CHAPTER XVI.
IONKOPING AND ITS ENVIRONS.
Aecount of Ionkoping:—Journey to Taberg—Description of that Hill—Seems to belong;
to the Floetz Rocks—Account of this Hill by Ascauius—Bergman—Tilas—Napioni—
Hisinger—Haussman.
I o n k o p in g is a small town consisting chiefly o f two parallel streets
running east and west. I t is the capital o f the province o f Smoland,
and the seat o f the superior Court o f Justice for the kingdom o f Gothland.
I t is said to contain about 3 0 0 0 inhabitants. The houses are
almost all o f wood, and covered on the roof .either with turf or wood.
The first constitutes by far the most common covering in all the
Swedish towns. Slates are hardly ever seen employed as a covering
for houses. A ll the houses that I saw covered with slates in Sweden
were two, and both were in Stockholm, and standing beside each
other. Like all the other Swedish towns, Ionkoping has an open
square, which may be considered as the market-place, round which
houses have been built.
The town is beautifully situated upon the south banks o f the Yetter,
many o f the houses standing upon the edge o f the water. Each house
has a communication with the water behind, and a conveniency erected
for washing their linen. There is a small lake on the south side o f the
town, joined to the Yetter by a kind o f canal at the west end of the
town, for the conveniency o f carrying limestone to the iron works on