Kungälv () is a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
and the seat of
Kungälv Municipality
Kungälv Municipality () is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Kungälv. It is the 50th largest municipality in Sweden by population size, which exceeded 50 000 during May 2024.
The pr ...
in
Västra Götaland County
Västra Götaland County () 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 1,616,000 amounts to 17% of S ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. It is also a part of Greater Gothenburg Metropolitan Area. It had 22,768 inhabitants in 2010.
In 2021, the main Kungälv - Ytterby - Kareby conurbation had a combined population approaching 30,000.
History
According to official Swedish sources the city was founded in 1612, when the city of
Konghelle was moved closer to the
Bohus Fortress. However, this is disputed because other sources indicate that it was just a strategic relocation of the existing Norwegian city, the capital of Norway at one point under
Sigurd I Magnusson, something frequently used for marketing and tourist purposes. For this reason, Kungälv could celebrate its "1000-year anniversary" in 1959.
Sigurd I Magnusson (''Sigurd Jorsalfare'', i.e., Sigurd the Crusader) was the King of Norway (1103–1130) and is the best-known crusader king of Scandinavia. He was also the first European king to join the crusades at a time where Kungälv was Norwegian territory.
Sigurd returned to Norway in 1111, where he made his capital in Konghelle (in the vicinity of Kungälv in present-day Sweden) and built a castle there, where he kept a relic given to him by King Baldwin, a splinter reputed to be from the True Cross. Sigurd died in 1130 and was buried in ''Hallvardskirken'' (Hallvards church) in
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, in present-day Norway.
In the 1120s
Pomerania
Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
n ships from
Stettin
Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...
(present-day Szczecin, Poland), from the southern coast of the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
attacked the Danish coast. On 10 August 1135
Duke Ratibor assaulted the Norwegian towns.
Konghelle, was captured and burnt to the ground by the forces of prince Ratibor, assisted by a fleet of 550 ships with cavalry on board (each carrying forty-four men and two horses). They laid the town to ruins, killed a large part of the population, and abducted most of the survivors as
thralls to Szczecin.
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...
, writing a century later, said that Konghelle never completely recovered.
The former settlement at Konghelle burned down in 1612, and was subsequently moved by
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...
and Norway to the open slope below
Bohus Fortress, and rebuilt as Kongelf.
The
Bohus Fortress remains the most popular tourist attraction in Kungälv.
Notable people
*
Alexander Samuelson, designer of the
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
contour bottle, was born in Kungälv
*
Mikael Andersson, Former NHL-forward and Olympian was raised in Kungälv.
*
Niklas Andersson, Former NHL-forward and younger brother of Mikael was born and raised in Kungälv.
*
P. J. Axelsson
Anders Per-Johan Axelsson (born 26 February 1975), commonly abbreviated to P. J. Axelsson, is a Swedish people, Swedish former professional ice hockey forward, who most recently played with Frölunda HC of the Swedish Swedish Hockey L ...
, Former Boston Bruins forward and Olympian was born and raised in Kungälv.
*
Eva von Bahr (physicist), First female docent in physics in Sweden lived in Kungälv
*
Mirsad Bektašević the jihadist was born in Serbia and grew up in Kungälv
*
Carin Koch, Professional golfer was born and raised in Kungälv.
*
Erik Lindh, Former table tennis player and Olympic bronze medalist
*
Lise Meitner
Elise Lise Meitner ( ; ; 7 November 1878 – 27 October 1968) was an Austrian-Swedish nuclear physicist who was instrumental in the discovery of nuclear fission.
After completing her doctoral research in 1906, Meitner became the second woman ...
, Austrian physicist who worked on
radioactivity
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...
and
nuclear
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the nucleus of the atom:
*Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
* Nuclear space
*Nuclear ...
physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
, was on vacation in Kungälv with her nephew
Otto Frisch when she realized that
nuclear fission
Nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei. The fission process often produces gamma photons, and releases a very large amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radioactiv ...
was possible.
*
John Hron, the victim of a high-profile
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
/
hate crime
Hate crime (also known as bias crime) in criminal law involves a standard offence (such as an assault, murder) with an added element of bias against a victim (individual or group of individuals) because of their physical appearance or perceived ...
was raised in Kungälv
*
Fredrik Sjöström, Former NHL-forward was raised in Kungälv.
*
Ernst Skarstedt, Swedish-American author, journalist and editor was born in Kungälv.
*
Pontus Wernbloom, Professional football player.
Transport
*
European route E6
European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...
*
Västtrafik regional buses
*
Bohusbanan railway (Ytterby station)
Sports
The following sports clubs are located in Kungälv:
*
Kungälvs VBK - multiple Swedish champions in
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
in the 1980s and 90s
*
IFK Kungälv
*
Ytterby IS
*
IK Kongahälla
*
Kungälvs SK
*
Kungälvs simsällskap
*
Kongahälla AIK
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kungalv
Populated places in Kungälv Municipality
Municipal seats of Västra Götaland County
Swedish municipal seats
Former Norwegian towns