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(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 charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
, comparable to the United Kingdom's status of
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...
or
burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...
before the 1970s or city status today. Unless given such town privileges, a municipality could not call itself . To receive the privileges, there were several requirements a municipality needed to fulfill, like being of a certain size, and to have certain facilities. The criteria varied over time as they were at the discretion of the
Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
or the
monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...
, but they could include a permanent town council hall and a prison. In the majority of cases, before a town received its charter, it would have previously been given the status of '' köping'' or "merchant town". Exceptions to this would be when a town was founded under Royal supervision, in which case it would often bear the name of the monarch, such as Kristianstad or
Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to ...
(named after kings Christian IV of Denmark and Karl XI of Sweden). In the
Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...
, , Sweden (excluding Finland) had 41 chartered towns. By 1680 there were 83. The only town founded and chartered during the 18th century was
Östersund Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...
(1786). In 1863 the first
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
acts were implemented in Sweden. Of the around 2,500
municipalities 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' ...
that were created, 88 were chartered towns. The main difference between these and other municipalities was that a had its own
jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...
, i.e. independent town courts. There were also laws on urban planning and building (''Byggnadstadgan 1874''), fire prevention (''Brandstadgan 1874''), public order (''Ordningsstadgan 1868'') and public health (''Hälsovårdsstadgan 1874'') which were compulsory applicable to towns. Prior to 1900, the two minor towns of Borgholm and Haparanda lost their courts, but retained the title of . Of the new towns chartered between 1901 and 1951 (44, making the total number of towns 133), not a single one was given its own jurisdiction, but remained under what was called ''landsrätt'' ("rural jurisdiction").


20th century reforms

In the middle of the 20th century many administrative reforms were carried out that continued to diminish the difference between rural and urban areas. Police forces and district courts, as well as taxation, were centralized under state agencies, making the administration uniform all over Sweden. The amalgamations of municipalities reduced the number of local government units from a maximum of 2,532 in 1930 to less than 300 today. Consequently, by 1970 most municipalities contained both rural and urban areas. Since the urban and rural municipalities also with time got the same duties towards citizens, it became unnecessary to differentiate between towns and other municipalities, as all had the same powers. Since 1 January 1971, all municipalities are designated as ''kommun'', regardless of their former status.


Modern use

Most of the urban areas of Sweden which once were chartered towns are today still usually referred to as . The majority of them are also house the seat of their respective municipalities though the term is no longer an administrative term. In some municipalities there can be more than one former town, e.g.
Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 69,948 inhabitants in 2020, with a total population of 107,806 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality ...
and Torshälla in Eskilstuna Municipality, Kungälv and Marstrand in Kungälv Municipality, or
Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...
, Huskvarna and Gränna, which all three now are part of Jönköping Municipality. The town of
Visby Visby () is an urban areas in Sweden, urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic League, ...
is the seat of Gotland Municipality, but is no political entity of its own. Some former towns have also grown together, forming one urban area. A few municipalities which used to be towns still style themselves as , e.g.
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 ...
,
Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
and
Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
. There are also municipalities with considerable rural areas that market themselves with the term.
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 ...
defines the term as a locality with more than 10,000 inhabitants of which there are currently 127.


Urban population

Largest urban areas in 1850:Statistics from
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 ...
website , accessed June 2006
*Stockholm (93,000 inhabitants) *Gothenburg (26,000) * Norrköping (17,000) *
Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to ...
(14,000) *
Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
(13,000) Largest urban areas in 1900: 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, article ''Sweden'' *Stockholm (300,624) *Gothenburg (130,609) *
Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
(60,857) * Norrköping (41,008) * Gävle (29,522) *
Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...
(24,670) *
Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to ...
(23,955) *
Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...
(23,143) * Uppsala (22,855) * Örebro (22,013) * Lund (16,621) * Borås (15,837) *
Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational urban areas of Sweden, city at the mouth of the Nissan (river), Nissan river, in the provinces of Sweden, province of Halland on the Sweden, Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat ...
(15,362)


See also

*
Municipalities of Sweden The municipalities of Sweden () are its generally smaller but co-equal local government Legal entity, entities. There are 290 municipalities which are responsible for a large proportion of local services, including schools, emergency services a ...
* Urban areas in Sweden


References


Sources

* {{Owl Urban planning in Sweden