Interesting Facts About the City of Jönköping, Sweden
A.k.a. “the Jerusalem of Sweden”
“Jönköping?”, you might think, “never heard of that.” Well, it made it into the top ten of Sweden’s biggest cities. Along with an eventful history and beautiful nature, it has a practical location right between Stockholm in the North-East and Göteborg in the West. So you might as well stop by Jönköping on your next trip to Sweden!
I’ve lived here for one and a half years so far and highly encourage you to visit “Jkpg”, as the tourist information and locals abbreviate it.
It’s a Match!
In 1844, A Swedish chemist came up with safety matches as an alternative to toxic phosphorus matches. Jönköping then became home to the very first safety match factor in the world. The city still has a match museum and a whole “Match area” (Tändsticksområdet) with beautiful red brick buildings. One of these houses has become a student accommodation, known among students as “Match House” and popular because of its low prices, big rooms and central location.
Tested Positive
Not only were safety matches introduced in Jönköping before reaching the rest of Sweden — the same thing applies to the coronavirus. The very first COVID-19 case in Sweden was a young woman who tested positive in Jönköping in January 2020. Although I was not yet living in Jönköping at the time, it does not surprise me, considering how many international students Jönköping University has. From the experience of being an international student myself, I know that they often travel between different countries, have an active social life and are thus likely to get infected.
Water Everywhere
All good things come in threes, right? Following that principle, Jönköping counts three lakes (Munksjön, Rocksjön, Vättern) — although it has less than 150 000 inhabitants. I find that quite impressive, but then again, take a car ride through any part of Sweden and you might quickly be bored of lakes due to their sheer number. If you don’t believe me, check out a map of Sweden! Jönköping borders the second-largest lake of the country, called Vättern. In summer, the sandy beach invites you for a swim — and it honestly feels like you’re in the ocean, although without the danger of big sea animals or currents threatening to pull you underwater.
A Christian Hub
In the first few months of living in Jönköping, I concluded that Sweden must have many, many Christian churches. When strolling through the city center of Jönköping, it felt like there was one around every street corner. I hadn’t imagined Sweden as a particularly religious country, but I accepted the fact that my assumption must have been wrong — until somebody jokingly told me I was living in the “Swedish Bible Belt”, or the “Jerusalem of Sweden.” No other part of Sweden, I was subsequently told by many Swedes, had such a high concentration of churches combined with an active community around “free churches.” Hence, Jönköping is surnamed “bible belt” just like the religious South of the US.
Green Lights Dancing in the Sky
In January 2022, I saw the Northern Lights, also called Aurora Borealis, for the first time — not a several-hour train drive further north in Swedish Lapland where you would expect it, but right in front of my door in Jönköping shortly after midnight. This is rare because, on a map of Sweden, the region of Småland is fairly Southern — but it can happen!
Köping, Köping, Köping
Here’s a funny anecdote: I had volunteered in a meditation center for a few days and was planning to meet up with a fellow Finnish volunteer a few days after my departure. He would come to see me in Jönköping after his doctor’s appointment there. As it turned out on the day of his visit, he was actually on his way to Linköping. A common mistake foreigners make is to confuse Linköping, Lidköping, Norrköping, Jönköping and the other cities in this region that end in “köping.” Yes, those are indeed different cities. “Köping” was the denomination of trading places that developed in the Middle Ages.
A World-Renowned Business School
Also called “JIBS,” Jönköping International Business School is one of four schools at Jönköping University. It ranks among the top 100 business schools in the world, which is pretty impressive for such a small university of applied sciences! You will encounter a very international environment with teachers and students from around the world. I study at the School for Education and Communication, so cannot provide you with insider information about JIBS.
Universitet or University?
To the surprise of many international and some Swedish students, Jönköping University (JU) is not actually a “universitet” (university), but a “högskola” (university of applied sciences). The English word “university” can therefore be misleading. The Swedish satire news show “Svenska Nyheter” even dedicated an episode to JU’s branding: The journalists printed banners in a High School Musical design reading “High School” and hung them in front of JU’s building names. I wish JU were more transparent about this, although Swedes have told me that there is no significant difference between “högskola” and “universitet”: JU, for instance, has Ph.D. students, research groups, acclaimed scholars, and programs like mine with a marked academic orientation.
VIPs
Agnetha, one of the two female singers of the famous Swedish band ABBA, calls Jönköping her place of birth. To visit the museum dedicated to the band, you’ll have to travel to the capital though. And to attend one of ABBA’s first concerts after their comeback last year, you’ll have to be lucky and stay informed. When talking about VIPs (very important people) from Jönköping, I also have to mention John Bauer, a painter of fairytale creatures born and deceased there. There is a nice, child-friendly exhibition about him in Jönköping’s Länsmuseum.
Before moving to Sweden, I associated the country with its top three cities in terms of size: Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. If you’re a non-Swede like me, I hope this article made you realize that a smaller city like “Jkpg” also has a lot to offer — ancient and recent history, anecdotes, lakes, famous personalities and other peculiarities.
© Annika Erika 2022
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