Åmål () is a locality and the seat of

Åmål Municipality Åmål Municipality () is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the stad (Sweden), city of Åmål. The present municipality was created in 1971 through the amalgamation (pol ...

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 ...

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

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

. In 2005 Åmål received second prize in the international competition The International Awards for Liveable Communities (also known as the LivCom Awards). The Åmåls Blues Fest 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, ...

. 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, 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. 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 * IFK Åmål

Notable people

* Rut Berglund, (1897 in Åmål – 1984) operatic mezzo-soprano and contralto * Egzon Binaku (born 1995 in Åmål) footballer, for

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

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

Bengtolle Oldinger Bengt Anders Valter (Bengtolle) Oldinger (November 3, 1911, in Åmål – March 31, 1988, in Stockholm) was a Swedish painter, teacher, and draftsman. Early life After training as an elementary school teacher at the and as an opera singer ...

(1911 in Åmål –1988), born as

Bengt Anders Valter Oldinger Bengt Anders Valter (Bengtolle) Oldinger (November 3, 1911, in Åmål – March 31, 1988, in Stockholm) was a Swedish painter, teacher, and draftsman. Early life After training as an elementary school teacher at the and as an opera singer ...

, painter * Karl Gustav Jöreskog (born 1935 in Åmål) statistician. * Amy Segerstedt (1835 in Åmål – 1928) teacher, folk teacher, and philanthropist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amal Municipal seats of Västra Götaland County Swedish municipal seats 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