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

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 ...

at the mouth of the

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

river, in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, 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, Skåne, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Br ...

on the Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat of Halmstad Municipality and the capital of

Halland County Halland County (, ) 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. Prince Julian, the son of Prince Carl Philip, is Duke of Halland. ...

. The city had a population of 71,422 in 2020, out of a municipal total of over 100,000. Halmstad is Sweden's 19th-largest city by population and located about midway between

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

(the second most populous) and

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

(the third).

History

Halmstad, at the time part of the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...

, 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 The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...

, a Nordic Union between Sweden,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

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 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 ...

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 The Treaty of Roskilde was negotiated at Høje Taastrup Church and was 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 ci ...

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 The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

) 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 Norre Port, also ''Norreport'', city gate in Halmstad, Halland County, Sweden. Norre Port was completed in 1601 under the Danish Christian IV of Denmark, king Christian IV. This was part of the city's fortifications, which also included Halmstad C ...

. 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 b ...

) 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 ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, 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. 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 climate of a relatively rainy environment with warm summers and winters around the freezing point. The local climate is defined as an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(''Cfb'') with some continental influence.

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).

Transportation

Halmstad is located along the West Coast Line and at the beginning of the Halmstad-Nässjö railway line. Regional trains are operated under the brands Øresundståg to

and

, Pågatågen to

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

and Krösatågen to

Nässjö Nässjö () is a locality and the seat of Nässjö Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 31,782 inhabitants in 2024. History For many years, Nässjö was a rural village with agriculture as the dominant occupation. The turning point wa ...

and

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...

. State operator SJ operates high-speed trains to Gothenburg,

and

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, with private operator MTRX operating additional trains to Stockholm in the summer. Halmstad is the starting point for national roads 25 and 26, and is situated along the E6/ E20 motorways. Halmstad Airport is a minor international airport with direct flights to various destinations in Europe. Port of Halmstad is one of Sweden's 10 largest seaports.

Sport

Event host

In September 2007 the city hosted the Solheim Cup, which was played at the Halmstad Golfklubb. In 2011 Halmstad was the final port of the Tall Ships' Races. 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 South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. ...

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 professional Association football, football club located in Halmstad in the county of Halland. The club, formed 7 February 1914 and app ...

** IS Halmia ** Alets IK ** BK Astrio ** 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 ** 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 *Team handball ** HK Drott **Halmstads HP *Tennis ** Söndrums TK *Track & Field ** IFK Halmstad *Cricket ** Halmstad Cricket club

Notable residents

* Luai Ahmed (born 1993), Yemen-born Swedish journalist, columnist, and influencer * Sven Colliander,

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

and Olympian * Rolf Peterson, Canoer

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 Sweden