Helsingborg

Helsingborg

Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Pearl of the strait
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]
 • City 38.41 km2 (14.83 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2010)[1]
 • City 97,122
 • Density 2,529/km2 (6,550/sq mi)
 • Metro 136,653
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 25x xxx
Area code(s) (+46) 42
Website www.helsingborg.se

Helsingborg (Swedish pronunciation: [hɛlsɪŋˈbɔrj]) is a town and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania, Sweden. It had 97,122 inhabitants in 2010.[1] Helsingborg is the centre of the northern part of western Scania. There is no formal metropolitan area, but the municipality of Helsingborg City and its neighbouring five municipalities (within Scania) had in spring of 2013 a population of 269.489 inhabitants at an area of 1.353 square kilometres (0.522 square miles), a population density of 200 people/km2. This makes Helsingborg the fourth largest population area in Sweden.[2] The city is also Sweden's closest point to Denmark, with the Danish city Helsingør clearly visible on the other side of the Øresund about 4 km (2 mi) to the west, closer than to the city's own remoter areas. If including all population around the northern part of Øresund, as a Helsingborg-Helsingør metropolitan area, its population increases to 732.450 at an area of 2.802 square kilometres (1.082 square miles).[3] The busy ferry route, known as the HH Ferry route has through history been operated by several shipping lines. As of 2014 more than 70 car ferries departures from each harbour every day.

Following the Swedish orthography reform of 1906 many place names in Sweden got a modernized spelling. In 1912 it was decided to use the form Hälsingborg. In preparation for the local government reform 1971 the Hälsingborg city council proposed that the new, enlarged municipality should be spelled with an "e". This was also the decision of the Government of Sweden, effective from 1 January 1971.

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.

History

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.[4] 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 Eric of Pomerania introduced the Øresundstolden (the Sound Dues), a levy on all trading vessels passing through the sound between Elsinore and Helsingborg.[5] This was one of the main incomes for the Danish Crown. The crossing traffic was like fishermen not submitted to pay the dues, it was a tax initially directed against the Hanseatic League.

The Sound Dues primarily made Helsingør flourish, but quite a bit spilled over to Helsingborg. The northern narrow inlet to Øresund with its relatively high coastlines made impression on many mariners, and when Kronborg during the Renaissance was rebuilt from a fortress to a Palace the area got famous. A proof of this is William Shakespeare's masterpiece Hamlet, which is unfolded at Kronborg. And the Prince of Denmark could well have hidden himself from his evil uncle in Helsingborg. In any case, the Renaissance was a good period for the Kingdom of Denmark. But towards the middle of the 17th Century, dark clouds appeared from the North.

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 submitted to new rulers. King Charles X Gustav of Sweden landed here on the 5th of March 1658 to take personal 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.[6] He soon attempted to erase Denmark totally from the map, by attacking Copenhagen but failed (Treaty of Copenhagen (1660)), and died in Gothenburg soon afterwards. Not much changed for some 15 years, but as Charles XI was declared of age, many processes began. As the new king indeed was unsatisfied with his former rulers (Known as "Förmyndarräfsten" in Swedish history).

The new situation, being a border town, caused problems for the town. The days of conflict were not over. Denmark made two recaptures of Scania, but couldn't hold it. The last Danish attempt to regain Scania was in 1710, when 14.000 men 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.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8]

Climate

Helsingborg has an oceanic climate typical of southern Sweden, although its winters are very mild for a location at such a high latitude. Although the temperature differences between seasons are significant, Helsingborg often lacks a meteorological winter with both January and February averaging just above the freezing point in terms of mean temperatures.

Climate data for Helsingborg, 2002–2015; extremes since 1948, precipitation 1961-1990
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 11.0
(51.8)		 15.3
(59.5)		 18.0
(64.4)		 26.0
(78.8)		 28.1
(82.6)		 30.5
(86.9)		 31.0
(87.8)		 32.4
(90.3)		 27.5
(81.5)		 22.5
(72.5)		 15.5
(59.9)		 12.0
(53.6)		 32.4
(90.3)
Average high °C (°F) 2.5
(36.5)		 2.6
(36.7)		 6.6
(43.9)		 12.5
(54.5)		 16.8
(62.2)		 19.7
(67.5)		 22.7
(72.9)		 22.0
(71.6)		 18.1
(64.6)		 12.1
(53.8)		 7.7
(45.9)		 4.1
(39.4)		 12.2
(54)
Daily mean °C (°F) 0.3
(32.5)		 0.4
(32.7)		 3.2
(37.8)		 6.4
(43.5)		 12.1
(53.8)		 15.1
(59.2)		 18.0
(64.4)		 17.7
(63.9)		 14.2
(57.6)		 9.0
(48.2)		 5.6
(42.1)		 2.1
(35.8)		 8.6
(47.5)
Average low °C (°F) −1.8
(28.8)		 −1.8
(28.8)		 −0.3
(31.5)		 3.3
(37.9)		 7.4
(45.3)		 10.6
(51.1)		 13.3
(55.9)		 13.4
(56.1)		 10.3
(50.5)		 5.9
(42.6)		 3.4
(38.1)		 0.1
(32.2)		 5.3
(41.5)
Record low °C (°F) −21.7
(−7.1)		 −20.5
(−4.9)		 −18.8
(−1.8)		 −8.7
(16.3)		 −1.5
(29.3)		 3.0
(37.4)		 4.4
(39.9)		 5.4
(41.7)		 −0.1
(31.8)		 −7.3
(18.9)		 −10.3
(13.5)		 −22.0
(−7.6)		 −22.0
(−7.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 40.6
(1.598)		 25.2
(0.992)		 37.2
(1.465)		 35.7
(1.406)		 38.9
(1.531)		 47.5
(1.87)		 66.1
(2.602)		 58.3
(2.295)		 55.2
(2.173)		 50.9
(2.004)		 55.8
(2.197)		 48.7
(1.917)		 558.3
(21.98)
Source #1: SMHI Average Precipitation 1961-1990[9]
Source #2: SMHI Average Data 2002-2015[10]

Economy

Industry

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. Zoégas, a major coffee company, has been located here since the 1800s.[11]

Sports

The following sports clubs are located in Helsingborg:

Notable natives

Subdivisions

The City of Helsingborg is subdivided into 31 districts.

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

Sights

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "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. ↑ neighbouring municipalities are Landskrona, Höganäs, Ängelholm, Bjuv and Åstorp. They can be inspected in the article Scania including sources from SCB
  3. ↑ The mentioned Scanian part together with Danish province "Nordsjælland" (North Zealand), figures for this Danish province are available at http://www.dst.dk/da/statistik/dokumentation/Nomenklaturer/NUTS.aspx (areas) and at http://www.dst.dk/en/Statistik/emner/befolkning-og-befolkningsfremskrivning/folketal.aspx (population of province Nordsjælland), below the population pyramide
  4. ↑ "Helsingborgs stad - History of Helsingborg". Helsingborg.se. 2007-05-21. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  5. ↑ Faringdon, Hugh. (1989) Strategic Geography Routledge. ISBN 0-415-00980-4
  6. 1 2 "CyberCity / Helsingborg / Befolkning". .historia.su.se. 2008-01-14. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  7. ↑ "Helsingborgs stad - Bernadotte jubileum 2010". Helsingborg.se. 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  8. ↑ "Helsingborgs stad - Spãrväg kan vara verklighet ãr 2020". Helsingborg.se. 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  9. ↑ "Precipitation Averages 1961-90". SMHI. February 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  10. ↑ "Statistics from Weather Stations" (in Swedish). SMHI. February 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "Zoégas - Om Zoégas". zoegas.se. 2015-05-12. Retrieved 2015-05-12.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Helsingborg.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Helsingborg.
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