SODERTALJE

town, in the ln (county) of Stockholm, east-central Sweden. It lies between a bay of Lake Mlar and the Baltic Sea, southwest of Stockholm. The town, formerly called simply Tlje, was founded in the 10th century and was damaged by fire in 1390, 1650, and 1719. In and around the town are St. Ragnhild's Church (dating from about 1200), Gripsholm Castle, and an open-air museum. In the 19th century Sdertlje was a spa and bathing resort, but it is now a manufacturing centre and a rail and road junction on the routes from Stockholm to Malm, Gteborg, and Oslo. Lake Mlar and the Baltic are connected at Sdertlje by the 3-mile- (5-kilometre-) long Sdertlje Canal (1819; enlarged 191724). Pop. (1995 est.) mun., 81,890.