Salem Municipality () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in Stockholm County in east central

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 ...

. The name traces its origins from ''Slæm'' in the 13th century, but was changed to Salem in the 17th century, inspired by the Biblical name of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. Its seat is located in Salem.

History

Like the rest of the areas around Lake Mälaren, Salem has a significant amount of ancient remains, as far back as the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

. The church of Salem traces its foundation to the 12th century. The oldest historical monument in Salem is a church that dates back to the early 12th century. Just like its eastern municipal neighbour Botkyrka, Salem traces its history back to the legendary Saint Botvid, who lived in the area sometime between 1050 and 1120. In the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

tradition, a spring would always be found in connection to the death of a saint. According to legend, when the remains of Saint Botvid were transported to the church in today's Botkyrka, the casket was temporarily put down near the shore of Lake Bornsjön, where a spring poured up. It continues to provide clear water to this day. The parish name "Slaem" was mentioned for the first time in a letter written by King Magnus Ladulås in 1283. The current name (inspired by the one in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

) of the

became commonly used during the 17th century, although it was referenced 50 years earlier.

Today

Salem was united with the municipality of Botkyrka during the Swedish municipal reform between 1971 and 1974. However, in 1983, after energetic protests, they were split apart, and Salem became the 14th smallest municipality by area in the country. Salem is served by one station, Rönninge, on the commuter train line between

Södertälje Södertälje ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Stockholm County, Sweden and seat of Södertälje Municipality. It is also a part of Stockholm urban area, Greater Stockholm Metropolitan Area. As of 2020, it has 73,872 inhabitants. Södert� ...

and Märsta via

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. There are also a good network of bus lines. The number of people in Salem is about 30% less during day time due to that it has the biggest percentage of people in Stockholm county that work outside own municipal.

Demography

Population development

2022 population by district

This is a demographic table based on Salem Municipality's electoral districts in the 2022 Swedish general election sourced from SVT's election platform, in turn taken from SCB official statistics. Residents include everyone registered as living in the district, regardless of age or citizenship status. Valid voters indicate Swedish citizens above the age of 18 who therefore can vote in general elections. Left vote and right vote indicate the result between the two major blocs in said district in the 2022 general election. Employment indicates the share of people between the ages of 20 and 64 who are working taxpayers. Foreign background is defined as residents either born abroad or with two parents born outside of Sweden. Median income is the received monthly income through either employment, capital gains or social grants for the median adult above 20, also including pensioners in Swedish kronor. The section about college graduates indicates any degree accumulated after high school. In total there were 17,219 residents, including 11,967 Swedish citizens of voting age. 44.3% voted for the left coalition and 54.2% for the right coalition. Indicators are in percentage points except population totals and income.

Residents with a foreign background

In 2017 the number of people with a foreign background (persons born outside of Sweden or with two parents born outside of Sweden) was 4 643, or 27.86% of the population (16 665 in 2017). In 2002 the number of residents with a foreign background was (per the same definition) 2 468, or 17.79% of the population (13 875 in 2002).Antal personer efter region, utländsk/svensk bakgrund och år
(Read 4 januari 2019) In 2017 there were 16 665 residents in Salem, of which 3 270 people (19.62%) were born in a country other than Sweden. Divided by country in the table below - the Nordic countries as well as the 12 most common countries of birth outside of Sweden for Swedish residents have been included, with other countries of birth bundled together by continent by

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 ...

.Statistiska centralbyrån: Utrikes födda efter län, kommun och födelseland 31 december 2017
(XLS-fil) Läst 4 januari 2019

Notable People

* Edoff Andersson (1902–1934), Swedish politician and trade unionist * Sarah Sjöström (1993–), famous Swedish swimmer and Olympic medalist. * Jonas Karlsson (1971–), renowned Swedish

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and author.

References

External links

Salem Municipality
- Official site {{Authority control Municipalities of Stockholm County