Lidingö is an
islandAn island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, .There are two main types of islands:...
in the inner
Stockholm archipelagoThe Stockholm archipelago is the biggest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the biggest archipelagos of the Baltic sea.-Geography:The archipelago extends from Stockholm roughly 60 kilometers to the east...
, north east of central
Stockholm' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
, the capital of
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
. It is also a
localityUrban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort. The official term in English, used by Statistics Sweden, is, however, locality. There are 1,940 localities in Sweden . They could be compared with census-designated places in the United States.A tätort in Sweden has a minimum of...
on the island, and the seat of
Lidingö MunicipalityLidingö Municipality is a municipality just east of Stockholm in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Lidingö...
,
Stockholm CountyStockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders the counties of Uppsala and Södermanland. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland...
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
with 30,357 inhabitants in 2005.
Lidingö MunicipalityLidingö Municipality is a municipality just east of Stockholm in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Lidingö...
, consisting of Lidingö and some of the surrounding minor islands, is one of the historical cities of Sweden.
Stockholm and the waters around Lidingö looks much the same as around Seattle (USA) or
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
(Australia) with large forests mixed with open farm land, but the climate is much colder.
Lidingö is an
islandAn island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, .There are two main types of islands:...
in the inner
Stockholm archipelagoThe Stockholm archipelago is the biggest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the biggest archipelagos of the Baltic sea.-Geography:The archipelago extends from Stockholm roughly 60 kilometers to the east...
, north east of central
Stockholm' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
, the capital of
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
. It is also a
localityUrban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort. The official term in English, used by Statistics Sweden, is, however, locality. There are 1,940 localities in Sweden . They could be compared with census-designated places in the United States.A tätort in Sweden has a minimum of...
on the island, and the seat of
Lidingö MunicipalityLidingö Municipality is a municipality just east of Stockholm in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Lidingö...
,
Stockholm CountyStockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders the counties of Uppsala and Södermanland. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland...
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
with 30,357 inhabitants in 2005.
Lidingö MunicipalityLidingö Municipality is a municipality just east of Stockholm in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Lidingö...
, consisting of Lidingö and some of the surrounding minor islands, is one of the historical cities of Sweden.
Nature & climate
Stockholm and the waters around Lidingö looks much the same as around Seattle (USA) or
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
(Australia) with large forests mixed with open farm land, but the climate is much colder. Summer season is limited to the end of May through June-July-August, autumn September-October. The air temperature seldom exceeds 25°C during summer time. Sea water temperatures usually have a peak in mid July with around 20°C in the inner parts of the archipelago. First snow fall is generally within the first two weeks of November. During the winter season thick ice normally covers the waters around Stockholm and up to 15-20 nautical miles out in the Baltic sea archipelago. Coldest period is during January until the end of February. Springtime is from mid April through May.
Early History
Only two runic inscriptions have been found on the island. The latest was found in 1984 under a 10 cm thick layer of soil and moss. The area has never been used for any human activities in modern time and has thus been preserved since prehistoric age. The inscription is from the
Viking ageViking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the eighth to eleventh centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
, around 800-1050 AD and has been interpreted as (translated):
"Åsmund carved runes in memory of his grandfather Sten, father of Sibbe and Gerbjörn ....a great monument over a good man." The figures shows large snakes and on top a
Maltese crossThe Maltese cross is identified as the symbol of an order of Christian warriors known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Malta and through them came to be identified with the Mediterranean island of Malta and is considered one of the National symbols of Malta...
typical for the late Viking age. 300-400 years later, the inhabitants had established small farms.
Later History
Lidingö is first mentioned in writing 1328 in the last will by Jedvard Filipsson, in the sentence
"curiam in Lydhingø" corresponding to a "Lidingö farm".
Bo Jonsson (Grip)Bo Jonsson was head of the royal council and marshal under the regency of Magnus IV of Sweden. Also in the council was his friend and colleague, Karl Ulfsson av Ulvåsa, eldest son of Saint Birgitta...
(early 1330s – 20 August 1386) bought the entire island during the period of 1376-1381. Around 1480 the island was taken over by the family Banér in
DjursholmDjursholm is one of four suburban districts in, and the seat of Danderyd Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. Djursholm is included in the multimunicipal Stockholm urban area.-History:...
. The first church was built in 1623. The 29 augusti 1774, Johan Gabriel Banér (1733-1811) in Djursholm, sold the entire island and the land was split up in 25 major farms. One of the largest farms since that time, that has been preserved within the Långängen-Elfvik national park was Elfviks farm, situated on the east part of Lidingö, today covering of open farmland and most of the forest land on Elfvik. Most of the original houses, built from the end of the 18th century up to mid-19th century, have been saved and restored. The farm is still active with beef cattle, sheep and horses and is run by Lidingö Municipality. During the end of the 20th century, the largest real estate close to the Elfvik farm was the
IBMInternational Business Machines Corporation, abbreviated IBM, is a multinational computer technology and IT consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, Town of North Castle, New York, United States. The company is one of the few information technology companies with a continuous history dating...
educational center for northern Europe, built in early 1960 on the outer east edge of Lidingö, today working as a Hotel complex.