Strömstad Municipality

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This page deals with both Strömstad Municipality and the urban area (tätort) Strömstad

**Strömstad Municipality (*Kommun*)**
Strömstad in V. G. County in Sweden Map outlining municipalities of Sweden	Coat of arms
	Municipal facts
	Seat	Strömstad
	{{{locationReadable}}}
	County	Västra Götaland County
	Province	Bohuslän
	Area Rank	472 km² 178th of 290
	Population Rank (2005)	11,373 192nd of 290
	Density	24/km²

Strömstad is a Swedish municipality in Västra Götaland County, in western Sweden. Its seat is in Strömstad.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Notability
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Strömstad is located on the Norwegian border and is known to attract large numbers of shoppers from Norway.

The town is located at the estuary of the small Strömstad River.

[edit] History

Originally, the province Bohuslän, where Strömstad is situated, belonged to Norway until 1658, when Sweden took it through warfare. At Strömstad, there was a small fishing village known as Strömmen. The town got small privileges as a merchant town (köping) shortly thereafter, which seems to have made it expand, because it is documented to have gotten a charter in 1676 by King Charles IX of Sweden, yet some documents show it was considered a city in 1672. As it was the seat for a merchant navy, the coat of arms was designed with such a ship, and has remained that way even after the sailing ships navy were discontinued in the 19th century.

The city became the seat for Sweden's warfare, and more than once it was conquered and reconquered throughout the centuries. The warlike King Charles XII of Sweden, for instance, used it as his outpost for his campaign against Norway in 1716-1718.

At the time it had a population of 300 inhabitants. But soon the fishing blossomed, and it population increased to 1,100 by 1805. The late 18th century also saw the spa and bathing attract visitors, a position it kept throughout the 19th century. By 1917, its population was 2,949 inhabitants.

[edit] Notability

As the Norwegian alcohol taxes are higher than the Swedish ones, Norwegian shoppers have caused the Swedish alcohol retailing monopoly Systembolaget to open an extra store to cater the need. When only one shop existed it was the Systembolaget shop having highest sales in Sweden.

The city is known for its yachting harbour.