Sights in Nacka

Nacka lies to the northeast of Stockholm in the province of Södermanland and is now closely integrated with the Swedish capital. The place grew up at the junction between the Nacken ridge and Lake Järlasjön, which was once part of an important waterway. With more than 25,000 inhabitants, Nacka ranks among the larger suburbs of the region and is officially listed as a tätort of Stockholm.

Originally, Nacka referred only to the ridge, but in the sixteenth century Gustav Vasa had an ironworks built on a nearby stream, which was later expanded to include a brass foundry and mills. In the seventeenth century a chapel was built and Nacka became an independent municipality. After the closure of the works around 1900 the chapel was demolished, but the merger with Sicklaön in the late nineteenth century gave the place fresh impetus.

Today Nacka’s appearance is shaped by both historic villas and modern apartment buildings. The Nacka Forum shopping centre, opened in 1989, is regarded as the new heart of the municipality. Notable figures such as the diplomat Inga Björk-Klevby and the handball player Johanna Westberg come from Nacka, which has developed from an industrial community into a service-based one.