Helsingborg

Helsingborg waterfront

Helsingborg (Swedish pronunciation: [hɛlsiŋˈbɔrj]) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 97,122 inhabitants in 2010. Helsingborg is the centre of an area in the Øresund region of about 320,000 inhabitants in north-west Scania, and is Sweden's closest point to Denmark, with the Danish city Helsingør clearly visible on the other side of the Øresund about 4 km to the west.

 The northern harbour for yachts in Helsingborg

Historic Helsingborg, with its many old buildings, is a scenic coastal city. The buildings are a blend of old-style stone-built churches and a medieval fortress (Kärnan) in the city centre, which has stood guard in Helsingborg for over 600 years, and more modern commercial buildings. The streets vary from wide avenues to small alley-ways. Kullagatan, the main pedestrian shopping street in the city, was the first pedestrian shopping street in Sweden.

 The Helsingborg city hall

History

Helsingborg is one of the oldest cities of Sweden. It has been the site of permanent settlement officially since 21 May 1085. Helsingborg's geographical position at the narrowest part of The Sound made it very important for Denmark, at that time controlling both sides of that strait. From 1429 the Danes introduced the Sound Duty (Sound Dues), a levy on all trading vessels passing through the sound between Elsinore and Helsingborg. This was one of the main incomes for the Danish Crown.

 Seasonally planted palm trees at "Tropical Beach".

Following the Dano-Swedish War (1657-1658) and the Treaty of Roskilde Denmark had to give up all territory on the southern Scandinavian peninsula, and Helsingborg became a Swedish city. King Charles X Gustav of Sweden landed here on the 5th of March 1658 to take possession of the Scanian lands and was met by a delegation led by the bishop of the Diocese of Lund, Peder Winstrup. At that time the town had a population of barely 1,000 people.

 Steps leading to Kärnan, central Helsingborg, close by the water front.

The new situation, being a border town, caused problems for the city. The days of conflict were not over. The Danes made many attempts to regain the lost provinces. The last time was in 1710, when 14,000 invaders landed on the shores near Helsingborg. The Battle of Helsingborg was fought on the 28th of February just outside the city, which was badly affected. It took long time to recover and in 1770 the city had 1321 inhabitants and was just slowly growing.

On the 20th of October 1810 Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France and crown prince-elect of Sweden (later king Charles XIV John) took his first step on Swedish soil in Helsingborg on his journey from Paris to Stockholm.

 The Church of Saint Mary, central Helsingborg

From the middle of the 19th century onwards, however, Helsingborg was one of the fastest growing cities of Sweden, increasing its population from 4 000 in 1850 to 20 000 in 1890 and 56 000 in 1930 due to industrialization. From 1892 a train ferry was put in service, connecting Helsingborg with its Danish sister city Helsingør. A tramway network was inaugurated in 1903 and closed down in 1967. Plans are underway to reintroduce trams in the city.

 Brunnsparkshotellet, Ramlösa

 Ramlösa mineral water, old spring from 1707

 The ferry Hamlet on the Öresund between Helsingborg and Helsingør

 Kärnan, the medieval tower

 View over Helsingborg from Kärnan

 View over Helsingborg from Kärnan

Jørn Utzon's Elineberg Housing development

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Lund

Lund Cathedral

Lund (Swedish pronunciation: [lɵnd]) is a city in the province of Skåne, southern Sweden. The town has 82,800 inhabitants in 2011, out of a municipal total of 110,824. It is the seat of Lund Municipality, Skåne County. The city is believed to have been founded around 990, when Skåne belonged to Denmark. It soon became a major Christian center of the Baltic Sea region, at a time when the area was still a frontier area for Christian mission, and within Scandinavia and especially Denmark through the Middle Ages. From 1103 it was the seat of an archbishop. At the center of the city stands the towering Lund Cathedral, built ca 1090-1145.

Lund University, established 1666, is today one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research..

 A street in the old part of the town

History

Along with Sigtuna, Lund is the oldest city in present-day Sweden. Lund's origins are unclear. Until the 1980s, the town was thought to have been founded around 1020 by either Sweyn I Forkbeard or his son Canute the Great of Denmark. The area was then part of the kingdom of Denmark. But, recent archaeological discoveries suggest that the first settlement dated to circa 990, possibly the relocation of settlers at Uppåkra. The Uppåkra settlement dates back to the first century B.C. and its remains are at the present site of the village of Uppåkra. King Sweyn I Forkbeard moved Loda to its present location, a distance of some five kilometres. The new location of Lund, on a hill and across a ford, gave the new site considerable defensive advantages in comparison with Uppåkra, situated on the highest point of a large plain.

 Adelgatan Street, Lund

The city was made a see in 1048 and united with Dalby in 1060, and in 1103 became the seat of the archbishop for Scandinavia. The diocese of nearby Dalby was absorbed in 1066. Lund Cathedral was similarly founded in or shortly after 1103. In 1152, the Norwegian archdiocese of Nidaros was founded as a separate province of the church, independent of Lund. In 1164 Sweden also acquired an archbishop of its own, although he was nominally subordinate to the archbishop of Lund. It is still, as the diocese of Lund, a diocese in the Church of Sweden.

Lund University main building

Lund Cathedral School (Katedralskolan) was founded in 1085 by the Danish king Canute the Saint. This is the oldest school in Scandinavia and one of the oldest in Northern Europe. Many prominent people were educated there, among them the actor Max von Sydow and several high-ranking politicians.

In 1658, the Scanian lands were ceded by Denmark to Sweden by the Treaty of Roskilde. On December 4, 1676 Lund was defended in the Battle of Lund, one of the bloodiest battles fought in Scandinavia.

 The University Library

Lund University, established in 1666, is Sweden's largest, with 42,000 full or part-time students, although not all live in Lund. The figure includes Lund Institute of Technology, which is to some extent independent of the old university. As late as the 1940s, Lund was a relatively small city with few large-scale industries, covering only about a fourth of the current urban area, and dominated by the cathedral and the university. Since then, the student population has increased about twelvefold; many industrial companies in the chemical, medical or electronics branches and, from the 1990s within information management, have set up establishments in the city; and the town's population, architecture and energy have been transformed.

Liberiet

Compared with many other Swedish cities, the urban heart of Lund is well preserved. A local law requires archaeological excavation in association with any downtown property planned for demolition and redevelopment.

 Grand Hotel

Climate

Lund, like the rest of southern Sweden, has an oceanic climate. Despite its northern location, the climate is relatively mild compared to other locations in similar latitude, or even somewhat further south, mainly because of its proximity to the sea. Because of its northerly latitude, daylight lasts as long as 17 hours in midsummer, and only around 7 hours in midwinter.

 The Cathedral School

Summers are warm and pleasant with average high temperatures of 22 °C (72 °F) and lows of around 14 °C (57 °F), but temperatures do sometimes exceed 25 °C (77 °F) and occasional heat waves are common during the summer. Winters are cold, with temperatures steady between -1 to 3 °C (30 to 37 °F).

Rainfall is light to moderate throughout the year with 169 wet days. Snowfall occurs sparingly, mainly in December through March, but snow cover does not remain for a long time, and some winters tends to be virtually free of snow.

 Wickmanska gården

Main sights

During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund Cathedral, Liberiet, the restaurant Stäket and parts of the Cathedral School. Timber framing is characteristic of the houses built up to the end of the 19th century, for example the Wickmanska gården.

Most of the central buildings in Lund date from the late 19th century, when small houses were replaced by multi-storey ones. Notable buildings built during this period include the University Library (1902), Grand Hotel (1899) and the University Main Building (1882).

 Botaniska trädgården

Facade clock at parking garage close to Högevallsbadet

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Uppsala

Uppsala with its cathedral

Uppsala (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɵpːˈsɑːla]; older spelling Upsala) is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 140,454 inhabitants (2010).

Located about 70 km north of the capital, Stockholm, it is also the seat of the Uppsala Municipality. Since 1164, Uppsala has been the ecclesiastical centre of Sweden, being the seat of the Archbishop of the Church of Sweden. Founded in 1477, Uppsala University is the oldest centre of higher education in Scandinavia.

 Stora Torget

History

Uppsala was originally located a few km to the north, at a location now known as Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala). Today's Uppsala was then called Östra Aros. (Old) Uppsala was, according to medieval writer Adam of Bremen, the main pagan centre of Sweden, and the Temple at Uppsala contained magnificent idols of the Æsir gods.

As a replacement for the Scandinavian gods, Uppsala was made into a strong Christian centre. A bishop was soon consecrated, and in 1164 Uppsala was made into an archdiocese, with Stefan, a monk from Alvastra Abbey, being consecrated the first Archbishop of Uppsala and primate of Sweden.

 Uppsala University, founded in 1477 and is the oldest university in Scandinavia

The present-day Uppsala was at that time known as Östra Aros and was a port town of Gamla Uppsala. In 1274, Östra Aros overtook Gamla Uppsala as the main regional centre, and when the cathedral of Gamla Uppsala burnt down, the archbishopric was moved to Östra Aros, where the impressive Uppsala Cathedral was erected; it was inaugurated in 1435. The cathedral is built in the Gothic style and is one of the largest in northern Europe, with towers reaching 118.70 metres.

 The Botanical Garden

Uppsala is the site of the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. Carolus Linnaeus, one of the renowned scholars of Uppsala University, lived in the city for many years, and both his house and garden can still be visited. Uppsala is also the site of the 16th century Uppsala Castle. The city was severely damaged by a fire in 1702. Historical and cultural treasures were also lost, as in many Swedish cities, from demolitions during the 1960s and 1970s, but many historic buildings remain, especially in the western part of the city. The arms with the lion can be traced from 1737. It has been modernized several times since, most recently in 1986. The meaning of the lion is not certain but is likely connected to the royal lion, also depicted on the Coat of Arms of Sweden.

Uppsala Castle

Climate

Uppsala has a humid continental climate, with cold winters and warm summers.

The climate table below presents weather data from the years 1961 - 1990. According to ongoing measurements, the temperature has increased during the years 1991 - 2011 as compared with the last series. This increase is on annual basis around 1.4 °C. Warming is most pronounced during the winter months, with an increase of more than 2.0 °C (around a 3.6 °F - 4 °F increase) in January.

Main sights

The Fyris river (Fyrisån) neatly divides the city into two different parts: the historic quarter to the west of the river and the administrative, residential and commercial area to the east. Most of the features of interest are in the western part, dominated by the cathedral, and with its old streets, river views and parks.

The most outstanding building in Uppsala is the Domkyrka (Uppsala Cathedral), Scandinavia's largest church (118.70 m (389.44 ft) high), which is visible from most parts of town and from the motorway.

Facing the west end of the cathedral is the Gustavianum, built in 1625 to be the main building of the University, and served as such through most of the 19th century. It contains the Museum of Nordic Antiquities, the Victoria Museum (of Egyptian antiquities) and the University's cultural history collections. It also houses a perfectly preserved 17th-century anatomical theatre (used in its time for public dissections). Across the street from the Gustavianum stands the new main building of the university, erected in 1879–86 in Italian renaissance style. The Uppsala University Coin Cabinet is located in the university main building.

Not far from the University stands the Uppsala University Library (Carolina Rediviva), the largest library in Sweden, with over 5 million volumes and some 60,000 manuscripts. The building was built in 1820–1841.

On a circa 35-metre high hill to the southwest of the University Library stands Uppsala Castle. Its construction was initiated in 1549 by King Gustav Vasa, founder of the Vasa royal dynasty. Today the castle holds several museums, and is the residence of the Governor (landshövding).

5 km north of Uppsala city lies Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala), the location of the pre Christian town Uppsala. There are few remains, with the exception of several huge burial mounds of pre-Christian monarchs and the previous cathedral from 1164 A.D., traditionally said to be built over the old heathen temple (and recent archaeological investigations seems to support this notion). After the church burned down around 1240 only parts of it were restored

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