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urban area in Södertälje Municipality, Sweden
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Södertälje ( SU(R)D-ər-TEL-yə, Swedish: [sœdɛˈʈɛ̂lːjɛ] ⓘ) is a city in Stockholm County, Sweden and seat of Södertälje Municipality. It is also a part of Greater Stockholm Metropolitan Area. As of 2020, it has 73,872 inhabitants. Södertälje is located at Mälarens confluence in to the Baltic Sea through the lock in the Södertälje Canal. The canal has the largest ship lock in the Nordic region. Since year 2000, it is the largest city located entirely within the province of Södermanland.
It is estimated that the first people reached the area around what is today Södertälje during the Stone Age, about 4000 BC. They formed settlements around 3000 BC, when the peasant culture is believed to have reached the area. Around 1500 to 400 BC, the strait between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea narrowed due to the post-glacial rebound. Thereafter boats had to be towed over the sand ridge, which created job opportunities. Trade and service emerged.
Ansgar passed through Södertälje on his voyages to Birka in his efforts to Christianize Sweden in 829. Södertälje was first mentioned in historical sources in 1070, when Adam of Bremen mentioned the town in a description of the road between Skara and Birka in his work Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae pontificum. However, the area was inhabited long before then. Södertälje received city privileges in the 1300s.
The castle Telge Hus was built at Slottsholmen during the 1300s. From here, Telgehus county was administered between the years 1318 and 1527. The county included Öknebo, Hölebo and parts of Svartlösa districts. Archaeological excavations have shown that the castle was surrounded by a moat. It is still partially visible on Slottsholmen's northwestern shore.
Originally, the city was simply called Tälje (several spellings are known; including Telge, Talje, and Tælga). In 1622, the prefix Söder 'south' was added to distinguish from the then recently founded town of Norrtälje, located 110 km northeast of the city. Statistics Sweden started using the modern spelling in 1900.
The city first used St. Olof in its coat of arms. At the beginning of the 17th century, he was replaced by Ragnhild of Tälje (Swedish: Sankta Ragnhild). After her pilgrimages to Rome and Jerusalem, her relics are said to have been buried in Södertälje.
Duke Charles (Who subsequently became King Charles) actively invested in Södertälje as a commercial and maritime city during his time as Duke of Södermanland, which contributed to growth. A port was built just south of the city. It was not until the 1740s that the city began with industrial manufacturing in addition to shipping and trade.
Södertälje already had a port, but during the 19th century it became necessary to extend it to be able to receive larger vessels. In 1819 the Södertälje Canal was inaugurated after 13 years of construction. Just over forty years later, in 1860, rail traffic between Södertälje and Stockholm commenced. The Western Main Line for trains between the east and west coast of Sweden opened in 1862, with a station in the city.
Around this time Södertälje became known as a seaside resort for Stockholmers. In 1849 the Södertälje Bathing Facilities in Badparken park was opened, with both a cold bath facility and a hot bath house. The bathhouses and the Societetshus venue have been demolished, but the Bath hotel at Järnagatan street, Strandhotellet hotel, Stadsparken park and Villa Bellevue still remain from the resort era, which lasted for almost a hundred years until 1945.
The tradition of selling the local pretzels, Södertäljekringlor, is several hundred years old. They had their heyday during the resort era, i.e. around the beginning of the 19th century onwards. They were typically sold by older women, often referred to as Kringelgummor (English: Pretzel ladies). The pretzels were primarily sold to tourists, especially at the city's railway stations. The sale of pretzels, among other aspects of the resort town, was described in the magazine Svenska Familj-Journalen (English: Swedish Family Journal) in 1881.
By the 1900s, Södertälje's population had grown to over 8,000 people. Around the turn of the century several large factories were established in the city: Svenska Centrifug AB (1896), AB Södertelge Verkstäder (1897), Baltic (1906), Aktiebolaget Astra Apotekarnes Kemiska Fabriker (Astra) (1913), Tobaksmonopolet (1915) och Wedaverken (1917). Perhaps most interesting is the formation of VABIS, Vagnfabriks-Aktiebolaget in Södertelge (1891). In 1911 it merged with Scania and formed Scania-Vabis. Nowadays, however, the company only uses the name Scania AB.
In the 1950s, conditions in Södertälje's centre consisted of relatively small wooden residential houses. As the city grew, modern apartment buildings were constructed in the outskirts. The municipal government introduced a major renovation of the central areas, during which many buildings around the pedestrian section of Storgatan high street, including adjacent Nygatan and Köpmangatan streets, were demolished. Some of the buildings were moved to the Torekällberget City Museum. However, many of the 17th–19th century buildings around Olof Palmes plats, Marenplan, Saltsjötorget and Stortorget were preserved.
In 1960, Södertälje was still a fairly small town with a largely homogeneous population of 33,000 inhabitants. In the 1960s, however, the demographics of the city changed radically as a result of rapid industrial development. Large companies such as Scania-Vabis and Astra increased the demand for labour which initially came from Norrland. When domestic sources of manpower declined, foreign labour was brought in. Most of the migrant workers came from Finland, but also Greece, Italy and Yugoslavia.
During the 1970s, immigration from Finland declined, while many Christian Assyrians/Syriacs settled in Södertälje, mostly from Tur Abdin, Turkey. At the end of the 1990s, many Iraqis arrived, as well as Finnish and Syrian people. In 2013, there were reports in the media that a parallel society founded by Assyrian/Syriac minorities had emerged, with norms, rules and a banking system outside the control of the Swedish state, and which included illegal activity. Extensive resources were allocated to law enforcement. Charges were brought against the mafia-like organisation Södertäljenätverket (the Södertälje network) resulting in a criminal trial which ended in 2013.
Södertälje also has a growing population of about 1,500 Mandaeans, most of Iraqi origin.
Construction of Almnäs garrison began in 1970. Svea Engineer Corps and the Engineering Troops Cadet School (INGKAS) relocated to Almnäs. They were joined by Swedint, the Armed Forces International training school, in 1984. During the 1990s, the Life Guards were also present at Almnäs. After 1996, the armed forces underwent a major reorganisation and left Almnäs altogether in 2004. The area is now a business park.
Many of the city's modern attractions were built in the 1980s. A museum based on the book La Science Amusante by French writer Arthur Good was built. The museum is called Tom Tits Experiment after the author's pen name Tom Tit. The new bath house Sydpoolen opened in 1987, and is now one of the most visited bathing facilities in the country. During the 2010 and 2020 centuries, several infrastructure projects were completed or started. Further widening of the canal and the lock was initiated, as well as the upgrade of the railway around Södertälje hamn railway station to increase capacity.
The City of Södertälje was transformed to a city municipality during the Swedish municipal reforms of 1862. The city grew and subsequently incorporated Västertälje parish in 1946 and Östertälje parish in 1963. The city municipality expanded further in 1967, until it became the seat of the present-day Södertälje Municipality.
Within the Church of Sweden, Södertälje was part of Södertälje City parish. It incorporated the western part of Södertälje landsförsamling in 1946, and received the name Södertälje församling (English: Södertälje parish). It has since also incorporated the parish of Tveta. Between 1973 and 2010, part of the city was part of Västertälje parish. The eastern part of Södertälje still belongs to Östertälje parish.
Until 1971, the city belonged to the judicial district Södertälje Council Court. In 1971, it was changed to Södertälje District Court.
During the 1600s, the city was hit by two major fires; in 1630 and 1650. After the fire in 1650, the devastation was vast. All important buildings except the church were destroyed; including the school and town hall. After the fires, extensive urban planning was implemented under the leadership of Anders Torstensson, where the old irregular medieval neighbourhoods were replaced by a grid plan of streets. The 1650s plan remained largely in place until the redevelopment of the city centre in the 1960s, and still characterises many parts of the central areas. Most of the older buildings have disappeared due to city fires or demolition.
The central parts of Södertälje are today mainly the neighbourhood around what is commonly referred to as called Gågatan, which is the pedestrian part of Storgatan street. Stortorget was originally the absolute centre of the city. The reason that the area would subsequently expand (mainly in a southerly direction) is largely due to the fact that the Central Railway Station was placed near the city park. Unlike most other cities in the country, no railroad has ever been drawn through Södertälje's central parts, which meant that very little central area had to be designated for tracks. Another interesting detail is that the old Södertälje largely consisted of wooden houses. It is commonly believed that this is because Södertälje never has been a major administrative centre, such as a county capital or episcopal see. For a trade city, it wooden structures were considered sufficient. The original wooden buildings are especially well preserved in the areas around Fredsgatan and Västgötagatan streets. The older wooden houses that previously existed in the central parts have largely been moved up to Torekällberget, which is Södertälje's open-air city museum. The first apartment building in stone was built as late as 1865. The property was at Järnagatan 8, next to Saltsjötorget square, and was built by industrialist DJ Ekeberg. When Järnagatan was lowered in 1907, the basement level became the areas that are occupied by shops today.
Södertälje's old City Hotel is situated on Saltsjötorget square. It was built to accommodate the high demand for rooms that arose during the time the city was a seaside resort. The City council decided to commission a new hotel on the site. Architect Ernst Haegglund was hired to design the building. The square also houses the old building for Svensk-Engelska Mineralolje AB, which was completed between 1931 and 1932 after drawings by architect Albin Stark. Between 1991 and 2008, the building served as city hall. The current city hall was built on the opposite side of the central station. The new building was designed by BSK Arkitekter, and inaugurated in the autumn of 2008 by King Carl XVI Gustaf. The building serves both as municipal offices and cultural centre.
The Central Railway Station is situated behind the City Hotel. It is one of few Swedish railway stations with two station houses. The first building is entirely in brick, and was designed in 1860 by Adolf W. Edelsvärd. The yellow station building was added in the 1910s and was designed by Folke Zettervall. Today, only the yellow building is used for ticket sales. The older station house is occupied by a bar, café and convenience store. The open square between the two station houses, the bus station and the railway tracks is called Stationsplan.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Södertälje”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.