Västervik
A panorama of Västervik from the roof of St. Gertruds Church.
Västervik
Coordinates: 57°45′N 16°38′E / 57.75°N 16.633°E / 57.75; 16.633Coordinates: 57°45′N 16°38′E / 57.75°N 16.633°E / 57.75; 16.633
Country	Sweden
Province	Småland
County	Kalmar County
Municipality	Västervik Municipality
Area
- Total	12.87 km2 (5 sq mi)
Population (2005-12-31)
- Total	20,694
- Density	1,608/km2 (4,164.7/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Västervik around 1900

Västervik is a city and the seat of Västervik Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 20,694 inhabitants in 2005.

Västervik in Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna

History

Västervik was first mentioned in 1275. The town was then located at the current location of Gamleby. In 1433 Eric of Pomerania decided to give it a charter and move it to its current strategically important location, close to the castle of Stegeholm. In the ensuing centuries Västervik suffered attacks from hostile armies. It was more or less completely destroyed five times between 1450 and 1677. Despite this, king Gustav Vasa established a ship industry here in the 16th century, from which ships sailed to Germany and the Baltic countries, and from the 17th century they sailed to Portugal too. In the 18th century a long period of peace allowed the ship industry to expand, increasing the ship routes down to the Mediterranean Sea.

Today

Every year since 1966 there is a folk music festival in Västervik, at the ruins of the Stegeholm castle. The city still bases much of its industry on its harbour, and on the industries that were established as a result of it in the late 19th century. Recently, however, Västervik has suffered the closure of certain factories, notably Electrolux, with associated job losses. Being a summer town popular with yachtspeople, campers, daytrippers, and returning former residents, Västervik experiences an annual revival in July. Just outside Västervik, there is the static inverter of HVDC Gotland and Fårhultsmasten, a 335 m tall guyed mast used for FM/TV-transmission, which shares with three other masts the title of Sweden's tallest structure.

Other uses

Västervik is also the name of a small village 8 km north of Vaasa, Finland. The name just means "western bay", so there could be more minor localities by that name.

Notable natives

• Ellen Key (1846-1926), author and feminist
• Gottfrid Emanuel Lundberg (1879-1933), Swedish-American engraver
• Björn Ulvaeus, one of the four members of the pop group ABBA
• Alice Babs, singer
• Gösta Bernard, writer and singer
• John F. Carlson, Swedish-born American Impressionist artist
• Stefan Edberg, tennis player
• Ulf Grenander, statistician, probabilist, and computer scientist.
• Stefan Karlsson, jazz pianist
• Gösta Bernhard, actor and film director
• Magnus Härenstam, comedian, actor and tv host

See also

• Västervik Speedway, motorcycle speedway club

Västervik is one of 133 places with the historical city status in Sweden.

Municipalities and seats of Kalmar County Municipalities Borgholm · Emmaboda · Högsby · Hultsfred · Kalmar · Mönsterås · Mörbylånga · Nybro · Oskarshamn · Torsås · Västervik · Vimmerby Municipal seats Borgholm · Emmaboda · Högsby · Hultsfred · Kalmar · Mönsterås · Mörbylånga · Nybro · Oskarshamn · Torsås · Västervik · Vimmerby Counties of Sweden · Sweden