Surroundings, Norrköping

From Norrköping, 5km/3mi northwest of the road to Svärtinge is the manor house of Ringstad. Near here are cemetery areas and the remains of a seventh century Viking stronghold, believed to be one mentioned in the Helgi lays of the Edda.

29km/18miles northwest of Norrköping is Finspång, in an old mining area, now an industrial town, with a castle of 1668. 10km/6mi northeast of Finspång is Rejmyra, with a glassworks showroom for sale of glassware produced here.

Kolmård Forest lies on the boundary between Södermanland and Östergötland, to the north of the long inlet of Bråvik. This well-wooded upland region extends for some 100km/60mi from west to east. The rocks are mainly reddish gneiss, together with some red and black granite. Stone from here was used in the construction of the Parliament Building in Stockholm in the 19th century. There is also a certain amount of iron and copper in the area. The famous green marble found in the eastern part of the region was worked at intervals over a period of almost 300 years, from 1673 to 1960.

Eriksgatan, the old main road between Götaland and Svealand, ran through the Kolmård area from the Krokek inn to Unnerberg Castle. A forerunner of our present-day inns was the Monastery of Our Lady (Vårfruklostret) in Kolmård, which provided accommodation for travelers. Stones from the ruins of the monastery were used in the construction of a chapel and later of the old church of Krokek (1747), now also in ruins.

10km/6mi southwest of Norrköping, in an English-style park, is Lövstad Castle, now a museum with a collection of pictures. Concerts are given in the castle during the summer months.

15km/9mi southeast of Norrköping can be seen Söderköping (pop. 13,000), founded in the 13th century as a trading station for Lübeck merchants who built a large church here (as they did at Skänninge). The church (St Lawrence's) was completed 200 years later, at the end of the 15th century. The town's location at the eastern end of Gota Canal brings many foregin tourists by boat. Excavations in Storgatan, Vintervadsgatan and elsewhere in the town have brought to light merchants' and craftsmen's houses and equipment which show that for a time during the Middle Ages Söderköping was one of Sweden's principal trading towns. In 1567 the town was partly destroyed by Danish troops, but was rebuilt in stone. King John III made Norrköping the administrative center of the region and promoted the development of mining; and thereafter Söderköping's trade declined, and the German merchants left the town. Its inhabitants then turned to fishing in the skerries for their subsistence. A trading settlement which was now established on the islands of Björkeskär and Viskär held a monopoly of the fisheries off the coasts of Östergötland until 1731. Later the mineral water of St Ragnhild's Spring acquired some reputation and was marketed commercially.Among features of interest in the town are the Drothem quarter with its church and a number of old buildings around St Lawrence's Church, including the belfry (1582) and the schoolhouse. On Gilleskullen is an open-air museum with old houses from the surrounding area. There are fine views from the Ramunderberg with its castle.