Quicknation    Sweden Malmö

Images of Malmö: G Y AOL AV MSN News of Malmö: G Y Books of Malmö: B

Malmö IPA: [málmø:] is the third largest city in Sweden, situated in the southernmost province of Skåne, near Copenhagen, Denmark. It has 270,000 inhabitants (about 600,000 in the metro area, including Lund). Malmö was one of the earliest and most industrialized towns of Scandinavia, but has in recent decades been struggling with the adaption to post-industrialism.

By the dawn of the 21st century, Malmö had become Sweden's most multi-ethnic city with 24% of the population born abroad, with more than a third being first- or second-generation immigrants, and the proportion of Muslims estimated to be 16%.

With its old buildings and many parks it appears appealing to outsiders, and is also a popular place to shop due to its many different shops and stores. During the last few years a university college (Malmö Högskola) has been established and the city is now focussing extensively on education, arts and culture.

table

Malmö is held to have been founded in what was then Denmark, in the 13th century as a fortified quay or ferry berth of the Archbishop of Lund, some 20 kilometers north-east. Its original name was Malmhaug (“Sandpile”), but in the Middle Ages, German merchants from Lübeck settled there and named it Elbogen (“Elbow”) for the curve at its shoreline that existed at the point.

Around 1290, construction on the St Petri Church began. It was the first Gothic church to be built within Sweden's present-day borders. Similar Brick Gothic churches can be found around the coastal regions of both Sweden and Germany (for example in Ystad, Landskrona and Rostock), and were inspired by the German sea merchants, the Hanseatic League, who played a major part in the economical growths around the Sound. Red bricks were used instead of stone, due to its scarcity in the area, and the color comes from the bedrock and the means the bricks were fabricated. In the ensuing century, Malmö and Copenhagen would rise in economic importance, and until this day this pattern has persisted. Despite Lund (and to lesser degree Roskilde) being culturally of much greater importance, Malmö and Copenhagen have been centers for industrious and economic success.

The disunity between the burghers of Lund and Malmö has remained a fundamental characteristic, the former relying on tradition the latter on modernity and adaption. Malmö was, for instance, a leading hanseatic town during the decades of the Hansa's dominance in the region, and leading the process of Protestant Reformation in Denmark of the 1530s. After the secession to Sweden, in 1658, Malmö suffered an economical decline due to poor harbour facilities and loss of trading privilages that were granted under the Danish Crown. In 1730, its population had dwindled to 282. In 1775, a new harbour was constructed, but Malmö's economical status remained poor until the later part of 19th century and the introduction of the rainroad.

The first fortification was erected at the site of Skeppsbron (“Ship bridge”) and Malmö Central Station, first hinted at in unfriendly diplomatic correspondence between the king and the archbishop in March 1256, but Malmö's growth gave in 1434 reason to the erection of a new citadel at the beach south of the town. The new fortress, i, was completed in the mid-16th century and continued to play an essential role after the secession to Sweden — now as a part of the defense system against the Danes. During 1828–1914 the building was re-used as a prison, and since the 1930s it houses Malmö museum.

The city arms were granted in 1437 by King Eric of Pomerania. The arms of Pomerania is argent with a griffin gules, which gave the griffin's head to Malmö. The coat of arms for the city is similar to the arms of the province of Scania and Skåne County, which actually are derivations of the arms of Malmö. Blazon: "Argent, a Griffin's head erased Gules, crowned Or". Note the similarity between this coat of arms and the logo for Saab cars.

"Malmö city hall, Rådhuset, built in 1546 at Stortorget ("the Big Square"), although the facade is from the 1860s."

Malmö is located at 13°00' east and 53°35' north. Its location in southernmost Sweden makes it closer to the Italian town of Milan than to the northernmost Swedish town Kiruna.

Malmö is part of the transnational Oresund Region and since 2000 the Oresund Bridge crosses the Oresund strait to Copenhagen. The bridge was inaugurated July 1, 2000, and measures 8 kilometres (the whole link totalling 16km), with pylons reaching 204.5 metres vertically. Except the Helsingborg-Helsingør ferry links further north, most ferry connections have been discontinued.

Commuter trains pass the bridge every 20 minutes connecting Malmö, Copenhagen, and the Copenhagen Metro (inaugurated on Oct 19, 2002). Also some of the X2000 and Intercity trains to Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Kalmar pass the bridge. All these trains stop at Copenhagen Airport.

Malmö, as the southern hub of the Swedish railway system and the western hub of the Scanian commuter train system, has excellent train connections. A night train line to Berlin, by ferry over the Baltic, has been in traffic since 1909.

(The City Tunnel). The tunnel will run from under Malmö Central Station to Hyllievång (Hyllie Meadow), where it will emerge to connect with the Oresund Bridge, effectively changing Malmö Central from an end station to a through station. A new stop will also be built at i (The Triangle), an important square in the city surrouned by shopping, housing, and cultural attractions. At the emergence of the tunnel in Hyllievång, a new shopping centre, sports hall, and hotel are to be built. The tunnel will particularly cut travel times between the centre of Malmö, around i, and the surrounding towns of Skåne.

Beside the Copenhagen Airport, Malmö is also served by the Malmö-Sturup Airport that chiefly is used for low-cost carriers, charter flight routes, and domestic Swedish destinations.

The highway network was further improved in connection with the opening of the Oresund Bridge. European route E6 follows the Swedish and Norwegian west coast from Malmö–Helsingborg to Kirkenes at Barents Sea. The European route to Jönköping–Stockholm (E4) starts at Helsingborg. Main roads in direction of Växjö–Kalmar, Kristianstad–Karlskrona, Ystad, and Trelleborg start as freeways.

Malmö is sometimes referred to as i the long beaches, and a longtime tradition of decorating the city with plants and flowers of the season.

Biking is a popular means of transport, since Malmö is a city virtually without altitude differences and since the snow season is usually brief. A continuous network of bike roads, in intersections often with right of precedence over for cars, has in recent decades been a priority beside the rather extensive public transport system. The tramlines (streetcars) were however abolished in 1973.

A Swedish deregulation of taxicabs in the 1990s turned out particularly advantageous for Malmö. The supply of cabs is good, and most operate to low fixed fares, usually arriving within three–four minutes if requested by phone, which is the most convenient. For tourists, however, it's advisable to compare prices.

Malmö Municipality consists of Malmö and its immediate surroundings. It is an administrative unit, defined by purely geographical borders.

In all official contexts, the town Malmö calls itself "Malmö stad" (or City of Malmö), as does a small number of other Swedish municipalities, and especially the other two metropolitans of Sweden: Stockholm and Gothenburg. However, the term i with 250,000 inhabitants, consists of the urban part of the municipality (including Limhamn, an independent town until 1915) together with the small town of Arlöv in the municipality of Burlöv. Both municipalities also include smaller urban areas and rural areas, such as the suburbs of Oxie and Åkarp. i (The city of Malmö) that is an official name of Malmö municipality, althouth this terminology appears counterintuitive to many locals. Malmö is the most densely populated municipality in Sweden with 3584 inhabitants

The city of Malmö, with a population of 270,000, is the third largest municipality in Sweden.

Malmö is the largest town in the metropolitan area of South-Western Scania (Metropolitan Malmö) with some 600,000 inhabitants, including nearby Lund, the region's centre of higher education and academic culture.

Malmö–Lund and Metropolitan Copenhagen in Denmark forms the center of the Oresund Region that has a total population of 3,600,000 inhabitants. To some, Malmö may appear as the most recent neighbourhood or suburb of Copenhagen.

The economy of Malmö was traditionally based on shipbuilding (Kockums) and construction related industries, such as concrete factories. The region's leading university, with associated hi-tech and pharmaceutical industry, is located in Lund about 16km to the north-east. As a result, Malmö had a troubled economic situation following the mid-1970s. However, during the last few years there has been a revival. Contributing factors have been the economic integration brought about by the bridge, the university college (Malmö Högskola) founded in 1998, the university of Lund with its School of Technology (LTH), and effects of integration into the European Union.

Malmö has comparatively high unemployment figures, particularly in the eastern and southern parts of the town, characterized by a variation in ethnicities and social groups.

Malmö has a variety of both public and private schools. One of the most notable private schools is Bladins, with an impeccable reputation and huge waiting lists. Malmö Borgarskola is the largest high school in the city, also holding the renowned IB school, one of the best in the World, rivaling that of London, Paris and New York. Other schools with old traditions are Malmö S:t Petri skola [1] and Malmö Latinskola.

Malmö has the country's eighth largest teaching site i established in 1998, with 1,300 employees and 21,000 students (as of 2003). Also the Lund University (established in 1668) has some education located to Malmö.

World Maritime University is one of the best universities of its kind, had holds a variety of students from all over the world.

of the city of Malmö is the 61-member City Council, elected by proportional representation for a four-year term. The council appoints the city's main governing bodies, the 11-member executive committee and the 8 governing commissioners. The executive committee and the commissioners are headed by the Mayor.

The current Mayor of the City of Malmö is Ilmar Reepalu, of the Social Democratic Party.

The city is gaining in popularity as a tourist destination. It retains much historical charm with an "old town" section filled with small shops. Malmö also offers a late-medieval castle, housing a small city museum and a fairly large art gallery.

Nightlife and music scene are mainly centered around two places: i ("the Mill Meadow") houses hang-outs for artists and good opportunities for live music.

In August each year a festival, i, fills the streets of Malmö with different kinds of cuisines and events, along with pickpocketeers.

Until its dismantling in 2002, the Kockumskranen, a huge crane of the shipyard Kockums was the landmark of Malmö.

An extension of the city library was finished in 2000, called the Light Hall, its walls are almost entirely made up of glass panels.

i (The Western Harbour) used to be the location for heavy industry, but in 2001 was rebuilt, becoming the arguably most exclusive neighbourhood in Malmö. The apartment districts features exclusive uniquely designed small houses in a district known as Bo01, and adjacent is the spectaluar Turning Torso by designer Santiago Calatrava. This is a spectacular twisting skyscraper, with 190 metres (623 feet) the second highest residential building in Europe, and its silhouette can be seen from around the Malmö area.

The beach i in the western harbour, and is a shallow beach, stretching along Malmö's coast line. It is the site of Ribersborgs Kallbadhus, an open air bath opened in the 1890s, where people go swimming all year round.

The long boardwalk at the beach has become a new favourite summer hang-out for the people of Malmö and is a popular place for bathing.

- established in 1819 - and located in the city center, appalled William S. Burroughs when he briefly visited Malmö in the 1950s. In i he notes that the city was dreadful since he could not find any open bar or cinema; thus there was nothing to do except staying in the hotel room, waiting for the ferry back to Copenhagen.

This was asserted by several other visitor to Malmö during the last decades, but, with the closure of the ship-industry of Kockums, and the new connection to Copenhagen i, the image of the city has been transformed into a positive one, as new cultural institutions, such as theaters and opera house, were opened. The inauguration of Malmö University has attracted many students, who also chose to settle in Malmö due to the limitation of housing in nearby Lund.

The best known football (soccer) team in Malmö is Malmö FF, who play in the top-level Allsvenskan. They had their period of glamour in the 1970s and 1980s, when they won the league several times. In 1979, they advanced to the finals of the European Cup, now the UEFA Champions League. The 1990s brought them nothing but difficulties, culminating in relegation in 1999, although they would return to the top flight at the first opportunity. However, several of the players with a foreign background have proven to be golden geese for the team. The Swedish-record transfer fee paid by Dutch power Ajax for Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2001 enabled the team to acquire several other players. The success of Ibrahimovic, the Malmö-born son of Bosnian immigrants, proved that multi-ethnicity could work on the field, encouraging the addition of more immigrants to the team. And in 2004, they won the Allsvenskan for the first time in 15 years.

The second most notable team is Malmö Redhawks, in ice hockey. They were the creation of a millionaire and quickly rose to the highest rank in the 90's.