, 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-industrial ism.
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.
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 a 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 economic decline due to poor harbour facilities and loss of trading privileges that were granted under the Danish Crown. By 1730, its population had dwindled to 282. In 1775, a new harbour was constructed, but Malmö's economic status remained poor until the later part of 19th century and the introduction of the railroad.
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 in
1434 Malmö's growth gave reason to the erection of a new
Citadel at the beach south of the town. The new fortress, ''Malmöhus'', 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 cars.
at ''Stortorget'' ("the Big
Square "), although the facade is from the 1860s.]]
Malmö is located at 13°00' east and 55°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 Train s 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 Train s 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 .
In March of 2005, digging began on a new railroad connection called ''Citytunneln'' (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 being a terminus to being a transit station. A new stop will also be built at ''Triangeln'' (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 ''Triangeln'', 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 Carrier s,
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
Freeway s.
Malmö is sometimes referred to as ''the city of parks'' ("parkernas stad"), the largest two being ''Pildammsparken'' and ''Kungsparken,'' the long beaches, and a longtime tradition of decorating the city with plants and flowers of the season.
(dark red).]]
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
Tram lines (
Streetcar s) were however abolished in
1973 .
A Swedish deregulation of
Taxicab s 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
''city'' has administratively been discontinued in Sweden.
Malmö Urban Area , ''Malmö tätort'' 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 Area s and rural areas, such as the suburbs of
Oxie and
Åkarp . ''Malmö tätort'' is to be distinguished from ''Malmö stad'' (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/km&
2 (compared to Stockholm's 3230 inhabitants/km&
2 and Göteborg's 2494 inhabitants/km&
2).
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 government-owned schools and privately owned schools, both financed by the gouverment and both types are free for the students like all schools in Sweden. One of the most notable private schools is Bladins, with an impeccable reputation and huge waiting lists. .
Malmö has the country's eighth largest teaching site ''(Malmö Högskola)'' 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.
The
Legislative body 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
Commissioner s. The executive committee and the commissioners are headed by the
Mayor .
The current Mayor of the City of Malmö is since
1995 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.
Nightlife and music scene are mainly centered around two places: ''Lilla Torg'' ("Little
Square ") is encircled by trendy
Pub s and upmarket night clubs, while the district of ''Möllevången'' ("the Mill Meadow") houses hang-outs for artists and good opportunities for live music.
In August each year a festival, ''Malmöfestivalen'', fills the streets of Malmö with different kinds of cuisines and events, along with pickpockets.
Until its dismantling in 2002,
Kockumskranen , a huge crane of the shipyard Kockums was the landmark of Malmö.
An extension of the city library was finished in 1997, called the Light Hall, its walls are almost entirely made up of glass panels.
and
Bo01 ]]
''Västra Hamnen'' (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 spectacular
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 ''Ribersborg'' in the western harbour, is a man-made 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.
The Old Cemetery ''(Gamla Kyrkogården),'' - established in 1819 - and located in the city center, appalled
William S. Burroughs when he briefly visited Malmö in the 1950s. In ''
The Naked Lunch '' 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 ''(see
Oresund Bridge )'', 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
1990s .
