Malmo

Malmö, administrative seat of the Swedish administrative area (Län) Skåne and third largest city in the country, at the narrowest point of the sound in fertile Skåne, 301,700 residents, as a large municipality 157 km ² and 328,500 residents; Numerous museums (including art gallery, art museum, natural history museum), theater, university (founded in 1998), music, art and theater university of Lund University, World Maritime University (university of the UN); Shipyard, mechanical engineering, energy industry, food industry, information technology, construction industry; Port of export, ferry traffic to Travemünde and Rostock, “Citytunnel” railway tunnel (opened in 2010); Airport; Tourism. In 2000, a permanent connection across the sound was put into operation.

Cityscape

The center of the old town is the market with the town hall (1546, expanded 1864–69) and the former residence of the governor (1730), south of it the Flensburgska huset (1589), all in the style of the Dutch-influenced Renaissance. The Petrikirche (beginning of the 14th century) is a three-aisled basilica with an ambulatory and a chapel wreath (noteworthy are the pulpit, 1599; baptismal font, 1601; altar structure, 1611). The central post office of F. Boberg (1900–1906) is located at the port. The Johanneskirche (1903-07) by Axel Anderberg (* 1860, † 1937) south of the old town is a testament to Art Nouveau architecture. Among the examples of modern architecture stand out the city theater (1942–44) and the art gallery (1971–75) by Klas Anshelm (* 1914, † 1980) out. With the 190 m high tower “Turning Torso” (completed in 2005) designed by S. Calatrava, the city received a new landmark. – To the west of the old town is the Malmöhus fortress , founded in 1434, rebuilt in 1537–42, in the transition style from Gothic to Renaissance, restored after fire in 1870, today a museum.

History

Founded in the 12th century and initially referred to as “Malmhauge” (“sand hill”), Malmö became a town in 1353. The Danish trading and Hanseatic city, which was important in the late Middle Ages, fell to Sweden in 1658. – On August 26, 1848, Denmark and Prussia concluded an armistice in Malmö.

Gothenburg

According to estatelearning, Gothenburg [Swedish Jø ː tə b ɔ rj], German earlier Gothenburg, is the second largest city and main port of Sweden, near the mouth of Götaälv in the Kattegat, 572, 800 residents, as a greater community (kommun) 448 km ² and 556 600 residents; Administrative seat of the Län Västra Götaland, Seat of a Lutheran bishop; Royal Society of Sciences (founded in 1778), university (founded in 1954, emerged from a college founded in 1891), technical college (founded in 1829), technical colleges, research institutes (shipbuilding, textiles, etc.), theater, opera house; Art, applied arts, antiquity, city, natural history museum and others; Shipyards, iron, steel, ball bearing (SKF), vehicle (Volvo) and machine factories as well as textile and clothing industries, two petroleum refineries; two international airports (Landvetter and Göteborg City Airport); Port (2016: around 41 million tons of handling), ferry connection with Frederikshavn (Denmark) and Kiel.

Cityscape

In the old town, between Götaälv and Wallgraben, are the Kronhuset (1643–54; oldest preserved building in the city, today a museum with a historical collection), the town hall (1670–73, by N. Tessin the Elder; modified) with an extension (1934–37) by E. G. Asplund, the cathedral (rebuilt in a classical style by Carl Wilhelm Carlberg after fire 1808–25), the Kristinekirche (rebuilt after fire in 1746) and the former building of the East India Company (1750–62, by C. Hårleman; today city museum).

Southeast of the old town on Götaplatz (with Poseidon Fountain by C. Milles, 1931) are the city theater (1934, C. G. Bergsten), concert hall (1935, Nils Einar Eriksson) and art museum (1921–23, S. Ericson and Arvid Bjerke). The Röhska Museum (1916, C. E. Westman) is the most comprehensive arts and crafts museum in Sweden. The Masthuggskirche (1907−14, S. Ericson), located on a rock above the city, and the Lilla Bommen (1989, R. Erskine) building complex next to the new opera house (1994, Jan Izikowits) became landmarks.

Since the mid-1980s, the former Norra Älvstranden shipyard has been converted into urban development (including a residential area with a hotel and restaurant). – Between industrial buildings, just before the mouth of the Götaälv, are the remains of the old fortress Älvsborg (built in the 13th century; first mentioned in 1366 as Eluesborg; conquered by the Danes in 1612 and razed in 1660–73). The new Älvsborg was built in the years 1646–70 on an archipelago island in the river mouth (in today’s port area) and was used until 1868 (restored and open to the public).

History

In 1619 Gustav II. Adolf founded after a city was founded by King Charles IX. on the island of Hisingen (1603) was devastated by the Danes in 1612, on the mainland the present city. Scottish, German and v. a. Dutch settlers built the place into a fortress based on the Dutch model. In 1621 Gothenburg received city rights. With the occupation of the entire coast by Sweden, Gothenburg developed important administrative and commercial functions from 1658. The Swedish East India Company moved its headquarters to Gothenburg in 1731, which became the main hub for British goods in the Baltic Sea trade during the continental blockade. With the increasing transatlantic traffic, Gothenburg grew into Scandinavia’s largest export port in the 19th century.