The city of Jonkoping, in the south of Sweden, won the Access City Award for 2021. The prize is organized by the European Commission together with the European Disability Forum and is one of the actions of the EU Disability Strategy 2010-2020.
According to the award judges Jonkoping made continuous improvements in both the new and old areas of the city, in collaboration with disability organizations.
The city of Bremerhaven in Germany and the city of Gdynia in Poland are the second and third place winners of the 2021 Access City Award.
Poznań in Poland received a special mention for accessibility of public services in times of the pandemic. Two further special mentions were awarded to Komotini in Greece for “accessibility as an opportunity for the whole city” and Florence in Italy for the “built environment”.
The city
Jonkoping is located on the south bank of Lake Vättern. According to the 2018 census, there were 97 912 residents.
You probably don’t know, but the safety match was invented in Jönköping.
And, therefore, there is a museum dedicated to this history. The invention turned the city into a match-producing capital from 1845 to 1970. The exhibitions recount the story of figures like the Lundström brothers who ran the factory that now houses this museum.
Besides, you can also visit the 19th-century church Sofiakyrkan, one of the city’s main landmarks, and it’s held as a high point of Gothic Revival design.
The exterior has a pretty interplay of red brick and whitewashed stone moldings helping the rose window, portal, and lancet windows stand out.
On the carved wooden altar is a crucifix by the artist Carl Johan Dyfverman, and there’s a beautiful Italian Baroque painting of Supper at Emmaus purchased in Rome in the 1600s.
You can also visit Uppgrenna Naturhus. This amazing place in the picture below is not at Jonkoping but it is a few minutes by ferry or bus.
The Award
The Access City Award was launched in 2010 to raise awareness of disability and promote accessibility initiatives in European cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. The prize is about ensuring equal access to city life for people with disabilities.
The Award goes to the city that has demonstrably improved accessibility in fundamental aspects of city living and has concrete plans for further improvements.
The Access City Award is presented at the yearly European Day of Persons with Disabilities conference.
Winners of the previous awards:
- 2011, Avila (Spain)
- 2012, Salzburg (Austria)
- 2013, Berlin (Germany)
- 2014, Gothenburg (Sweden)
- 2015, Boras (Sweden)
- 2016, Milan (Italy)
- 2017, Chester (United Kingdom)
- 2018, Lyon (France)
- 2019, Breda (The Netherlands)
- 2020, Warsaw (Poland)
Wow! Looks so beautiful 😍