remains largely intact. The Dominican monastery played an important role in the Swedish Middle Ages and produced many important church officials, among them many Swedish archbishops. Many church and monastery ruins still stand, including St. Pers Church (S:t Pers kyrkoruin) dating the 1100s, St. Olof Church (S:t Olofs kyrkoruin) dated from around the middle of the 11th century, and St. Lars Church (S:t Lars kyrkoruin) dating from the middle of the 13th century. In 1187 Sigtuna was attacked and pillaged by raiders from across the Baltic Sea and Novgorod, possibly Karelians, Curonian and/or Estonian (Oeselian) raiders.<ref name=Tarvel>Enn Tarvel (2007). [http://haridus.opleht.ee/Arhiiv/7_82007/38-41.pdf Sigtuna hukkumine.] Haridus, 2007 (7-8), p 38–41</ref> Archaeological excavations have not verified the traditions of destruction of the town. Normal life in Sigtuna continued until the town started to slowly lose its importance during the 13th century due to navigability problems caused by post-glacial rebound. The current coat of arms can be traced to the town's first known seal, dating from 1311. According to a legend (possibly inspired by the town arms), Sigtuna was once the Royal seat, but this cannot be confirmed. The crown may also symbolize the large royal mint which was located in the town. Since 1971 the coat of arms has been valid for the much larger Sigtuna Municipality. In the late 19th century Sigtuna still hosted only about 600 people, and was the smallest town in Sweden. The town remained insignificant until the second half of the 20th century. Much of the population growth can be related to Stockholm Arlanda Airport (IATA: ARN), situated some 10 km from Sigtuna. Gallery Sports Sigtuna IF, sports club See also Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket, a famous boarding school. Luodian is a replica of Sigtuna located in Shanghai Notes References "Sigtuna" from Nordisk familjebok Related reading Tesch, Sten; Jacques Vincent (2003) Vyer från medeltidens Sigtuna'' (Sigtuna Museum) Hjorth, Agnete; Edéus, Anne-Marie (2006) Sigtunabilder : hus och människor i gamla Sigtuna (Svartsjö: Förlag Agnete Hjorth) External links Sigtuna Municipality official website Sigtuna museum website Populated places in Sigtuna Municipality Histories of cities in Sweden Viking Age populated places Sigtuna Municipality 980 establishments 10th-century establishments in Sweden