Halmstad (Swedish:[ˈhǎlmsta(d)]ⓘ)[5] is a port, university, industrial and recreational city at the mouth of the Nissan river, in the province of Halland on the Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat of Halmstad Municipality and the capital of Halland County. The city had a population of 71,422 in 2020,[1] out of a municipal total of over 100,000. Halmstad is Sweden's 19th-largest city by population and located about midway between Gothenburg (the second most populous) and Malmö (the third).
History
Halmstad, at the time part of the Kingdom of Denmark, received its first city charter 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 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 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 of Sweden and Christian IV 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 in 1658 made this acquisition permanent. Sweden defeated Denmark in the Battle of Fyllebro 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) 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.[6] The Halländska steamship company was formed in Halmstad in 1850 and started traffic between Gothenburg and Copenhagen, 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.[7]
Halmstad's first union was formed in 1885 by tailor workers.[8] The first May Day demonstration in Sweden was held in Halmstad in 1897.
After expanding in 1967, Halmstad become central town in 1971 in Halmstad's municipality.[9] The population grew from 48,800 in 1990 to 58,577 in 2010.
Climate
Halmstad has the south Scandinavian climate of a relatively rainy environment with warm summers and winters around the freezing point. The local climate is defined as an oceanic climate (Cfb) with some continental influence.
Climate data for Halmstad (2002–2022 averages); extremes since 1901
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.[12] Halmstad University has more than 9 000 students, including 245 exchange students (2013) and 163 international programme students (2013).
