Östhammar stad

The city that gave away its privileges — and took them back

Östhammar is first mentioned in documents in 1368, when King Albert of Mecklenburg granted the city privileges. But the place was already a visited trading post before that, and old documents speak of an "Östhammar district" under the Archbishop's seat in Uppsala.

Towards the end of the 15th century, the fairway into the city had become so shallow that the citizens petitioned to move to Öregrund Ness. This was granted — and Öregrund received Östhammar's privileges.

But Östhammar rose again, closer to the coast, at its present location. After Öregrund was burned down on the orders of Christian II, Östhammar had its privileges renewed in 1539. Land uplift has thus moved an entire city, and then moved it back again.

Östhammarshus

Near the city lay in the late 1300s and early 1400s "a beautiful castle and fortress", Östhammarshus. During Engelbrekt's liberation war in 1434 it was burned by the Danish bailiff, who fled by sea to Denmark with his possessions. Remains of the foundation walls are still visible.

Fires and herring

In the summer of 1719 the entire city was burned by the Russian fleet squadron that ravaged the Roslagen coast — everything except the church. Afterwards the city was in a deplorable state, but the citizens refused to move to Öregrund this time. In 1795 the city was ravaged by another fire that destroyed much of the community.

For more than two centuries, from the beginning of the 1600s to the middle of the 1800s, herring fishing was the city's true livelihood. Fishing took place at Måssten and Gåssten and other skerries outside Singö.

The city got a town hall in 1651, and in 1663 the citizens obtained permission to build a church.

The name

The name was written in 1433 as Østhammar and contains the Old Swedish word hamar, "stony slope".

What to see

The city is located between Östhammarsfjärden in the east and national highway 76 in the west, with a harbour and square in the centre. The church is the building that survived the fires. The foundation walls of Östhammarshus remain near the city.

How to get here

Buses run to Uppsala, both directly and via Gimo and Alunda, as well as to Öregrund, Gimo, Forsmark, Hargshamn and Hallstavik. In summer there is a bus service towards Rimbo and Stockholm.