Uddevalla is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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’s the seat of Uddevalla Municipality. In 2015, it had a population of 34,781, making it the largest town fully in Bohuslän. Uddevalla is located where the river Bäveån opens up into Byfjorden, a fjord in the south-eastern part of

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (; , , ) is a strait running between the North Jutlandic Island of Denmark, the east coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea. The Skagerrak contains some of the busiest shipping ...

. The beaches of Uddevalla are filled with seashells and Uddevalla has one of the largest shell- banks in the world. Uddevalla also has a port that once was a large shipyard, the ''Uddevallavarvet'' ("Uddevalla wharf"), which was the largest employer in

Bohuslän Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...

during the 1960s.

History

Uddevalla originally belonged to

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 received its

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

in 1498. It’s probable that the town was founded some time before that, but we have no proof about that. The Norwegians originally named the city “Oddevald”, which later became “Oddevold”. Due to the town’s former proximity to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and Sweden, as well as its strategic position, there were many

wars War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...

in and around Oddevold. Oddevold has changed nationalities a total of seven times throughout its history. In 1658, Oddevold (and the rest of

) was handed to Sweden as part of 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 ...

. Norway invaded the city a year later before it was handed back as part of the Treaty of Copenhagen 1660. That was the last time Oddevold changed nationality and it was soon thereafter renamed to Uddevalla. The old name remains today in the form of IK Oddevold, the local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team.

City fires

Uddevalla has been burned to the ground a total of six times. The first five times were attempts to claim the city by the different Scandinavian nations. After the fifth fire in 1690, the town was rebuilt and became larger than it ever was. Uddevalla was the 5th largest city in Sweden when the sixth great fire started in 1806. The small fire which started in a barn spread quickly and burnt down the entire city. Only a few houses located in the city outskirts remained intact, and the city had to be rebuilt. It is because of this fire that central Uddevalla has a grid-like structure.

Industries

When the

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

reached Sweden, Uddevalla had fully recovered from the fire. Uddevalla's first major industry was a

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...

named Kampenhof AB. It was built in 1857 and had 10 000 machines driven by a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

. A few years later in 1875, Adolf P. Zachau built a match factory called Uddevalla Tändsticksfabrik. The match factory, along with their trademark “Svalan” (translated: “The

Swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

”), eventually became successful all over the world. Despite this, it was closed down in 1938. Kampenhof AB remained until 1954, when it too was closed down. The cotton mill however, stood untouched until 1982 when it was demolished. In its place today is Kampenhof Resecentrum, the main

bus station A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

of Uddevalla. Uddevallavarvet was at its time the biggest employer in all of Bohuslän with approximately 4 000 workers at its peak. It was founded in 1946 by Gustav B. Thordén, who bought two

kaiser shipyards The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the West Coast of the United States, United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The ...

, one from Portland,

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

and one from Providence,

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, and transported them across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

. When Uddevallavarvet was closed down in 1986 they had built 221 supertankers. Their biggest ship was the T/T Nanny which, with a length of 364 meters and a width of 79 meters, is the biggest

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

ever built in Sweden.

Education

All the high schools in Uddevalla are administered as one school, the ''Uddevalla Gymnasieskola'' ("Uddevalla High School"), which is now the largest high school in Sweden. The school has 4,000 students attending the following branches of the high school: * Agneberg –

Social studies In many countries' curricula, social studies is the combined study of humanities, the arts, and social sciences, mainly including history, economics, and civics. The term was coined by American educators around the turn of the twentieth century as ...

* Sinclair (High school) –

The arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of m ...

and

Media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

* Östrabo 1 –

Science studies Science studies is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary research area that seeks to situate scientific expertise in broad social, historical, and philosophical contexts. It uses various methods to analyze the production, representation an ...

* Östrabo Y – Heavy industry schooling * Margretegärde –

and

There are also many primary schools in Uddevalla, some of them are: * Äsperödskolan * Västerskolan * Fridaskolan * Ramnerödsskolan * Norgårdenskolan * Norrskolan * Sommarhemsskolan

Sports

Arenas

Agnebergshallen is an indoor sports arena for various sports including

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

. The home ground for the IK Oddevold is the outdoor arena Rimnersvallen. A large indoor arena, the Rimnershallen, is next to the Rimnersvallen. It is used for

and

floorball Floorball (also known by other names) is a sport played with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. It is played indoors with sticks and a hollow plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three periods. The sport of bandy also playe ...

as well as other sports.

Sports clubs

The following sports clubs are located in Uddevalla:

Football

* IK Oddevold * IFK Uddevalla * IFK Lane * Herrestad AIF * IK Rössö * IK Svane * Rosseröds IK

Hockey

* Uddevalla HC

Handball

* GF Kroppskultur(GFK) * Uddevalla HK(UHK)

Floorball

* Walkesborg 99 * Herrestad AIF

Futsal

* IFK Uddevalla Futsal Swedish Championship gold season 2016/2017. * IK Oddevold Futsal

Sites of interest

* Uddevalla Bridge is a 1,7 kilometer long

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

across Byfjorden which was completed in May 2000. It is a part of

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 ...

. * Uddevalla Clock Tower stands at the top of a

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

above the

town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

. It was originally built in the

18th century The 18th century lasted from 1 January 1701 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCI) to 31 December 1800 (MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the Atlantic Revolutions. Revolutions began to ch ...

, but had some major renovations in the 1830s. * The Museum of Bohuslän is located in central Uddevalla. * The Kuröd Shell Banks are the biggest shell banks in the world.

Fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

from more than 100 different

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...

have been found here, and some of said fossils are more than 10 000 years old. * The ruins of Tureborg Castle can be found in southern Uddevalla. The

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

-style castle was built by Ture Malmgren and was completed 1912, before it was burnt down in 1950. * Gustavsberg is one of the oldest seaside resorts in Sweden. It is located on the southern

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

of Byfjorden, a 30-minute walk from the city centre. Most of the

19th century The 19th century began on 1 January 1801 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 (MCM). It was the 9th century of the 2nd millennium. It was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was Abolitionism, ...

buildings remain today.

Transportation

Highways and major roads

The

passes through Torp Köpcentrum in west Uddevalla. From there,

county road A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can ...

161 goes west towards

Lysekil Lysekil () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Lysekil Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about 7,600 inhabitants in 2018. Situated on the south tip of Stångenäs peninsula at the mouth of Gullmarn fjord, it ...

, while

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

44 goes east. The 44 passes through Uddevalla city centre and Kuröd industrial area before continuing to

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 ...

and Götene. County road 172 starts in Kuröd, connects with the 44, and continues north through

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, ...

Bus

Most

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

in Uddevalla is operated by Västtrafik since it is a part of Västra Götaland County. Uddevalla has a network of city buses featuring 50 stops and 6 lines, all of which stop at Kampenhof Resecentrum, one of Uddevalla’s two

bus stations A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

. The other bus station is called Torp Terminalen which is located at Torp Köpcentrum. Most regional buses stop at Torp instead of Kampenhof because of Torp’s proximity to four major roads. Some notable destinations Västtrafik offers bus routes to from Uddevalla are Ljungskile, Färgelanda, Bengtsfors,

, Munkedal, Kungshamn, Smögen, Tanumshede, Strömstad, Henån, Stenungsund,

Kungälv Kungälv () is a cities of Sweden, city and the seat of Kungälv Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It is also a part of Greater Gothenburg Metropolitan Area. It had 22,768 inhabitants in 2010. In 2021, the main Kungälv - Ytterby - ...

, and

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 ...

. Additionally, Vy bus4you offers long distance buses between

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 ...

and

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 ...

, which stop at Torp Terminalen.

Train

Uddevalla has two train stations: Uddevalla Central and Uddevalla Östra (“Uddevalla East”). Both are a part of the Bohus Line, while the Central Station also is a part of the Älvsborg Line.

Twin towns – sister cities

Uddevalla is twinned with: * Jõhvi, Estonia * Loimaa, Finland * Mosfellsbær, Iceland *

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire (, ) is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and s ...

, Scotland, United Kingdom * Okazaki, Japan *

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

, Norway *

Thisted Thisted is a town in the municipality of Thisted in the North Denmark Region of Denmark. It has a population of 13,505 (1 January 2025)Oscar Akermo - tattoo artist * Jenny Alm - handballer * Marianne Aminoff - actress * Eva Andersson - swimmer * Håkan Andersson - motocross racer * Wilma Andersson - murder victim * Eva Andersson-Dubin - physician and model *

Mikael Appelgren Kent Mikael Appelgren (born 15 October 1961 in Stockholm) is a Swedish former table tennis player. Table tennis career He was 4-times World Champion, 9-times European Champion, 2-times Europe Top-12 winner, and World Cup winner. He also won ...

- handballer * Johan Arneng - footballer *

Percy Barnevik Percy Nils Barnevik HonFREng (born 13 February 1941) is a Swedish business executive, best known as CEO and later Chairman of ABB 1988–2002, and for being the centre of a giant pension dispute that shook Sweden in 2003. He is the co-founder o ...

- business executive * Signe Barth - painter * Lars Bäckström - politician * Peter Berggren - swimmer * Beata Bergström - photographer * Rebecka Blomqvist - footballer * Sofie Börjesson - handballer * Johanna Bundsen - handballer * Einar Dahl - politician and Esperantist * Jonas Dahlberg - artist *

Martin Dahlin Dan Martin Nataniel Dahlin (; born 16 April 1968) is a Swedish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. In his prime, he was considered one of the world's best strikers. Starti ...

- footballer * Robert Dahlqvist - musician * Klas Eksell - army Major General * Edvard Evers - Lutheran priest * Caroline Farberger - business executive * Lisa Fonssagrives - model and photographer * Mathias Fredriksson - cross country skier * Knut Fridell - wrestler * Joel Gistedt - ice hockey player * Berndt Grundevik - army Major General * Liselott Hagberg - politician *

Hans Håkansson Hans Håkansson (9 September 1908, Malmö - 1993) was a Swedish footballer. Career Håkansson played for Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening (), commonly known simply as Malmö FF or MFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in M ...

- footballer and journalist * Jack Hermansson - mixed martial artist * Linnéa Hillberg - actress * Per Johansson - handballer * Arnrid Johnston - sculptor * Jessica Karlsson - golfer * Karl-Axel Karlsson - sports shooter * Kim Kärnfalk - singer * Agneta Klingspor - author * Johan Philip Korn - painter * Patrik Liljestrand - handballer * Carl Linde - football manager * Birger Ljungström - engineer * Jonas Patrik Ljungström - cartographer * Karla López - politician * Therèse Lundin, swimmer * Agnes Magnell - architect * Ture Malmgren - journalist and politician * Ellen Mattson - writer * Jonas Olsson - Finnish music producer * Anders Osborne - American singer/songwriter * Jeanna Oterdahl - educator and author * Johan Patriksson - footballer * Cristina Husmark Pehrsson - politician * Örjan Persson - footballer * Angelo Vega Rodriguez - futsal player * Ester Roeck-Hansen - actress * Lotten Rönquist- painter * Lars Schmidt - director and publisher * Erik Segerstedt - singer * Birger Simonsson - painter * Annica Smedius - actress and singer * Peter Spaak - Protestant reformer * Thomas Stenström - singer/songwriter * Anton Niklas Sundberg - Lutheran clergyman *

Peter Sunde Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi (born 13 September 1978), alias brokep, is a Swedish entrepreneur and politician. He is best known for being a co-founder and ex-spokesperson of The Pirate Bay, a BitTorrent search engine. He is an equality advocate and ha ...

- entrepreneur and politician * Alfred Swahn - sports shooter * Thomas Thorburn - economist * Lars Uno Thulin - Norwegian engineer and politician * Henning von Krusenstierna - Navy admiral * Jack Vreeswijk - singer and composer * Sylvia Vrethammar - singer *

Martin Wallström Carl Martin Gunnar Wallström Milkéwitz (born 7 July 1983) is a Swedish television and film actor. A successful actor in his home country, he is best known internationally for his 2015 American debut role as Tyrell Wellick in the USA Network c ...

- actor * Cissi Wallin - actress and radio personality * Bo Wålemark - football manager * Axel Wenner-Gren - entrepreneur *

Marie Wennersten-From Marie Louise Inger Wennersten From (born 17 March 1958) is a retired Swedish professional golfer who played on the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour. Early life and amateur career Wennersten was born in Uddevalla on the west-coast of Sweden ...

- golfer * Herman Zetterberg - jurist and politician

References

;Bibliography * *

Nationalencyklopedin (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia with several hundred thousand articles. It is available both online and via a printed version. History The project was ...

External links

Article Uddevalla, from NF

Uddevalla Gymnasieskola
Official site for Uddevalla Gymnasieskola
Official website of Uddevalla
{{Authority control Populated places in Uddevalla Municipality Municipal seats of Västra Götaland County Swedish municipal seats Coastal cities and towns in Sweden Former Norwegian towns Cities in Sweden