Ödeshög Municipality

Ödeshög Municipality
Ödeshögs kommun
Municipality
Coat of arms of Ödeshög Municipality
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 58°13′N 14°39′E / 58.217°N 14.650°E / 58.217; 14.650
CountrySweden
CountyÖstergötland County
SeatÖdeshög
Area
[1]
 • Total
668.99 km2 (258.30 sq mi)
 • Land430.42 km2 (166.19 sq mi)
 • Water238.57 km2 (92.11 sq mi)
 Area as of 1 January 2014.
Population
 (31 December 2023)[2]
 • Total
5,279
 • Density7.9/km2 (20/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeSE
ProvinceÖstergötland
Municipal code0509
Websitewww.odeshog.se

Ödeshög Municipality (Ödeshögs kommun) is a municipality in Östergötland County, Sweden. The seat is situated in the small town of Ödeshög.

The coat of arms was created in 1972 at the time the modern municipalities of Sweden were created. It mainly represents the medieval monastery of Alvastra: An abbacy staff, a rising moon (historically representing the Virgin Mary), and a six-pointed star (representing a higher deity).

Nature

A large part of the municipality borders lake Vättern. There is a small harbour.

There are two nature reserves within the municipal borders: Isberga with a distinguished steppe meadow flora [1], and Kråkeryd located on rocks above Vättern at 60 meters altitude. Kråkeryd has a geology rich in lime, and the uncultivated rocky terrain is the location for several unusual flowers and plants [2].

Localities

There are two urban areas (also called a Tätort or locality) in Ödeshög Municipality.

In the table the localities are listed according to the size of the population as of December 31, 2005. The municipal seat is in bold characters.

# Locality Population
1 Ödeshög 2,651
2 Hästholmen 372

Demographics

This is a demographic table based on Ödeshög Municipality's electoral districts in the 2022 Swedish general election sourced from SVT's election platform, in turn taken from SCB official statistics.[3]

In total there were 5,303 residents, including 4,109 Swedish citizens of voting age.[3] 38.8% voted for the left coalition and 59.5% for the right coalition. Indicators are in percentage points except population totals and income.

Sights

Alvastra kloster.

Within the borders of the municipalities lies the monastery of Alvastra. One of the world's most famous runestones, the Rök runestone, is also situated within the municipal borders.

There are also other ancient remains: the two hillforts Borgberget and Hjässaborgen. Both are open for visits although not much remains, and both are somewhat difficult to access. The municipality also contains burial grounds, etc.

Besides the monastery of Alvastra, there are seven other notable churches, several of which have a medieval foundation. Noteworthy are: Rök Church from 1845 (outside which stands the Rök runestone), Stora Åby Church, from the 1750s, with several older artifacts (baptismal font, triptych), and Ödeshögs Church with a medieval foundation.

In Eketorp, an ancient Thor's hammer amulet was found.

Thor's hammer found in Eketorp, Ödeshög parish.

Famous citizens

Twin towns

References

  1. ^ "Statistiska centralbyrån, Kommunarealer den 1 januari 2014" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 2014-01-01. Archived from the original (Microsoft Excel) on 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  2. ^ "Folkmängd och befolkningsförändringar - Kvartal 4, 2023" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Valresultat 2022 för Ödeshög i riksdagsvalet" (in Swedish). SVT. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  4. ^ (in Swedish) Info at Ödeshög municipal website
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