Helsingborg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Helsingborg

Coat of arms
Helsingborg is located in Sweden
Helsingborg
Coordinates: 56°03′N 12°43′E / 56.050°N 12.717°E / 56.050; 12.717Coordinates: 56°03′N 12°43′E / 56.050°N 12.717°E / 56.050; 12.717
Country Sweden
Province Scania
County Skåne County
Municipality Helsingborg Municipality
Charter 1085
Area[1]
 • Total 38.41 km2 (14.83 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2010)[1]
 • Total 97,122
 • Density 2,529/km2 (6,550/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Website www.helsingborg.se

Helsingborg (Swedish pronunciation: [hɛlsiŋˈbɔrj]) is a town and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden. It had 97,122 inhabitants in 2010.[1] 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.

Between 1912 and 1971 the name of the town was officially spelled Hälsingborg (rather like Hälsingland but unlike Helsingør and Helsingfors/Helsinki).

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 600 year old medieval fortress (Kärnan) in the city centre, 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.

Contents

History[edit]

Helsingborg is one of the oldest cities of what is now Sweden. It has been the site of permanent settlement officially since 21 May 1085.[2] Helsingborg's geographical position at the narrowest part of Øresund 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.[3] This was one of the main incomes for the Danish Crown.

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.[4]

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 a long time to recover, and in 1770 the city had 1321 inhabitants and was just slowly growing.[4]

On the 20th of October 1811 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.[5]

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.[6]

Industry[edit]

Question book-new.svg
 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2013)

Helsingborg is a major regional centre of trade, transport and business. In 2001 Campus Helsingborg, a branch of University of Lund, opened in the former Tretorn rubber factory buildings, originally founded by Henry Dunker. Three ferry companies take people and cargo to and from Denmark around the clock. The route is popular with day-trippers going to Elsinore or Copenhagen, or simply enjoying the views from the ferries. IKEA, the retailer of furniture and home interiors, has its international corporate headquarters in Helsingborg. Nicorette, the nicotine chewing gum, has a manufacturing plant there. Ramlösa is a mineral water from Ramlösa Brunn, a southern suburb of the city. Mobile phone developer Spectronic is also situated in Helsingborg. The online custom clothing retailer Tailor Store Sweden AB has its offices in Helsingborg,

Sports[edit]

The following sports clubs are located in Helsingborg:

Notable natives[edit]

Subdivisions[edit]

The City of Helsingborg is subdivided into 32 districts.

The districts of Helsingborg (Classification and census from 9 January 2006)
1 Norr (3600) 12 Centrum (3347) 22 Närlunda (1125) Map of the districts of Helsingborg
2 Mariastaden (2302) 13 Eneborg (3816) 23 Eskilsminne (1835)
3 Ringstorp (2802) 14 Wilson Park (1988) 24 Gustavslund (2772)
4 Berga (1720) 15 Rosengården (4388) 25 Planteringen (2663)
5 Drottninghög (2708) 16 Husensjö (1564) 26 Elineberg (2115)
6 Dalhem (4530) 17 Sofieberg (1606) 27 Ramlösa (4593)
7* Tågaborg (7113) 18 Adolfsberg (4319) 28 Miatorp (2406)
8 Stattena (2549) 19 Söder (3665) 29 Högasten (1034)
9 Fredriksdal (4202) 20 Högaborg (4017) 30 Ättekulla (3274)
10 Slottshöjden (3621) 21 Fältabacken (930) 31 Råå (3021)
11 Olympia (1843)

Sights[edit]

  • Helsingborg waterfront

  • The northern harbour for yachts in Helsingborg

  • The Helsingborg city hall

  • Seasonally planted palm trees at "Tropical Beach".

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

  • The Church of Saint Mary, central Helsingborg

  • 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

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Localities 2010, area, population and density in localities 2005 and 2010 and change in area and population". Statistics Sweden. 29 May 2012. Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. 
  2. ^ "Helsingborgs stad - History of Helsingborg". Helsingborg.se. 2007-05-21. Retrieved 2010-07-30. 
  3. ^ Faringdon, Hugh. (1989) Strategic Geography Routledge. ISBN 0-415-00980-4
  4. ^ a b "CyberCity / Helsingborg / Befolkning". .historia.su.se. 2008-01-14. Retrieved 2010-07-30. 
  5. ^ "Helsingborgs stad - Bernadotte jubileum 2010". Helsingborg.se. 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2010-07-30. 
  6. ^ "Helsingborgs stad - Spãrväg kan vara verklighet ãr 2020". Helsingborg.se. 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-07-30. 

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Helsingborg
Localities
Municipalities
Coat of arms of Scania County
Municipal seats
as of 2005, according to Statistics Sweden [1]
1. Stockholm 1,252,000
2. Gothenburg 510,500
3. Malmö 258,000
4. Uppsala 144,839
5. Västerås 107,000
6. Örebro 98,200
7. Linköping 97,400
8. Helsingborg 91,500
9. Jönköping 84,400
10. Norrköping 83,600
11. Lund 76,200
12. Umeå 75,600
13. Gävle 68,700
14. Borås 63,400
15. Södertälje 60,300
16. Eskilstuna 60,200
17. Täby 58,600
18. Karlstad 58,500
19. Halmstad 55,700
20. Växjö 55,600
21. Sundsvall 49,300
22. Luleå 45,500
23. Trollhättan 44,500
24. Östersund 43,800
25. Borlänge 39,400
26. Falun 36,400
27. Upplands Väsby 36,000
28. Tumba 35,300
29. Kalmar 35,200
30. Skövde 33,100

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helsingborg&oldid=560132092"