Sigtuna
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Sigtuna is a city in Sigtuna Municipality in Stockholm County, north of Stockholm's northern suburbs. The city of Sigtuna was Sweden's capital from the 10th to the 13th centuries and has 8,000 residents.
Understand
According to tradition Sigtuna was founded in 980 AD by king Erik Segersäll (the Victorious). The founding of Sigtuna is considered an important step in unifying Sweden into one centralized kingdom. It replaced Birka as the most important trade node in the region, and as an early Christian centre it competed with the pagan Uppsala for religious supremacy. Erik's son and successor Olaf Skötkonung constructed a mint in Sigtuna, and thereby became the first king to mint coins in Sweden. With a royal mint and a bishop, Sigtuna was effectively the capital of Sweden until power shifted towards Stockholm and Uppsala in the 13th century. The city was raided by "pagans from the East" in 1187, and a few years later in 1190 the archdiocese was moved to Uppsala.
However, Sigtuna prevailed, and in 1237 the first Dominican monastery in Sweden was built there. Sigtuna's decline accelerated in the 16th century due to the Protestant Reformation, as power and wealth moved from the convent in Sigtuna to the king in Stockholm. Between 1648 and 1666 the city suffered three city fires and was eventually abandoned. In 1700 the population of Sigtuna was only 108 people.
Sigtuna's population was down at the hundreds for 250 years, until the city was revived in the 1910s as a nationalist project. Even though many of the buildings look traditional, most of them are from the early 20th century. However, due to the conservative spirit in which the city was reconstructed, it did not experience the same heavy urban renewal that many other Swedish cities did in the 1950s and 60s.
Tourist office
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phone: +46 8-594 806 50address: Stora Gatan 33
Get in
By plane
(ARN) is located in Sigtuna Municipality and is by far the largest airport in Sweden. For public transport between Arlanda and Sigtuna, bus 579 goes directly, while bus 583 connects Arlanda with Märsta where you have to change to bus 570 or 575.By public transit
The local public transportation operator in Stockholm County is SL.There is no train station in Sigtuna, the closest one being in Märsta some 7 km east of Sigtuna. Sigtuna is reached from Märsta station by local buses 570 or 575. These buses are synchronized with the local communter trains between Stockholm and Märsta.
By boat
Strömma has a tourist ferry line between Stockholm and Sigtuna, with a stopover at Skokloster Palace in Håbo.By car
Route 263 passes through Sigtuna and continues towards Enköping in the West and connects to the highway E4 in the east. The E4, in turn, carries traffic between Uppsala in the North and Stockholm in the South.Get around
Sigtuna is small and walkable. Unless you intend to leave the town for the surrounding countryside there is no real need for a vehicle.
See
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phone: +46 8-594 806 50address: Stora Gatan 33As the city was depopulated, wealthy bourgeois and craftsmen bought abandoned plots of land and built large houses and gardens. The Drake garden was owned by the Drake family in the early 20th century and is the only remaining garden that covers an entire block.
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phone: +46 8-591 266 70address: Stora Gatan 39A preserved typical fin de siècle middle class family home.
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phone: +46 8-591 266 70address: Stora Torget 4DBuilt in 1744 and said to be the smallest in Sweden.
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phone: +46 8 592 515 08address: Stora Nygatan 1A local art gallery.
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phone: +46 8-591 266 70address: Stora Gatan 55Permanent exhibitions about the earliest history of Sigtuna, the previous ceramics factory of Steninge Castle and about the painters Carl Peter Lehmann and Gideon Ekholm.
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phone: +46 8 592 504 54address: Olofsgatan 2Built as the monastery church of the Dominican monastery established in Sigtuna in 1237. It was the first brick building in the Mälar-valley area. In the 16th century Sweden became Protestant, the monastery was closed, and St Mary's Church became the parish church of Sigtuna. There is a small herbal garden by the church which celebrates medieval gardening.
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phone: +46 8-509 318 99address: Vibyvägen 105In the 19th century this village was inhabited by tenant crofters. Since the village is very well-preserved it is representative for how Swedish villages looked 200 years ago.
Runes and Ruins
- Runestones and other artefacts from the Viking Age in Sigtuna. Over 40 runestones has been found in Sigtuna, and some 170 in Sigtuna Municipality.
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address: Fågelsångsvägen 1ABuilt in the first half of the 12th century. It was turned into a school after the Protestant reformation but was destroyed in a fire in 1658. All that remains today is one of the church towers.
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address: OlofsgatanBuilt in the first half 12th century. The church rests on an even older foundation which might be from the first stone church constructed in Sweden.
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address: Sankt PersgatanBuilt in the first half of the 12th century. Supposedly the cathedral of the archdiocese of Sweden before it moved to Uppsala.
Do
Hiking, cycling and fishing during summer. Ice-skating and cross-country skiing during winter.
- Go bathing
MunkholmsbadetA public beach in Lake Mälaren.
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SjudargårdsbadetA public beach in Lake Mälaren.
phone: +46 08-592 540 12
address: Norra Vibyvägen 187
A golf club with one 18-hole and one 6-hole course.Annual events
Sigtuna Literature FestivalContains workshops, seminars and speaches on Swedish and international literature.
Sigtuna MöteIn 1912 the last traditional farmer’s council meeting was held in Sigtuna, and the same year the Olympic Games where held in Stockholm. Every year Sigtuna celebrates this with a 1912 themed festival with traditional clothing, craft markets, music, dancing and "Olympic" games.
Sigtuna Christmas MarketAn open air-market with traditional Swedish Christmas food and crafts.
Buy
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phone: +46 8 59250530address: Stora gatan 41 BA women’s shoe store.
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phone: +46 70-255 6793address: Uppsalavägen 33Handmade jewellery.
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phone: +46 8-59255000address: Långgatan 9A combined workshop and shop selling clothing, accessories and jewellery.
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phone: +46 8-592 50 555address: Stora gatan 44A furnishing shop.
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phone: +46 8 592 51013address: Stora gatan 43
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phone: +46 8 592 500 37address: Stora gatan 31A shoe and bag shop.
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Viking House
phone: +46 73-982 97 68address: Stora Gatan 29A store with plenty of Viking-themed gifts, souvenirs, and jewellery.
Eat
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phone: +46 8-592 567 80address: Hamngatan 2On a pier with a beautiful view of Lake Mälaren.
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phone: +46 8 592 560 50address: Stora Torget 4D
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phone: +46 8-592 510 95address: Stora Malmgatan 31A family-owned restaurant mixing traditional Nordic with Mediterranean cuisine.
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phone: +46 8 592 508 00address: Ångbåtsbryggan
Drink
As most residents venture to central Stockholm for nightlife, Sigtuna municipality mostly contains local hangouts and hotel bars.
Cafés
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phone: +46 8-594 803 85address: Stora Gatan 49Homemade pastries, desserts and hot chocolate.
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phone: +46 8-592 514 29address: Strandvägen 36By the waterfront.
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phone: +46 8-592 509 34address: Laurentii gränd 3An old-school café in a 17th-century town farm.
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phone: +46 8-592 555 25address: Stora Gatan 40CServes hot drinks and alcoholic beverages.
Sleep
Budget
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STF Vandrarhem Sigtuna Folkhögskola
phone: +46 8-592 583 00address: Manfred Björkquists allé 20A hostel runned by the Swedish Tourist Association STF.
Mid-range
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phone: +46 8 592 566 95address: Stora gatan 79A hotel.
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phone: +46 8-592 580 00address: Rektor Cullbergs väg 1A hotel.
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Sigtunastiftelsen Hotell & Konferens
phone: +46 8-592 589 00address: Manfred Björkquists allé 4Founded as a private Christian cultural foundation in 1915 and became one of the driving forces in the resettlement of Sigtuna in the early 20th century. Their main building is inspired by a Tuscan monastery and is today used as hotel and conference venue.
Splurge
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phone: +46 8-592 501 00address: Stora Nygatan 3Branded as Sweden's smallest 5-star hotel.
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phone: +46 8-599 293 30address: Wenngarn 1:7A 17th-century palace, though there are historical records since the 12th century. Among most Swedish people, the palace is known as a rehabilitation home for alcoholics during the early 20th century. Today, it is used as a conference hotel.
Go next
- Stockholm is where most visitors go, after touching down at Arlanda. See Stockholm#By plane for transit to the capital.
- Knivsta is a suburb of Uppsala, with several historical artefacts.
- Märsta is the largest town in Sigtuna Municipality.
- Norrtälje contains the northern edge of the Stockholm archipelago.
- Uppsala is a millennial city, famous for its Viking Age heritage, and the oldest university in the Nordic countries.