Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

at the mouth of the Nissan river, in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömseb ...

on the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

west coast. Halmstad is the seat of

Halmstad Municipality Halmstad Municipality (''Halmstads kommun'') is a municipality in Halland County on the Swedish west coast, in which the city Halmstad is the seat. The 1971 local government reform was implemented gradually in the area. In 1967 the rural municip ...

and the capital of

Halland County Halland County ( sv, Hallands län, link=no, ) is a county (''län'') on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Halland. The capital is Halmstad. It borders the counties of Västra Götal ...

. The city had a population of 70,480 in 2019, out of a municipal total of over 100,000 (19th most populous — 2019). Halmstad is Sweden's 19th-largest city by population and located about midway between Gothenburg (the second most populous) and

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...

(the third).

Timber framing Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

architecture is common.

History

Halmstad, at the time part of the Kingdom of Denmark, received its first

city charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document ('' charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charte ...

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, just south of and quite close to the present day 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 Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and Denmark which lasted between 1397 and 1523 – it was in Halmstad that the Union King was to be finally selected. At the end of the 16th century

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mon ...

ordered the fortification of Halmstad and in the beginning of the 17th century to build 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 II Adolf Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...

of Sweden and

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

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 The Treaty of Roskilde (concluded on 26 February ( OS), or 8 March 1658) ( NS) during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Karl X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde. After a devastating defeat ...

in 1658 made this acquisition permanent. Sweden defeated Denmark in the

Battle of Fyllebro The Battle of Halmstad, also known as the Battle at Fyllebro, was fought on August 17, 1676, at Fyllebro, approximately five kilometres south of the town of Halmstad in the province of Halland in southwest Sweden. It was the last battle in Hall ...

which took place in 1676 just outside Halmstad. In 1678, a parliamentary meeting ( Riksdag) was held in Halmstad. The Riksdag decided in 1734 that the city's fortifications would be demolished. Some residues of fortifications have been preserved, including one of the four city gates, Norre Port. For a period, the old fortifications were used for tobacco cultivation. The city's first major industry, Wallbergs Factory AB was built in 1823. The brewery Appeltofftska (now

Krönleins Krönleins Brewery (Appeltofftska Bryggeri AB) is a Swedish brewery founded in 1836 by Anders Julius Appeltofft in Halmstad, Sweden. History Krönleins Brewery was founded on February 15, 1836 when grocery businessman Anders Julius Appeltofft boug ...

) was founded in 1836 and brewery Östra Bryggeriet in 1846. AB Malcus Holmquist, also called Malcus, was formed in 1902. Nordiskafilt AB started in 1904 and Halmstads Järnverk in 1916. Lundgren's foundry started in 1917 and Waco in 1918. A large rebuilding of Halmstad's port was conducted in 1837—1840. The Halländska steamship company was formed in Halmstad in 1850 and started traffic between Gothenburg and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, which was soon expanded with several connections. The first railway line, Halmstad—Värnamo, opened in 1877. Halmstad was continually industrialized at the end of the 19th century. The city grew from 12,000 to 15,000 inhabitants during the 1890s. Every year, 1,000 people moved to Halmstad and 800—900 moved away. Halmstad's first union was formed in 1885 by tailor workers. The first

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

demonstration in Sweden was held in Halmstad in 1897. After expanding in 1967, Halmstad become central town in 1971 in Halmstad's municipality.Sveriges kommunindelning 1863-1993 The population grew from 48,800 in 1990 to 58,577 in 2010.

Climate

Halmstad has the south Scandinavian variety of the relatively wet

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''

Dfb DFB may refer to: * Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city * Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas * Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia * Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate * Distributed-feedback ...

'') with warm summers and cold winters, closely bordering on an oceanic climate (''Cfb'').

Demographics

Education

Primary education

:''Some of these schools might also have secondary education''

Secondary education

* Kattegattgymnasiet * Sturegymnasiet * Sannarpsgymnasiet

Tertiary education

Founded in 1983, Halmstad University is a public higher education institution offering bachelor's and master's programs in various fields of study. In addition, it conducts Ph.D. programs in three fields of research: Information Technology, Innovation Science and Health Science.Swedish Universities & University Colleges - Short Version of Annual Report 2012
, p. 51 Halmstad University has more than 9 000 students, including 245 exchange students (2013) and 163 international programme students (2013).

Sport

Event host

In September 2007 the city hosted the

Solheim Cup The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named after the Norwegian- American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving force b ...

, which was played at the Halmstad Golfklubb. In 2011 Halmstad was the final port of the

Tall Ships' Races The Tall Ships Races are races for sail training "tall ships" (sailing ships). The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and c ...

. Halmstad also hosted the

2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships The 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships were held in Halmstad, Sweden from 29 April to 6 May 2018. The quarterfinal between North Korea and South Korea in the women's tournament did not take place, as the teams choose to continue as a u ...

Local sportsteams

*American Football **Halmstad Eagles *Association football **

Halmstads BK Halmstads Bollklubb, also known simply as Halmstad () or (especially locally) HBK or Bollklubben, is a Swedish football club located in Halmstad in the county of Halland. The club, formed 7 February 1914 and approved membership in the Swedish ...

IS Halmia IS Halmia is a football club, located in Halmstad, Sweden. Background IS Halmia was founded on 16 June 16, 1907 and currently plays in Division 2 Västra Götaland. In early years, the club also played bandy. The first ever bandy game betwe ...

** Alets IK **

BK Astrio BK Astrio is a Swedish association football club located in Halmstad, Sweden. As of 2021, the club plays in Division 2. History Background BK Astrio was established on July 30, 1933, by Stig and Orvar Nilsson with Eric Andreasson, Torsten Las ...

** IF Centern ** IF Leikin ** Snöstorp/Nyhem FF ** IS Örnia *Badminton **Halmstad Badmintonklubb *Bowling **BK 91:an Halmstad **BK Hallandia **BK Nyhem **BK Pantern **BK Safir **BS Tylön **Halmia BS **IF Tre Hjärtan **Team Halmstad BF *Dancing ** Laxbuggarna *Fencing ** Halmstads Fäktsällskap *Figure skating ** Halmstads konståkningsklubb *Golf **

Halmstad GK Halmstad Golf Club (Halmstad Golfklubb; Halmstad GK) is a golf club located in Tylösand, Halmstad Municipality in Sweden. It has hosted the 2007 Solheim Cup and the Chrysler Open on the Ladies European Tour and most recently Scandinavian Mixed. ...

** Bäckavattnets GK ** Garnisonen GK ** Holms GK ** Ringenäs GK ** Haverdals GK *Gymnastics ** Halmstad Frigymnaster ** Halmstad Kvinnliga GF ** Halmstad Rytmiska GF ** Nissaflickorna *Ice hockey ** Halmstad Hammers HC ** Halmstad Ungdom HC ** Sannarps HC *Swimming ** SK Laxen *Table tennis **

Halmstad BTK Halmstad BTK is a table tennis club in Halmstad, Sweden. Established on 27 October 1937, the club won the Swedish national men's team championship in 1993 and 2003 and the Swedish women's national team championship in 1991, 1992, 1995 and 1996. Jö ...

*Team handball **

HK Drott HK Drott Halmstad is a handball club, based in Halmstad, Sweden. The club has won the Swedish Championship eleven times, last in 2013. Together with Redbergslids IK, HK Drott have dominated Swedish handball between 1984 and 2003. This club h ...

**Halmstads HP *Tennis ** Söndrums TK *Track & Field ** IFK Halmstad *Cricket ** Halamstad Cricket club

References

External links

*
Official homepage for the MunicipalityOfficial homepage for visitors and tourists
{{Authority control County seats in Sweden Municipal seats of Halland County Swedish municipal seats Populated places in Halmstad Municipality Port cities in Sweden Port cities and towns of the North Sea Coastal cities and towns in Sweden Cities in Halland County