Eskilstuna

Eskilstuna is a city in Södermanland county, Sweden. With an approximate population of 100,000 inhabitants in Eskilstuna Municipality, out of which 70,000 live in the city proper, it is the biggest city in Södermanland County. The town is situated close to Lake Mälaren about 100 kilometers west of Stockholm.

Understand
Eskilstuna is located along Eskilstunaån (Eskilstuna River) which flows from lake Hjälmaren in the south to lake Mälaren in the north. During the Viking era, the area became an important trading place known as Tuna. In the 11th century the Anglo-Saxon missionary and bishop Eskil founded a church in Tuna, and turned it into his diocese. Initially Eskil's missionary was under the protection of the Christian King Inge the Elder, but in 1080 the apostate pagan Blot-Sven seized power and had Eskil stoned to death in Strängnäs. Eskil eventually became considered a saint with a strong cult following in Tuna, which thus became known as "Eskil's Tuna", or Eskilstuna. About a century after Eskil's death the Knights Hospitallers established a monastery in Eskilstuna in his memory, preserving his relics and turning Eskilstuna into an important destination for pilgrims.

During the reformation Sweden became protestant, abolishing monasteries and the worship of saints. Eskilstuna Monastery was turned into a royal castle known as Eskilstuna hus, and Eskilstuna developed from a religious site to an industrial town. The most notable industry was Rademachersmedjorna (the Rademacher Smithery), initially producing small arms and artillery for the Swedish Empire. In 1659 the city was granted its first privileges under the official name Karl Gustafs Stad ("City of Karl Gustav"). This new name didn't catch on, and eventually the city regained the official name Eskilstuna.

In 1680 Eskilstuna hus was destroyed in a fire and never rebuilt, but Eskilstuna remains an important industrial site. During the era of industrialization Eskilstuna grew rapidly, producing machinery tools, precision instruments, cutlery, and keys, earning the nicknames Stålstaden (the Steel City) and the Sheffield of Sweden. To staff these industries Eskilstuna attracted a large number of Finnish immigrants, a group which today make up about 10-20% of the population. Like many other industrial cities Eskilstuna experienced a setback during the western de-industrialization of the 1970s, but industry remains an important part of Eskilstuna's economy and identity.

Today many Swedes think about Eskilstuna mostly as the hometown of "Sweden's most successful rock band" Kent.

Get in
You can also get in by car; the E20 highway passes just north of Eskilstuna. Eastwards it continues to Södertälje and Stockholm, and westwards to Arboga, Örebro and Gothenburg, or towards Karlstad and Oslo as E18. West of Eskilstuna E20 branches into road 56, which continues to Västerås, and east of Eskilstuna it branches into road 55, which continues to Enköping and Uppsala. The smaller road 53 connects Eskilstuna with Nyköping and highway E4 in the south.

The nearest major airports are Västerås Airport (52 km north), Stockholm-Skavsta (in Nyköping, 83 km south) and Stockholm Arlanda Airport (151 km east).

Eat
There are several food trucks on the central square "Fristadstorget" selling budget priced street food.