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Ödeshög Municipality

Ödeshögs kommun
The Sverker chapel 3.jpg
Coat of arms of Ödeshög Municipality
Coat of arms
Ödeshög Municipality in Östergötland County.png
Country Sweden
County Östergötland County
Seat Ödeshög
Area
 • Total 672.1 km2 (259.5 sq mi)
 • Land 431.39 km2 (166.56 sq mi)
 • Water 240.71 km2 (92.94 sq mi)
  Area as of January 1, 2010.
Population
 (June 30, 2012)
 • Total 5,330
 • Density 7.930/km2 (20.540/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code SE
Province Östergötland
Municipal code 0509
Website www.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.

In total there were 5,303 residents, including 4,109 Swedish citizens of voting age. 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 - KMB - 16000300019411
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.

Ödeshög hammer (494755)
Thor's hammer found in Eketorp, Ödeshög parish.

Famous citizens

Twin towns

  • Belarus Obal, Belarus
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