Sigtuna Municipality

This article treats the town and municipality of Sigtuna. If you are looking for the Sigtuna of the Norse sagas and other early medieval sources, you might be looking for Old Sigtuna.

Sigtuna is a Municipality in Stockholm County, in central Sweden. The municipality has 35,001 inhabitants, and covers 327.3 km² (population density: 107). The town has about 5,000 inhabitants and is a popular tourist destination. The municipal seat is located in Märsta.

History

It is not known when Sigtuna was founded. Some say that it was King Eric the Victorious, but other say that it was King Olof Skötkonung, on the shores of Mälaren (which was a bay at the time), in Roslagen, around 1000 AD. It flourished as a royal and commercial centre for some two and a half centuries. Attacked in 1187 by Couronian (Latvian) and Estonian raiders, from the eastern Baltic, it remained in occupation for some time thereafter until giving way during the 13th century to Uppsala, Visby, Kalmar and Stockholm.

External links

• Sigtuna - Official site
• Raid on Sigtuna (1187)