Norrköping is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköping and 60 km west of the Södermanland capital of Nyköping. The city has a population of 95,618 inhabitants in 2016, out of a municipal total of 130,050, making it Sweden’s tenth largest city and eighth largest municipality.
The city is situated by the mouth of the river Motala ström, at Bråviken, an inlet of the Baltic Sea. Water power from the Motala ström and the good harbour were factors that facilitated the rapid growth of this once industrial city, known for its textile industry. It has several nicknames such as: “Sweden’s Manchester”, “Peking” and “Surbullestan” (Surbulle [sour bun] was a local nickname for the textile workers, and stan is short for Staden, which means The City or The Town in Swedish).
Main sight
The Motala ström river flows through the city has a parade annexed. In connection to the latter is the industrial landscape where the old textile industries once were situated.
In the summer, there is a cactus plantation in Carl Johans Park. 25,000 cacti planted there every summer.
Kolmårdens Djurpark is a zoo located 30 km (19 mi) north of Norrköping. In connection to the large outdoor zoo, there is also Tropicariet, an aquarium, where for example snakes, crocodiles and sharks can be seen.
The archipelagos 50 km (31 mi) away from Norrköping are called St Anna and Gryt.
A campus of Linköping University, its own symphonic orchestra, an airport called Kungsängen with 170,000 traveling (2006), a high-tech industry park called Norrköping Science Park, and Petroglyphs from the Nordic Bronze Age.
Culture
A theatre in Norrköping, Egges Theatre, hosted the first Scandinavian performance of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in 1776, and the city has a long theatre and revue tradition. Current main theatres are Östgötateatern (Sweden’s biggest regional theatre) from 1947 and Arbisteatern from 1865.
A 2016 Swedish drama/documentary, The Sex Temple (“Sextemplet,” produced by Swedish Television), shows off both the charming old town and one of its glorious 19th-century theaters (the Arbisteatern) to great effect.
