Sigtuna

Sigtuna (sĭg`tü'nä), town (1990 pop. 4,918), Stockholm co., E Sweden, on Lake Skarven, near Stockholm. Founded c.1000, it was one of Sweden's earliest towns, its first capital, and a center of Christian missionary activity. Sweden's first coin was minted there and carried the motto "Situna Dei" (God's Sigtuna). The town was plundered and burned by Estonian pirates in 1187 and subsequently quickly declined. Today it is a popular tourist spot and an educational center.

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Sigtuna 

a city in Sweden, in Stockholm Län (county); situated on the northern shore of Lake Mälaren. Population, 4,300 (1970). Popular tourist site.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, after the fall of Birka, Sigtuna was the leading religious, political, and commercial center of Sweden. From 1060 to 1130 it was a bishopric. The earliest historical references to coinage and trade guilds in Sweden mention Sigtuna. In 1187 the city was plundered and burned by neighboring pagans, after which it lost its importance.

Architectural monuments in Sigtuna include the Romanesque tower of St. Lars (approximately 1100) and the brick Gothic St. Maria Church (13th century). In the center of the city are 18th-century wooden buildings, including a town hall.

REFERENCE

Floderus, E. Sigtuna. Stockholm, 1941.