Åmål () is a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

and the seat of

Åmål Municipality Åmål Municipality (''Åmåls kommun'') is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Åmål. The present municipality was created in 1971 through the amalgamation of the former ''City of � ...

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

with 9,065 inhabitants in 2010. It is situated on the western shore of

Vänern Vänern ( , also , ) is the largest lake in Sweden, the largest lake in the European Union and the third-largest lake of all Europe after Ladoga and Onega in Russia. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmland i ...

. In 2005 Åmål received second prize in the international competition The International Awards for Liveable Communities (also known as the LivCom Awards). A blues festival has been held annually in Åmål since 1992.

History

Åmål was founded in the 17th century by Queen Christina, and became one of the now defunct Cities of Sweden on April 1, 1643, and the only city in the historical province of

Dalsland Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, and ...

. Its location close to the borders of the Denmark-Norway alliance made it vulnerable to attack and it accordingly suffered over the ensuing centuries: first in 1645, when it was almost completely demolished, again in 1676 and 1679; and the last time in 1788 when it was conquered by the Danes, who then held it for a short while. The town suffered devastating fires in 1777, 1809, 1846 and 1901. After the last severe fire in 1901, whereby 1000 people became homeless, and one third of the city was burnt to the ground, it was rebuilt with wider streets and larger houses in a Jugend style of architecture. The area of wooden houses, the so-called Plantaget, south of the river, the Åmålsån, that runs through the town into the lake, was spared by the fire and today forms the "old town" area.

''Show Me Love'' (''Fucking Åmål'')

The 1998 movie ''Fucking Åmål'' (known in the English-speaking world as '' Show Me Love''), directed by

Lukas Moodysson Karl Fredrik Lukas Moodysson (; born 17 January 1969) is a Swedish novelist, short story writer and film director. First coming to prominence as an ambitious poet in the 1980s, he had his big domestic and international breakthrough directing the ...

, is set in Åmål. The movie depicts the town as extremely boring and it was largely filmed in the nearby town of

Trollhättan Trollhättan () is the 23rd-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Trollhättan Municipality, Västra Götaland County. It is situated by Göta älv, near the lake Vänern, and has a population of approximately 50,000 in the city proper. It is loc ...

. The film created controversy in the town of Åmål. Local politicians campaigned to get the title of the film changed.Gareth Griffiths, An Åmål State of Mind, in ''City + Cinema: Essays on the specificity of location in film'', Datutop 29, 2007. The local complaints had no effect on the content or release of the film and since the release of the film the town of Åmål has even tried to embrace the publicity generated. In the early 2000s the town founded the pop music festival "Fucking Åmål Festival".

Sports

The following sports clubs are located in Åmål: *

IF Viken IF Viken is a Swedish football club located in Åmål. Background IF Viken currently plays in Division 4 Bohuslän/Dalsland which is the sixth tier of Swedish football. They play their home matches at the Rösvallen in Åmål. The club is aff ...

IFK Åmål IFK Åmål is a Swedish football club located in Åmål in Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of ...

Notable people

Anders Fryxell Anders Fryxell (7 February 179521 March 1881) was a Swedish historian. Life Fryxell was born at Edsleskog, Dalsland, (now part of Åmål Municipality, Västra Götaland County) on 7 February 1795. He was educated at Uppsala University, took ho ...

(1795 in Edsleskog – 1881) historian and writer. *

Amy Segerstedt Amy Segerstedt (12 November 1835 – 16 November 1928) was a Swedish teacher, folk teacher, and philanthropist. She was the founder of the Braille Loan Library in Stockholm, and the (Association for Braille) in Sweden. She was particularly inter ...

(1835 in Åmål – 1928) teacher, folk teacher, and philanthropist *

Rut Berglund Rut Berglund, also Ruth Berglund (12 April 1897 – 29 August 1984) was a Swedish operatic mezzo-soprano and contralto, who was engaged in Germany from 1924 to 1944. She was personally appointed Kammersängerin by Adolf Hitler. Life and career ...

, (1897 in Åmål – 1984) an operatic mezzo-soprano and contralto *

Karl Gustav Jöreskog Karl Gustav Jöreskog (born 25 April 1935) is a Swedish statistician. Jöreskog is a Professor Emeritus at Uppsala University, and a co-author (with Dag Sörbom) of the LISREL statistical program. He is also a member of the Royal Swedish Academy ...

(born 1935 in Åmål) statistician. *

Egzon Binaku Egzon Binaku (born 27 August 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Swedish club IFK Norrköping. Born in Sweden, he represents the Albania national team. Personal life Binaku was born in Åmål, Sweden from Kosovo Alban ...

(born 1995 in Åmål) a footballer who plays for

IFK Norrköping Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Norrköping, more commonly known as IFK Norrköping or simply Norrköping, is a Swedish professional football club based in Norrköping. The club is affiliated to Östergötlands Fotbollförbund and play thei ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amal Municipal seats of Västra Götaland County Swedish municipal seats Populated places in Västra Götaland County Populated places in Åmål Municipality Populated lakeshore places in Sweden Dalsland 1643 establishments in Sweden

History

''Show Me Love'' (''Fucking Åmål'')

Sports

Notable people

See also

References