Sigtuna- Where Sweden Began

In 970, King Erik the Victorious looked out at the surroundings and pointed out the location where Sigtuna town would be built.  He was a modern Nordic king, who wanted to create a kingdom resembling the European kingdoms.  He knew how a town should be constructed and that he should cooperate with the new Christian church to achieve his goals. His goal was to form a kingdom with one king under one god.  

Today, Sigtuna is a picturesque medieval town where you can wander the old streets  filled with old wooded houses that have shops and cafes, visit medieval churches, ruins, and rune stones from the Viking Era.

Sigtuna boasts more than 150 runic inscriptions, more than any other town in Sweden! Rue stones are memorial stones, often erected by wealthy citizens and merchant guilds, to memorialize a loved who had passed or a significant event.  They were usually placed along streets and roads where they would be seen and read by all who passed.

Sigtuna Rådhus (townhall), built in the 18th century, is the smallest town hall in Sweden – maybe even in Europe!

The Harbor

The water was a vital link for Sigtuna as most travelers arrived by water

St. Olaf's Church Ruins

Sigtuna was founded to be the first Christian town in Sweden, the center of the new religion.The construction of St. Olaf’s church begun probably in the first half of the 12th century. St. Olaf’s plan is remarkable, the choir is both larger and longer than the nave. The idea might have been to build a long house as grand as the choir but for some reason that did not happen. The building came to a halt, perhaps because of the lack of funds.

St. Lawrence Church Ruin

One of the many church ruins in Sigtuna

Klockbacken (Bell Hill)

Around a thousand years ago, the residents of Sigtuna needed to establish a new capital as they were having problem with armed gangs attacking the city.  According to legend, the leaders in Sigtuna took a log of wood, cut out all the wood inside, filled it with gold, and let it float on the water. The log was floating on the water for several days and eventually hit land on the island where Gamla Stan today is located. The island was named Stockholm or log island, meaning the place where the log had hit ground.  From that point on, Stockholm became Sweden's capital city.