Halmstad

Halmstad
Halmstad, view from Tradecenter
Halmstad
Coordinates: 56°40′N 12°51′E / 56.667°N 12.85°E / 56.667; 12.85Coordinates: 56°40′N 12°51′E / 56.667°N 12.85°E / 56.667; 12.85
Country	Sweden
Province	Halland
County	Halland County
Municipality	Halmstad Municipality
Area [1]
- Total	33.01 km2 (12.7 sq mi)
Population (2005-12-31)[1]
- Total	55,688
- Density	1,687/km2 (4,369.3/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Halmstad ['hulm-stɑː(d)] is a port, university, industrial and recreational city at the mouth of Nissan in the province of Halland on the Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat of Halmstad Municipality and the capital of Halland County. The city has a population of about 55,688,^[1] out of a municipal total of nearly 90,000.

History

Halmstad received its first city charter in 1307, and the city celebrated its 700th anniversary in 2007. The oldest remains of that first town are to be found at "Övraby" upstream on Nissan, quite close to the regiment buildings. The remains of the church can still be seen today between a defunct brick industry and a former landfill.

In the 1320s the town moved to the present day town centre. At this time there were two monasteries in the town and during the 15th century the St. Nikolai church was built. Halland was the object of numerous battles, sieges and occupations by Swedish troops.

During the Kalmar Union – a Nordic Union between Sweden, Norway and Denmark which lasted between 1400 and 1520 – it was in Halmstad that the Union King was to be finally selected.

At the end of the 16th century, the Danish King Christian IV ordered the fortification of Halmstad and in the beginning of the 17th century built a crescent-shaped fort with Nissan as part of the defences.

1619 is an important date in the history of Halmstad. In March of that year, King Gustav Adolf II of Sweden and Christian IV met at the castle. Over a period of a week they celebrated the payment in full of the Älvsborg ransom. August of the same year saw the destruction of Halmstad by fire.

Halland became part of Sweden for a period of thirty years when peace was declared at the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645 and Danish rule ended. The Treaty of Roskilde in 1658 made this acquisition permanent. Sweden defeated Denmark in the Battle of Fyllebro which took place in 1676 just outside Halmstad.

The first May Day demonstration in Sweden was held in Halmstad in 1897.

The population grew from 48,800 in 1990 to 55,688 in 2005.

In September 2007 the city hosted the Solheim Cup, which was played at the Halmstad Golfklubb.

Notable natives

• Carl Bildt - politician, former prime minister, present foreign minister
• Per Gessle - musician (Roxette/Gyllene Tider)
• Ernst Wigforss - politician, former Minister of Finance.
• 91:an (comic strip) - fictional characters
• Thomas Petersson - Stand-up comedian
• Jörgen Persson - table tennis player
• Fredrik Ljungberg - football player
• Jonas Altberg - musician, Dj (Basshunter)
• Michael Amott - musician (Spiritual Beggars/Arch Enemy/Carcass)
• Christopher Amott - musician (Arch Enemy/Armageddon)
• Sofia Arvidsson - professional tennis player
• Peter Wahlbäck - Stand-up comedian
• Niklas Kvarforth - musician (Shining/Den Saakaldte/Skitliv)
• Fredrik Andersson Hed, professional golfer

Sport

Halmstads BK plays Gefle at Örjans Vall 2007.

• Badminton
  • Halmstad Badmintonklubb
• Football
  • Halmstads BK
  • IS Halmia
• Golf
  • Halmstad GK
• Gymnastics
  • Halmstad Frigymnaster
  • Halmstad Kvinnliga GF
  • Halmstad Rytmiska GF
  • Nissaflickorna
• Dancing
  • Laxbuggarna
• Handball
  • HK Drott
• Icehockey
  • Halmstad Hammers HC - filed for bankruptcy in 2005
• Swimming
  • SK Laxen
• Table tennis
  • Halmstad BTK
• Track & Field
  • IFK Halmstad

Gallery

View of a park in Halmstad	Halmstad seen from the other bank of Nissan.	Nissan.	Town square Stora Torg in central Halmstad.
St Nikolai church by town square.	Church tower.		Central Halmstad and Halmstad harbor.
Central Halmstad with church in center.	Picasso sculpture in Halmstad.	Halmstad Castle	Sailing ship HMS Najaden in front on Halmstad Castle
The North Gate

See also

• Halmstad Municipality
• Kroenleins Brewery
• Chronicle of the Expulsion of the Grayfriars#Chapter 11 Concerning the Friary in Halmstad

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Halmstad

External links

• Official homepage
• Official homepage for tourism, meetings and events

Halmstad is one of 133 places with the historical city status in Sweden.

v • d • e Municipalities and seats of Halland County Municipalities Falkenberg · Halmstad · Hylte · Kungsbacka · Laholm · Varberg Municipal seats Falkenberg · Halmstad · Hyltebruk · Kungsbacka · Laholm · Varberg Counties of Sweden · Sweden

v • d • e Administrative seats of Swedish counties (län) Falun • Gävle • Gothenburg • Halmstad • Jönköping • Kalmar • Karlskrona • Karlstad • Linköping • Luleå • Malmö • Nyköping • Örebro • Östersund • Stockholm • Sundsvall • Umeå • Uppsala • Västerås • Växjö • Visby

v • d • e 50 most populous cities in the Nordic countries  Denmark ·  Finland ·  Iceland ·  Norway ·  Sweden 1.  Stockholm 1,252,000 2.  Copenhagen 1,167,569 3.  Helsinki 1,027,635 4.  Oslo 876,391 5.  Gothenburg 510,500 6.  Malmö 258,000 7.  Turku 248,598 8.  Århus 228,700 9.  Bergen 227,752 10.  Tampere 209,748 11.  Reykjavik 195,000 12.  Stavanger 189,828 13.  Trondheim 160,072 14.  Odense 152,100 15.  Uppsala 144,839 16.  Oulu 137,370 17.  Jyväskylä 128,114 18.  Aalborg 122,461 19.  Västerås 107,000 20.  Fredrikstad 101,698 21.  Lahti 100,444 22.  Örebro 98,200 23.  Linköping 97,400 24.  Drammen 96,563 25.  Kuopio 91,845 26.  Helsingborg 91,500 27.  Kouvola 88,396 28.  Skien 86,923 29.  Jönköping 84,400 30.  Norrköping 83,600 31.  Pori 75,562 32.  Lund 76,200 33.  Umeå 75,600 34.  Joensuu 72,167 35.  Esbjerg 71,900 36.  Lappeenranta 70,210 37.  Gävle 68,700 38.  Kristiansand 67,547 39.  Hämeenlinna 66,257 40.  Borås 63,400 41.  Södertälje 60,300 42.  Eskilstuna 60,200 43.  Randers 59,842 44.  Rovaniemi 59,274 45.  Vaasa 58,607 46.  Täby 58,593 47.  Karlstad 58,500 48.  Seinäjoki 56,578 49.  Kolding 56,249 50.  Halmstad 55,688