Östergötland

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

---

Östergötland (Swedish: ˈœ̂sːtɛrˌjøːtland; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden.

Variants

• Ostrogothia (Latinized version )

Location

It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, the Latinized version Ostrogothia is also used. The corresponding administrative county, Östergötland County, covers the entire province and parts of neighbouring provinces.

Geography

From west to east, in the middle parts, extends the Östgöta Plain (Östgötaslätten). It is largely agricultural. In the southern part of the province, the terrain becomes marked by the south Swedish highlands, with hills and countless lakes. The northern parts are also hilly, and are otherwise dominated by forests.

Outside the eastern shore of Östergötland lies the Östergötland archipelago, the islands and islets of which cover an area of 118 km2. The Bråviken bay continues further into the country. Some of the more notable islands are Korsö, Gränsö, Arkö, Djursö, Yxnö, Finnö, Emtö, Fångö and Stora Ålö.

Traditionally, the region is divided into two halves, east and west of the river Stångån (Östanstång and Västanstång respectively), which flows from the south into Lake Roxen at Linköping.

The eastern part of Göta Canal traverses the province from the Baltic Sea at Mem to Lake Vättern at Motala.

History

The earliest mention of Östergötland (the Ostrogoths of Scandza) appears in the Getica by the Goth scholar Jordanes.

The traditions of Östergötland date back into the Viking Age, the undocumented Iron Age, and earlier, when this region had its own laws and kings (see Geatish kings and Wulfings). It is said that the famous Viking warrior Beowulf may likely have been from what is now the Östergötland region. The region kept its own laws, the Östgötalagen, into the Middle Ages. Östergötland belonged to the Christian heartland of the late Iron Age and early medieval Sweden. The Sverker and Bjälbo dynasties played pivotal roles in the consolidation of Sweden.

The province has about 50,000 ancient remains of different kinds. Some 1,749 are, for instance, grave fields.

Industry was formerly most significant in the cities of Norrköping (industries include Ericsson), Linköping (where SAAB has aircraft factories where the Gripen fighter is produced), Finspång (metal works), and Motala (mechanical industries).

Since the 13th century, Swedish princes and princesses in some dynasties have been created dukes and duchesses of various provinces. Since 1772, these are only honorary titles. There have been several Dukes and Duchesses of Östergötland. The current duchess is Princess Estelle since her birth in 2012. Local lore from Lake Sommen in southern Östergötland tells that a cow-beast called Urkon or Sommakoa will kill any crowned king that visits the district of Ydre. It was said that the Urkon killed legendary king Frode. As Frode was passing through Ydre, Urkon escaped its lake-cave and attacked him. Frode fled Ydre and thought he was safe but the beast caught and slew him.

Local accents

Formerly the östgöta or dialect spectrum were considered true göta dialects, but is nowadays considered being a transition area between true göta dialects and svea dialects. The dialects are still used in rural areas, but in the cities, the Standard Swedish is spoken with a certain Östgöta accent.

The accent Östgötska can be distinguished from Standard Swedish just by accent and pronunciation of vowels and sje- and the- sounds, which makes Östgöta accent an eastern variety of the Götaland accent. In some parts bordering to Södermanland, a variety of the Svealand accent is spoken.

See also

• List of Germanic tribes