Kristianstad ( , ) 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

Kristianstad Municipality Kristianstad Municipality () is a municipality in Skåne County in southernmost Sweden. Its seat is located in the city Kristianstad. The present municipality was created in three steps during the last nationwide local government reform, and it ...

, Scania County,

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 41,198 inhabitants in 2023. Since the 1990s, the city has gone from being a garrison town to a developed commercial city, focusing on nature preservation and a food profile.

History

The city was founded in 1614 by King

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 ...

(the city's name literally means 'Town of Christian'or "Christian's town") as a

planned city A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

after the burning of the nearby town of Vä and moving the city rights of the neighbouring town of Vå and Åhus to the new town. The purpose of the town was to safeguard the eastern half of the Danish province of Scania against any future raids from Sweden in the north, but also as a symbol of the power of Christian himself. One of these raids had sacked the nearby town of Vä in 1612. Vä then lost its charter and the people were relocated to the new, better fortified city. The king also founded the town of Kristianopel in eastern

Blekinge Blekinge () is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second-smallest provin ...

to serve a similar purpose. Construction of the towns was a great prestige project for the king, and Kristianstad's church is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful buildings constructed by King Christian IV, or even northern Europe's most beautiful

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

church. This meant that the church was built considerably larger than there was initially use for. The king also wanted a castle or fortress constructed inside the town but shortage of funds made this impossible, of the intended castle only an arsenal was constructed which today serves as the main building of the local museum. Also in Christianstad the town planning of the Renaissance could be laid down for the first time at the foundation of the town. This makes the Kristianstad town centre of today exceptionally well-kept and easy to get around in. In 1658 Scania, Kristianstad and the eastern third of Denmark was ceded to Sweden following 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 ...

Pylyp Orlyk Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk (; ; – May 26, 1742) was a Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack statesman, diplomat and member of Cossack starshyna who served as the Hetman of Zaporizhian Cossacks, hetman in exile from 1710 to 1742. He was a cl ...

was after 1709 chosen as a Hetman in exile by the

cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

s and the Swedish king

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

. While in Bender Orlyk wrote one of the first state

constitutions A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

in Europe. This Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk was confirmed by

and it also names him as ''the protector of Ukraine''. After 1714 Orlyk now together with several other cossacks followed the Swedish king

. Orlyk with his family and about 40 other Cossacks arrived in Ystad,

in late November 1715. After some months in Ystad they lived in the city of Kristianstad for some years. Orlyk wrote numerous proclamations and essays about

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

including the 1710 Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk. Kristianstad served as capital of Kristianstad County between 1719 and 1997. It now houses the administration and the regional parliament of the

Skåne Regional Council Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

. For a long time Kristianstad also was a very important garrison town, the Wendes Artillery Regiment (A 3) and the North Scanian Regiment (P 6) being the town's most prominent military units. Also the town housed for many years the so-called Scanian Fortification Brigade. The Wendes Artillery Regiment served with distinction in the Napoleonic Wars. One of Sweden's higher courts of appeal was located in Kristianstad before being moved to

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 ...

in 1917. Until 1996, Kristianstad was a city of residence in Kristianstad County, but in 1997 merged with

Skåne County Skåne County ( ), sometimes referred to as Scania County or just Scania in English, is the southernmost Counties of Sweden, county, or , of Sweden, mostly corresponding to the traditional Provinces of Sweden, province of Scania. It borders th ...

. Since the county councils were also merged into Region Skåne, the city became the seat of its regional council from 1999. The County Administrative Court in Skåne County was also located in Kristianstad until 2008. In Kristianstad, seven countries have maintained honorary

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

s during different periods. A Royal Danish Vice Consulate was established in 1855 and elevated to a consulate in 2002, but was withdrawn in 2012. A

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n consular agency existed 1873 — 1887 (the same man was the Danish deputy consul and North American consular agent). The independent Kingdom of Norway established a deputy consulate in 1907, which was, however, withdrawn in 1937, to be re-established in 1946 and elevated to a consulate in 1988, but it is now revoked.

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

had a vice consulate 1911 — 1935.

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

also had a vice consulate in Kristianstad 1923 — 1925 and 1931 — 1967.

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

established a consulate in 1995 and it is the only consulate left in Kristianstad today.

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

established a consulate in 1996, but it is now withdrawn. Capture of christianstad-claus moinichen 1686

Geography

Sweden's lowest point, at 2.41 meters below

mean sea level A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statist ...

, is located in Kristianstad. Because of this, parts of the city have to be protected from flooding by a system of levees and water pumps. To expand the city, large areas of low-lying wetlands have had to be walled in, especially to the east. To prevent future flooding of the city center, the existing levees are in the process of being reinforced and new levees against both Helge å and Hammarsjön are under construction. An extensive system of ponds and dams is also under construction. The threat of flooding became substantial during late winter 2002, when the greater part of the public park Tivoliparken was under water. However, the wetlands around the city are starting to be regarded more as an asset, not least thanks to the creation of Kristianstads Vattenrike Biosphere Reserve. Today the Vattenriket is a Unesco biosphere reserve.

Climate

Kristianstad has a

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 cold ...

. Summers are warm and comparatively long by Swedish standards.

Environmental

Kristianstad has by now crossed a vital threshold, as the city and adjacent municipality, with a population of 80,000, in essence use no oil, natural gas or coal to warm homes and businesses, even throughout the extensive chilly winters. It is an absolute turnaround from 20 years ago, when all of its heating came from

fossil fuels A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geologica ...

Industry

Absolut Vodka Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is a part of the French group Pernod Ricard. Pernod Ricard bought Absolut for €5.63 billion in 2008 (equivalent to € in ) from the Swedish state. Absolut ...

, owned by

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or '' Ricard''). The world's second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...

, is produced in the town of Åhus located within the municipality. Kristianstad was the main military seat in

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

for a long time, boosting military camps and trainings. After the reforms and military cutbacks of the 1990s all of these have been closed, although a new military presence is being established in nearby Rinkaby which holds an old military training ground. In and around Kristianstad are numerous enterprises concerned with agriculture and it is usually said that every Swede everyday eats something produced from Kristianstad. Kristianstad University, specialized in educating teachers and nurses, is located at the old garrison ground for the I6 North Scanian Infantry Regiment (later mechanized as Pansar Regiment 6).

Culture

The Swedish Film industry ( Svensk Filmindustri) commenced its activities in Kristianstad in the 1910s, before moving to Stockholm in 1920. Today the old studio is a museum where you can visit Sweden's very first film studio, preserved and restored to its original condition from 1909. The pioneering days of film in Kristianstad with 'Svenska bio' are the prelude to the heyday of Swedish film and its international breakthrough. Kristianstad Art Gallery is located in the old post office building from 1917, designed by architect Erik Lallerstedt, and shares an entrance with the Kristianstad Regional Museum. Kristianstad Art Gallery is run by the cultural heritage organization Regionmuseet Skåne on behalf of Kristianstad Municipality and was inaugurated in December 2001. The focus is on contemporary art.

Coat of arms

The city's coat of arms depicts two lions holding the King Christian IV's crowned insignia, the monogram C4. The coat of arms was only slightly modified after the Swedish takeover following the 1658

in which the eastern third of Denmark was ceded to Sweden. Since 1971, the coat of arms is used by

. A reason for the Swedes to continue using the old coat of arms could be its colours – blue and yellow. At the end of the 19th century, Christianstads Enskilda Bank (founded in 1865) issued banknotes with portraits of Christian IV instead of the Swedish king (the individual banks' right to issue banknotes ceased in 1898).

Events

In 2011, Sweden hosted the 22nd

World Scout Jamboree The World Scout Jamboree is a Scouting Jamboree (Scouting), jamboree of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, typically attended by several tens of thousands of Scouts from around the world, aged 14 to 17. At the jamboree, many scouts sw ...

of the International Scout Movement. The Jamboree had about 40 000 participants from 144 countries and was organized at Rinkabyfältet, Kristianstad. Every summer there is a major beach handball tournament taking place in the seaside resort of Åhus in the municipality. The Åhus Beach handball Festival is Europe's largest beach handball tournament. During 10 days over 1000 teams, 10000 players and 2300 leaders gather on the beach to compete in the sport. The festival was founded in 1997.

Notable natives

* Magnus Colcord Heurlin, artist from Alaska * Ingeman Arbnor, economist * Fredrik Böök, author * Bror Erik Friberg, Judge of Assessment Court,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, 1877 * Ann-Louise Hanson, singer * Bo Lundgren, politician * Emma Lundberg, artist and architect * Augusta Lundin, fashion designer * Hulda Lundin, tailor and educator *

Åke Ohlmarks Åke Joel Ohlmarks (3 June 1911 – 6 June 1984) was a Swedish author, translator and scholar of philology, linguistics and religious studies. He worked as a lecturer at the University of Greifswald from 1941 to 1945, where he founded the instit ...

, writer * Vivi Sylwan, textile historian and curator * Johan Christopher Toll, soldier * Carl Ludvig Trägårdh, artist * Lisa Nordén, professional triathlete, 2008 Olympian and 2012 Olympic silver medalist * Timothy Liljegren, professional ice hockey player, Toronto Maple Leafs * Kosovare Asllani, professional football player * Johan Stureson, racing driver * Olle Jönsson, singer of Lasse Stefanz *

Anders Linderoth Anders Karl Gustaf Linderoth (born 21 March 1950) is a Swedish football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is best remembered for representing Helsingsborgs, Östers IF, Marseille, and Mjällby AIF during a club career that ...

, professional football player

Sister cities

Kristianstad has two sister cities: *

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a Danish seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark. In 2025, the ...

, Denmark *

Rendsburg Rendsburg (, also ''Rensborg'', , also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the Eider (river), River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Eckernfoerde, Rends ...

, Germany

Sights

File:Kristianstad 070628-3.JPG, Stora Kronohuset File:Kristianstad 070628-4.JPG, Railway station File:Kristianstad 070628-5.JPG, Citygate File:Kristianstad 070628-6.JPG, Cityhotel (Stadshotellet), also the Freemason House File:Kristianstad 070628-7.JPG, Theatre File:Kristianstad 070628-2.JPG, Heliga Trefaldighetskyrkan File:Kvarnen2_kristianstad.jpg, Kvarnen File:Kristianstad stora torg.JPG, Lilla torg File:Bridge across Helge å.JPG, Old railroad bridge across Helge å

References

* ''Some material has been incorporated from the corresponding article on Swedish Wikipedia'' Brew, Margit
Scandinavian footprints: a history of Scandinavians settling in New Zealand
' Auckland, NZ: M.Brew, c2007.

Notes

External links

Kristianstad Municipality
- Official site

{{Authority control Municipal seats of Skåne County Swedish municipal seats Populated places established in 1614 Lowest points of countries 17th-century establishments in Scania Cities in Sweden Christian IV of Denmark