Agriculture.
County government
The Jönköping municipality has its headquarters in a place called "rådhuset". Rådhuset is an important component of the function of the municipality as it works as a state office for different departments of and in jönköping. Rådhuset is dependent on the municipality but is its own entity, the head of the rådhuset has political power but is not the head of the jönköping state. The head of the Jönköping state is called the "kommunfullmäktige" which has all the municipal power but sometimes doesn't make the decisions; these are handed down to other departments or the "kommunstyrelsen".
The departments that are inherent to the office are not limited to but are shortly known as:
- The political governance.
This department has a municipal board that is responsible for the state office's official activities.
- The administrative department.
The administrative department is responsible for office operations, city archives, legal functions, the office of the guardianship board, data protection (GDPR), and information security.
- The analysis and sustainability department.
The analysis and sustainability department is responsible for sustainability issues, international collaboration, consumer advice, energy, and climate advice, as well as statistics and investigations.
- The state economics department.
The state economics department is the solely responsible force regarding the official spending of the municipality's funds.
- The finance and company departments.
The finance and company department is responsible for the municipality's and the municipal companies' financial management and administers "Jönköpings Rådhus AB" and manages the municipality's donation funds.
- The HR department.
This department is responsible for personnel issues, work environment, negotiations, as well as managerial and personnel development and acts as a development and service body for the municipal administrations.
- The IT - department.
Responsible for and coordinates the municipality's IT operations and telephony. The department works closely with the municipal administrations and provides the operation and development of systems, services, and products. This is also offered to municipal companies. In case of problems, questions, or need for help, the IT department supports the administrations and the municipal companies.
- The communication department.
Responsible for the municipality's overall internal and external communication. The municipality's overall communication channels, graphic profile, and press issues are also within the department's area of responsibility. The Communications Department works in close cooperation with the municipal administrations and supports them in their communication work. The department also includes the municipality's Contact Center. The contact center is the public's first contact with the municipality for general questions and information.
- The business department.
The department works to create conditions for the development and expansion of the existing business community and to stimulate and facilitate new establishments.
- The Procurement Department
Responsible for the municipality's procurement activities and coordination of procurements. The department also conducts procurements in collaboration with Habo and Mullsjö municipalities as well as Rådhus AB and its subsidiaries.
History

Jönköping is an old trading centre (''
Köping'') situated at a natural crossroads for routes following the rivers
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
and
Lagan, and the road connecting the provinces of
Östergötland
Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...
and
Västergötland, a result of the town's geographical position at the southern end of lake Vättern, which divides the two provinces.
On 18 May 1284 Jönköping became the first
City in Sweden to be granted its rights by king
Magnus Ladulås
Magnus III ( 1240 – 18 December 1290), also called Magnus Ladulås, was King of Sweden from 1275 until his death in 1290.
Name
He was the ''first Magnus'' to rule Sweden for any length of time, not generally regarded as a usurper o ...
, who ruled mostly from Vättern's largest island
Visingsö. The first part of the city's name, "Jön", is derived from a creek, "Junebäcken", in Talavid, in what is now the western part of the city. The second part of the name "köping", is, as mentioned above, an old word for a trading centre or market place.
The geographical position of the city also left it vulnerable to attack via the river routes that led south, mainly from
Danes
Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
Danes generally regard t ...
. At that time the provinces of what is today southern Sweden —
Scania,
Halland and
Blekinge — belonged to Denmark. The city was plundered and burned several times until it was fortified during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Jönköping was known for its
matchstick industry between 1845 and 1970. The phosphorus match was invented in 1831, and these matches became very popular because one could strike it against any surface to ignite it. However, the problem was that they ignited too easily, caused a lot of accidents and were toxic. In 1844, Swedish professor Gustav Erik Pasch patented a new invention, ”Safety matches - Strike against the box only”. To prevent the matches from igniting so easily, Gustav Erik Pasch separated the chemicals in the match head and placed the phosphorus on a separate surface on the outside of the box for striking ignition. Johan Edvard and Carl Frans Lundström took Pasch's patent and improved it. Later, they manufactured their new Safety matches in their factory in Jönköping. Today it is an important Nordic logistical center, with many companies' central warehouses (such as
Elkjøp,
IKEA
IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
,
Electrolux and
Husqvarna) situated there.
Present
The urban area of Jönköping today includes the eastern industrial town of
Huskvarna, with which it has grown together.
Elmia, a major trade fair and exhibition centre, is situated in Jönköping.
Elmia Wood
Elmia Exhibition and Convention Centre is a trade fair in Jönköping, Sweden. The building was built in 1961 for agriculture trade fairs. Later it was expanded to also hold other trade fairs like boat and auto shows. The building has 34,000 squa ...
is the world's largest forestry fair, and fairs for subcontractors, trucks, caravans and railways are the biggest of their kind in Europe. Since 2001, Elmia has been the site of the world's largest
LAN party,
DreamHack, with two events every year, Dreamhack Summer and Dreamhack Winter.
Demography
Population
As of 2018, Jönköping has a total population of 139,222.
Population changes
Average age 2019
Notable people

*
Johan Björnsson Printz, (1592–1663) governor of the Swedish colony of
New Sweden
*
Carl Peter Thunberg
Carl Peter Thunberg, also known as Karl Peter von Thunberg, Carl Pehr Thunberg, or Carl Per Thunberg (11 November 1743 – 8 August 1828), was a Swedish naturalist and an "apostle" of Carl Linnaeus. After studying under Linnaeus at Uppsala Un ...
, (1743–1828), botanist
*
Aurore Storckenfeldt, (1816–1900), educator
*
Swante M. Swenson
Swante M. Swenson (February 24, 1816 – June 13, 1896) was the founder of the SMS ranches in West Texas. It was through his efforts that Swedish immigration to Texas was begun in 1848. In 1972, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners o ...
, (1816–1896) founder of the
SMS ranches in Texas
*
Viktor Rydberg (1828-1895), author,
*
Carl Lotave, (1872–1924) artist, portrait painter
*
John Bauer, (1882–1918) illustrator, painter
*
Bernhard Karlgren, (1889–1978) sinologist and linguist
*
Dag Hammarskjöld, (1905–1961) former United Nations Secretary-General
*
Martin Allwood
Martin Samuel Allwood (13 April 1916 – 16 January 1999) was a Swedish language educator, writer, sociologist, translator and professor. He was the father of professors Jens Allwood and Carl Martin Allwood.
Biography
Martin Allwood came from ...
, (1916–1999) an educator, writer, sociologist, translator and professor.
*
Vladimir Oravsky
Vladimir Oravsky (born 22 January 1947 in Rožňava, Czechoslovakia) is a Swedish author and film director.
Before Oravsky decided to be a full-time writer, he made a living in Czechoslovakia as machine engineer and conveyor belt constructor. In ...
, (born 1947) author
*
Per G. Malm
Per Gösta Malm (12 September 1948 – 26 July 2016) was a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 2010 until his death. Malm was the first general authority who was a resident of Sweden at the tim ...
, (1948–2016) leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
*
Carl Henrik Fredriksson
Carl Henrik Fredriksson (born 1 October 1965 in Jönköping, Sweden) is a Swedish literary critic, columnist, essayist, and translator living in Vienna, Austria. For fifteen years, until March 2015, he was the editor-in-chief of the European cult ...
, (born 1965) editor-in-chief and co-founder of ''
Eurozine''
*
Fredrik Neij, (born 1978) founder of The Pirate Bay BitTorrent-tracker
*
David F. Sandberg
David F. Sandberg (born 21 January 1981) is a Swedish filmmaker. He is best known for his collective no-budget horror short films under the online pseudonym ''ponysmasher'' and for his 2016 directorial debut '' Lights Out'', based on his 2013 a ...
, (born 1981) film director
*
Mona Johannesson, (born 1987), model
Music
*
Agnetha Fältskog, (born 1950) singer/songwriter and member of
ABBA
*
Nina Persson, (born 1974) vocalist with
The Cardigans
*
Amy Diamond, (born 1992), singer
*
The Motorhomes, (created in 1997) rock band
*
The Mary Onettes
The Mary Onettes are an indie rock/dream pop band from Jönköping, Sweden, signed to Labrador Records. To date, the band has released three full-length studio albums and four EPs.
History
The Mary Onettes were formed in 2000 in the Swedish town ...
, (formed in 2000) indie rock band
*
I'm from Barcelona, (formed in 2005) 29-piece indie pop band
Sport
*
Stefan Liv
Stefan Daniel Patryk Liv (born Patryk Śliż; 21 December 1980 – 7 September 2011) was a Swedish professional ice hockey, ice hockey player who played as a goaltender. Liv played professionally in Sweden, North America and Russia ...
, (1980–2011) an ice hockey goaltender
*
Göran Kropp, (1966–2002) mountaineer
*
Anders Gustafsson, (born 1979) kayaker, Olympian
*
Sofia Paldanius
Sofia Paldanius (born 16 March 1979) is a Swedish sprint canoer who has competed since the mid-2000s. Her latest success is when she was fourth at the Olympic Games in London in K1 500 2012. She won four bronze medals at the ICF Canoe S ...
, (born 1979) kayaker, Olympian
*
Stefan Liv
Stefan Daniel Patryk Liv (born Patryk Śliż; 21 December 1980 – 7 September 2011) was a Swedish professional ice hockey, ice hockey player who played as a goaltender. Liv played professionally in Sweden, North America and Russia ...
, (1980–2011) an ice hockey goaltender
Education
High schools
*Bäckadalsgymnasiet
*Erik Dahlbergsgymnasiet
*Per Brahegymnasiet
*Sandagymnasiet
*Thoren Business School
*
LBS: High School of Creativity
Tertiary education
*
Jönköping University Foundation
*
Södra Vätterbygdens Folkhögskola
*
The Institute for Postgraduate Dental Education
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...
Climate
Jönköping's climate was
humid continental (
Köppen ''Dfb'') with long, cold winters and short, warm summers during the 1961–1990 period. However, the window between subarctic and
oceanic is very small in this marine-influenced climate type, and in recent years the climate has more resembled very cold oceanic. However, figures are slightly skewed due to the weather station being located at the airport which is at an elevation of , whereas the city centre is at . This likely renders up to between half a degree to a full degree milder temperatures in the urban centre.
Sport
*
HV71, men's
ice hockey team in
Hockeyallsvenskan of ice hockey.
*
HV71 Dam
HV71 are a professional ice hockey club in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). They play in Jönköping, in the southern Swedish province of Småland, at the Husqvarna Garden.
History
The club was originally formed independently in M ...
, women's
ice hockey team in the
SDHL
*
Jönköpings IK (JIK),
floorball
Floorball is a type of floor hockey with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. Men and women play indoors with sticks and a plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three twenty-minute periods. The sport of bandy also played a role ...
team who has played several season in the men's
Swedish Super League Swedish Super League or Svenska Superligan (SSL) may refer to
*Swedish Super League (men's floorball)
*Swedish Super League (women's floorball)
See also
*Sweden Super League
Sweden Super League is a rugby league competition of Sweden. It was fou ...
.
*
Jönköpings Södra IF,
football (soccer) team in
Superettan
Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...
(second-tier league of Sweden).
*
Husqvarna FF,
football (soccer) team in
Division 1 (third tier league of Sweden).
*
IK Tord
IK Tord is a Swedish football club located in Rosenlund in Jönköping. The club was formed on 10 September 1919 and has specialised in football and baseball.
Background
Since their foundation IK Tord has participated mainly in the middle divi ...
,
football (soccer) team in
Division 2 Västra Götaland (fourth tier league of Sweden).
*
Jönköping Bandy IF
Jönköping Bandy IF is a bandy club in Jönköping, Sweden. The club was founded as Norrby IK in 1947, and was then a club for association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played be ...
,
bandy
Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...
team in
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 ...
(second-tier league of Sweden).
*
Jönköpings SS, swimming society, with Swedish champions in both
swimming and
diving. There are also three other water disciplines in the club, lifeguarding and
synchronized swimming
Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...
.
*
ATP Challenger Tour event, starting in 2016.
* Jönköping hosted the 1984
World Rowing Junior Championships and the 2019
European Universities Rowing Championships.
* Jönköping hosted the 2011
League of Legends World Championship.
See also
*
Jönköping Municipality
*
Swedish National Board of Agriculture
The Swedish Board of Agriculture ( sv, Statens jordbruksverk, commonly known as ''Jordbruksverket'') is a Government agency in Sweden that answers to the Ministry of Agriculture. The agency headquarters is located in Jönköping.
It is responsi ...
*
International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships (2002, held in Jönköping)
*
Tranhult
Tranhult is a small village a couple of miles south of Jönköping, 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 SwedenUN ...
References
External links
*
*
article ''Jönköping''from
Nordisk familjebok
''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...
,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonkoping
Cities in Jönköping County
County seats in Sweden
Populated places in Jönköping Municipality
Municipal seats of Jönköping County
Swedish municipal seats
Market towns in Sweden
Populated lakeshore places in Sweden