…Sigtuna, the Small Swedish Town with Viking Heritage.

Sigtuna is a small characterful town located 54km north of Stockholm. It rests on the banks of the beautiful lake Mälaren and is the oldest town in Sweden. Founded in AD 980, Sigtuna is rich in Viking history and up until the 13^th century, it was the most important city in the country.

A Brief History of the Town

Sigtuna is believed to be founded by the Swedish King Erik the Victorious in 980, at a transitional time where the Viking faith was being converted to Christian faith. The town is rich in history from this period with many Viking-age artefacts discovered in the area, these can be seen on display at the museum on Stora Nygatan. In 1998 a mass grave of 38 people was also found in Sigtuna, the Skeletons were dated from the Viking era and held injuries from bladed weapons, a clear sign of battle or conflict, possibly an attack against the city.

Sigtuna is rich in Viking heritage, it has over 40 original runestones in the main town and around 170 stones in the whole of the Sigtuna Municipality. While walking around the area theses can be seen on street corners, in churchyards and next to paths at almost every turn. Most of the runic stones are believed to have been erected to honour and remember the dead.

In 1187 Sigtuna was pillaged by raiders from the Baltic sea and the city was almost burnt to the ground. Sigtuna did eventually recover however it eventually lost its importance as a city when Uppsala and Stockholm surpassed it, since then it has been considered a small town. Perhaps one of the smallest towns in Sweden up until the late 19^th century.

Olaf Skötkonung was the first King to mint coins in Sweden and with Sigtuna being the oldest town it was of course the first place to manufacture the country’s currency. Some of the first coins can be seen in the museum located on Stora Nygatan and the original mint house can still be seen on the main street (Stora Gatan) and is now a small café.

Stora Gaten is the Oldest remaining street in Sweden and although most of the original buildings are no longer, the street still follows the same path and the buildings are in the same place as their previous counterparts. Most of the structures are made from timber and painted traditional colours, with the current buildings constructed from the 17^th century onwards.

There are three church ruins that remain standing in Sigtuna, all of these are maintained and kept in their existing state of disrepair so the public can enjoy them for centuries to come. These are St Peter’s Church, St Lawrence Church and St Olaf’s Church. The oldest of these ruins is St Olaf’s church which is thought to have begun in the early 12^th century and is considered the oldest stone church in the whole of Sweden. Most of the churches sit on old Rune sites and runic stones can be found scattered around the area.

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Check it Out for Yourself

One of my favourite places for a fika (a coffee break) in Sigtuna is Tant Bruns Kaffestuga. This characterful café can be found on a side street off Stora Gatan quite close to the visitor centre. Mind your head in this place though as the doors and ceiling are low for even the shorter individual! The café has a cosy vibe to it with fireplaces, small wooden tables and exposed beams, you really do feel as if you’ve walked back in time when you enter this place.

Sigtuna is a fascinating town that is rich in history, if you ever find yourself in Stockholm or Uppsala, I recommend taking the short journey to get there. When you’re there the museum provides an excellent opportunity to delve into the town’s history from the Viking age up to present, and the visitors centre provides plenty of information and resources on exploring the town. Finding the church ruins is relatively easy and a guide can be found at the visitors centre which details the locations of some of the towns famous runestones. Lake Mälaren is a great place to walk around too and has a well paved cycle and pedestrian path along its banks, this leads through the town to the outskirts where you can find plenty of benches and grill spots to relax and take a bite to eat.

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