Skänninge

Skänninge
Skänninge
State :	Sweden
Province  (län):	Östergötland County
Historical Province (landskap):	Östergötland
Municipality  :	Mjolby
Coordinates :	58 ° 24 '  N , 15 ° 5'  E Coordinates: 58 ° 24 '  N , 15 ° 5'  E
SCB code :	1244
Status:	Crime scene
Residents :	3358 (December 31, 2015)
Area :	3.03 km²
Population density :	1108 inhabitants / km²
List of perpetrators in Östergötland County

Vårfrukyrkan (Church of Our Lady)

Today's town hall

Representation from the 16th century

Skänninge is a place ( Tatort ) in the Swedish province of Östergötland County and the historical province of Östergötland .

The place belonging to the municipality of Mjölby is one of the oldest cities in Sweden and is about ten kilometers from Mjölby .

Until the municipal reform in 1971, Skänninge was an independent town.

City history

Many places in Skänninge appear just as they did in the Middle Ages . The road network and the size of the city have hardly changed to this day. The Church of Our Lady ( Swedish : Vårfrukyrkan) stands today on the same spot where it was built by the town's German residents in honor of the Virgin Mary at the end of the 13th century. Other medieval buildings were restored (hospital) or rebuilt. Of the rebuilt buildings, the figure of Roland stands out in particular . This is called Ture Lång in Skänninge and, just like in German Hanseatic cities, was a symbol of the sovereignty of the city. The present statue was built in 1990 from a woodcut from a book by Olaus Magnus.

The citizens of the city were in association with other Hanseatic cities, but here they had to make more compromises with the royal family than in Germany. In addition, a bailiff was installed in Skänninge who watched over the observance of the royal will. There was also often discord between the German and Swedish residents and both ethnic groups had their own church. Nevertheless, there was skepticism among the rulers and Magnus Eriksson introduced a law that regulated life in Skänninge and all other Swedish cities. For the city's German residents, this also meant that they were not allowed to hold more than half of the posts on the city council. Regardless of this, bourgeois culture grew in cities like Skänninge, just as it was brought with them by German immigrants. Words like mayor ( borgmästare ), town hall ( rådhus ) and guild ( gille ) are part of the Swedish language today.

Around 1250, a line of the ruling Folkung family had their main estate near Skänninge. During this time, the city was the scene of several Swedish imperial meetings. During this time it was also nicknamed “Götaland's capital”. The center was the market square, on which the town hall and the department stores of the richest traders were located. In the 15th century the city lost its influence and was overtaken in development by the nearby Vadstena . Another setback was the devastating city fires of 1447 and 1466.

Skänninge was also a center of the Dominican order . Many remains of religious buildings belonging to this order have only been found during excavations in recent years. An annual medieval market, which is visited by around 120,000 people, is a reminder of the city's eventful history.

Oddities

In 1806, Skänninge was the first Swedish town to show an elephant . The visitors got so excited about the unadjustedly expensive entrance fees that reservists of the military had to keep order. Only after a day was the situation under control. The elephant was then expelled from the country.

Web links

Commons : Skänninge  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Statistiska centralbyrån : Land area per Tatort, folkmängd and invånare per square kilometer. Vart femte år 1960 - 2015 (database query)