Linköping is a city in the region of Östergötland, and it is one of Sweden’s largest. The city has been the ecclesiastical center of Östergötland since the 12th century, and the city’s bishop held the first Swedish church meeting in Linköping in 1152 with attendance of King Sverker. King Valdemar Birgersson was crowned in the city’s cathedral in 1251, which emphasized Linköping’s importance. At this time, a cathedral school was also established in the city. In 1598, the Battle of Stångebro was fought at Linköping, and one of the consequences was the so-called Linköping massacre, where five noblemen were executed in the city in 1600.

One hundred years later, Linköping was ravaged by a fire that destroyed most of the city on 29 January 1700. The city’s cathedral and castle were among the buildings that survived the fire, but the rest of the city had to be rebuilt. Later, several regiments were moved to Linköping, which also became the location of SAAB’s military aircraft production from 1937. The company and others brought growth and prosperity to the city.

Today you can enjoy some lovely walks in Linköping, where the street network in the center is still as it was in the Middle Ages, despite the fire in 1700. You can find Stora torget in the city center, and it is the oldest square in Linköping. Here you can see Carl Mille’s fountain sculpture Folkungabrunnen, a statue with Folke Filbyter from 1927. To the south on Stora torget you can see the city’s former town hall and the Central Palace, which was built in Art Nouveau style in 1907, and today you can experience contemporary art in Art Gallery Passagen.

On the eastern side of the square is the Stora Hotellet from 1852. If you continue east along Storgatan you come to Linköping’s modern center and to Church of St Lars/Sankt Lars Kyrka, which was originally consecrated in the 12th century. The church had to be rebuilt after the fire in 1700, while the appearance of the current church dates from 1801, when the nave was expanded.

You can see Linköping’s three most famous buildings next to each other to the west of Stora torget. One of them is the City Hall, which was built in neo-Gothic style as a cathedral school in 1864. Today, the old school is the city’s town hall. Next to the town hall is Linköping Castle, whose history dates back to the 12th century, and parts of the original building have been preserved in the castle’s western wing.

Today, Linköping Castle serves as the official residence and representation of the governor, who is the representative of the Swedish government in the county. In part of the buildings, you can visit Linköping’s Castle and Cathedral Museum, where you can learn about the castle’s 900-year development from bishopric to royal palace in an interesting digital format of building history. You can also learn a lot about Linköping’s history at the museum, for example about the Battle of Stångebro and the bloodbath in 1600.

Next to the castle is the Linköping Cathedral on the site where the first wooden church was built in Linköping’s earliest history. In the 12th century, a stone church was built, which was smaller than the current one, but already in the 13th century it was expanded, and later in the same century the cathedral reached its current length of 110 meters. In the 15th century, several Gothic chapels were constructed, and craftsmen from England and Germany decorated the interior of the cathedral.

The church is large and has several sights, such as the altarpieces. At the cathedral you can also see the Consistory House, which was built in 1827-1830. The house serves as the administration of the seat of Linköping, and from the house you can walk west along Hunnebergsgatan It is a street with some wooden houses from the 18th century in one of Linköping’s old streets. If you continue west, you can make a stroll to Gamla Linköping, which is an open-air museum with historical environments from the city and the countryside, and to the Air Force Museum Linköping, which tells the story of the Swedish air force.