Sigtuna

Sigtuna is a city in the Uppland part of Stockholm County, central Sweden. It has a population of 7,000 and is the namesake of Sigtuna Municipality, even though the seat is in Märsta with 23,000 inhabitants.

Sigtuna is, despite its small population, for historical reasons often still referred to as a city. Statistics Sweden, however, only counts localities with more than 10,000 inhabitants as cities.

Although less significant today, Sigtuna has an important place in Sweden's early history. Sigtuna was founded on what was then the shore of Lake Mälaren just over 1,000 years ago. Various sources claim King Eric the Victorious as founder while others claim King Olof Skötkonung.

It operated as a royal and commercial centre for some 250 years, and was one of the most important cities of Sweden. During a brief period at the end of the 10th and beginning of the 11th century, Sweden's first coins were minted here. The old church built in the 13th century by the Dominican order at the monastery still remains, and has had few restorations. The Dominican monastery played an important role in the Swedish Middle Ages and produced many important Church officials. Among them, many Swedish archbishops. Many church and monastery ruins still stand, and the old city structure has not been remodelled, as happened in many Swedish cities during the 1800s and 1900s.