IncludingArnö, the locality on the southern shore of the bay just a couple of kilometres from the city centre, Nyköping would have above 36,000 inhabitants. Commonly, Arnö is referred to as a part of the city proper. It forms a wider conurbation with the neighbouring minor municipality and town ofOxelösund 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of its outskirts. The municipality is much larger, although sparsely populated outside of the urban area.
Nyköping directly translates to "Newmarket" in English. The prefixny is translated as "new" andköping is an old Swedish word for a market place, commonly used as a suffix for cities in the south central region of the country (seeKöping).Nyköping is the name that appears on coins in 1230 and in historical records from the 13th century.Aros is the name of the town found in the archaeological records from before 1230, indicating a new era and a new name sometime around 1230. The city is located near the open Baltic Sea on the Stadsfjärden inlet, and is regarded as a coastal location. RiversNyköpingsån andKilaån reach the Baltic Sea through the southern end of downtown. The former river splits the town down the middle into an eastern and western part. The riverSvärtaån empties into the sea by the locality Sjösa, east of the town. There are multiple other inlets in the municipality, which has an extensive shoreline.
Typical of the region, the landscape is influenced bypost-glacial rebound after the latest ice age. For thousands of years, the land of downtown Nyköping was an archipelago where the hills in town today formed many islands, while the flatter parts of the town were the seafloor. With four peaks above 50 metres (160 ft), the highest point within town limits is 59 metres (194 ft) at Ekensberg in the northeastern fringes.[4]
Nyköping is also the home ofStockholm Skavsta Airport, which is located less than 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the city centre. Nyköping is part of the wider area of theMälaren Valley, located around 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of innerStockholm and 60 kilometres (37 mi) east ofNorrköping, the nearest larger city. The municipal border between Nyköping and Norrköping marks the point where the historical landsGötaland andSvealand converge on the east coast.
It retains anoceanic/continental climate hybrid, causing warm summers and winters around the freezing point with variable snow cover.
The area bears traces of settlers since around 2000 BC. In the earlymedieval age,around 1000 AD, Nyköping was a capital of one of the many Swedish petty kingdoms.[citation needed] In the 13th century, construction on the Nyköping Fortress begun; the following century it became the strongest fortress in the country. The coat of arms probably depicts the fortress, or one of its towers.
In 1317, theNyköping Banquet took place, a renowned episode in Sweden's history, when KingBirger of Sweden captured his two brothers as revenge for earlier sufferings and had them imprisoned without food until they starved to death (SeeNyköpings gästabud).
The earliest knowncharter dates from 1444,[5] making it one of the now defunctCities in Sweden. In the 16th century, Nyköping became the seat of Duke Charles, who later becameCharles IX of Sweden. With the status of a Royal residential seat, Nyköping was at its peak of development.
Nyköping, in an engraving from 1690 to 1710
In 1665 large parts of the city including the fortress were damaged in a fire. The same thing happened again in 1719 when Russian troops invaded the city. It was then rebuilt with its current street plan.
Nyköping wasindustrialized relatively early compared to the rest of Sweden. In the early 19th century,textile industry was established, and the population soon rose as Nyköping's industry grew. In 1879, C.A. Wedholms mejerikärlsfabrik was founded, starting to producemilk churns. Wedholms still has activity in Nyköping and is a milk cooling tank manufacturer.
Nyköping was the town whereNordiska Kompaniet had its furniture factory. The business created a spin-off namedANA, which licence-built American and English cars, asPlymouth, De Soto, Hillman and Sunbeam. The company was later purchased bySaab Automobile and led to SAAB becoming the largest employer in the town during the 1980s, as well as the relocation of the headquarters to Spelhagen. But whenGM bought SAAB fromInvestor AB, the headquarters was moved back toTrollhättan and about two thousand lost their jobs.[6]
Nyköping has been a stronghold for the reconnaissance squadrons of theSwedish Air Force. Between 1941 and 1980, the nearbyStockholm Skavsta Airport hosted theSödermanland Wing (F 11), which had three squadrons with reconnaissance aircraft. It was the only dedicated reconnaissance wing in the Swedish Air Force. The city has also hosted the flying school of theSwedish Army which was located at Brandholmen between 1963 and 1985.
Nyköping lies about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south-west of the capitalStockholm along theBaltic Sea. It is roughly 60 kilometres (37 mi) north-east ofNorrköping, both cities being accessible by highway-dividedmotorway. It is also about 80 kilometres (50 mi) south ofEskilstuna; the largest settlement of the county. The northern areas of the city is on exactly the same parallel of 58° 46' N asCanadian "polar bear capital of the world"Churchill, demonstrating how warm the climate is in comparison in spite of its northerly latitude. The southern edge of the municipality also straddles the same parallel as the northernmost point of mainlandScotland atThurso – that has a much more narrower range of temperature. The southern edge of the municipality is the southernmost point ofSvealand, the middle of Sweden's traditional three crown lands that once formed the country. The city is located at a few miles more southerly latitude than the country's northernmost west coast town ofStrömstad. The line of17°E goes through Nyköping, thus the city is eight minutes ahead in solar time of theGMT +1 line that Sweden follows for its time zone.
Nyköping is the exodus of a small river namedNyköpingsån (Nyköping River), which runs through the city centre, dividing the city into a natural eastern and western part. Due to the narrowness of the river, there are a full seven crossings available for automobile traffic, one of them being for theE4. For pedestrians and bikers, an additional seven bridges are available, and in addition to that there is also one bridge for train traffic. All automobile bridges except E4 also carry pedestrian sidewalks, which means transport is seldom made longer than the actual distance. There is also a small pedestrian bridge in an unpopulatednature reserve calledHållet that is very close to the E4 route.
The small riverKilaån separates Nyköping andArnö, with that river being even narrower. Also separating Nyköping and Arnö is the so-calledStadsfjärden (the City bay), which is a bay stretching around the Arnö peninsula down to the neighboring municipality ofOxelösund. Stadsfjärden is primarily used for tourist shipping and canoeing, with an internationally renowned canoeing stadium being situated along the northern shore. The port is much smaller than Oxelösund's and is primarily used for civil traffic, as opposed to cargo shipments and ferry traffic which is dominated by nearby ports of Oxelösund andNynäshamn. This is due to the port being some 15 kilometres from open sea as opposed to Oxelösund's position on the edge of the peninsula. Even though Nyköping is a relatively flat city there are some hills in the northern parts of the town, barely reaching 50 metres altitude. The city centre is essentially just above sea level and does not rise above 20 metres altitude, although it contains hills surrounding it.
The rural localities ofSjösa,Bergshammar,Svalsta andEnstaberga located within 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) are connected to the city centre bycycle tracks with permanent lighting. In addition there is a nature and coastal area calledTjuvholmen east of the city centre that is part of the locality with many holiday homes. Tjuvholmen lacks an asphalted access road and is in general seen as a rural area in spite of its proximity to the city centre. East of Arnö on the southern shore there are similar areas such asÖrstig, which is connected by asphalt road and cycle tracks to Arnö and Nyköping. Other nearby rural areas on the southern shore include holiday home areas such asLinudden andÖrstigsnäs, as well as the coastal camping place ofStrandstugeviken. There is also lighted cycling tracks all the way south roughly 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the neighbouring cityOxelösund, making pedestrian and biking transport to nearby areas effective and avoids potentially dangerous contacts with motor vehicles.
Nyköping is the seat of Nyköping Municipality and this table just records how the urban area (including Arnö) has voted, contrasting with the rural electoral wards.
The city is located on a branch line to theSödra stambanan. Scheduled railway connections on the line is provided bySJ AB. These are mostly operated by Rc-hauled trainsets. SJ does currently not operate anyX 2000 services to Nyköping.
The planned new high-speed railOstlänken going fromStockholm toLinköping will have two stops in the city, one at the new planned train station and one atSkavsta Airport. The railway will later be connected with the planned high-speed railGötalandsbanan going fromLinköping toGothenburg, which will make it possible to go fromStockholm toGothenburg in two hours. It is planned to be finished between 2033 and 2035.
Stockholm-Skavsta Airport offers intra-European routes onRyanair andWizz Air. The airport is located about 10 kilometers outside of the city and is connected with bus from the city center. The nearest large airport isStockholm Arlanda Airport which is located 137 km (85 mi) north east of Nyköping.
Nyköping has, along with the rest ofMälardalen, a relatively mildhumid continental climate (Dfb).[22] In recent decades, the climate has more resembled a four-seasonoceanic climate. Winter averages around the freezing point during daytime with only the cold nights causing winter conditions in many winters. Summer average highs are between 20 °C (68 °F) and 23 °C (73 °F) depending on month and weather patterns. However, both summers and winters have been significantly warmer and colder, respectively, than the averages. Temperatures over 30 °C (86 °F) are occasional but not overly common, with temperatures above 32 °C (90 °F) unknown in recent decades.[23] Winters are normally tempered by theGulf Stream influence from the west and theBaltic Sea to the east, but when cold air breaks through cold temperatures can occur, sometimes for a prolonged time. As typical of southern Sweden there is a slightseasonal lag, meaning that the warmest period is often occurring during the second half of summer.
The seaside effect due to southerlies frequently travelling over water often prevents heat waves from impacting Nyköping, resulting in lowerdiurnals with very mild nights, whileNorrköping to its west often is hot during the day and cools down at night.
The inland areas of the municipality are very much similar to the coastal areas, but the weather station at Skavsta shows lower summer mean temperatures thanOxelösund, indicating that the inner city wider urban area nearer the water has milder nights year round. Both stations are within a meteorological relevant range from the city centre.
After many years without any weather station, theSMHI set up a precipitation reader in Nyköping in 2020.[24] The nearest temperature station is seaside at Femöre in Oxelösund, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south by air.[25] Nyköping is slightly warmer during the day than Oxelösund during summer and shoulder seasons, while being somewhat colder during winter days and nights year round.
Other clubs are football club Harg, the football andhandball teams of IFK Nyköping and also includes Onyx infloorball.
The city is yet to have a team in the major football or hockey leagues of Sweden, with stints in the second tiers being the greatest achievements for both main sides.
Nyköping includes the cinemaBiostaden which houses Sweden's largest cinema screen.[28] The cinema was newly built from the ground in 2012. It is located in Högbrunn.
Nyköpings Stadsbibliotek (Nyköping City Library) is located in the city center, which offers various book clubs and activities for children. There is free Internet access and wifi for visitors. It has books of all genres, for all ages, and in many languages.[29]
Panoramic view of the northern downtown Forsbron part of Nyköping (2010)
