Hallstahammar Municipality

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

**Hallstahammar Municipality (*Kommun*)**
Sweden's southern half; H. Municipality is the small red dot. Map outlining the municipalities of Sweden	Coat of arms
	Municipal facts
	Seat	Hallstahammar
	59° 37′ N 16° 15′ E
	County	Västmanland County
	Province	Västmanland
	Area Rank	171 km² 255th of 290
	Population Rank (2005)	14,955 247th of 290
	Population density	88/km²

Hallstahammar Municipality is a Swedish municipality in Västmanland, in central Sweden. Its seat is in the town Hallstahammar with 10,300 inhabitants.

The municipal slogan is "Bo hos oss/Live with us", which reflects the ambition of the present municipal leadership to boost population figures.

1 Geography
2 Communications
3 History
4 Notability
5 External link

[edit] Geography

The town is situated by the small river Kolbäcksån. Along that river many industries were established, and at Hallstahammar an ironwork was built as early as 1628.

The municipality is subdivided into two parishes: Hallstahammar-Berg and Kolbäck-Säby. They are distinctive from each other: Hallstahammar-Berg in the north is situated along forest lands; Kolbäck-Säby in the south is a centre of communications by roads and railways as well as the intersecting river. Strömsholm, in the southern part of Kolbäck, borders to Lake Mälaren and has open fields around its Royal Castle.

[edit] Communications

With train it takes less than 15 minutes to central Västerås (a larger city), and about an hour to the Central Station of Stockholm. It is also possible to travel straight south, passing the bridge over Lake Mälaren to the larger city Eskilstuna. Good car transport is provided by European route E18 that passes between Kolbäck and Hallstahammar.

The local bus traffic in Hallstahammar is free of charge, one of very few Swedish experiments with that type of service.

[edit] History

The King Gustav Vasa built a castle along the lake about 1558. Its current appearance goes back to the 1680s. Today it hosts an interesting museum.

The town Hallstahammar traces its history to 1628 when the first smithy was built. In 1795 the Strömsholm Canal was inaugurated which enhanced goods transports.

The town became a centre for transportation and commerce. In the 1930s it was shaped as a typical Swedish industrial town with close ties to the engineering industry. From the 1970s on, however, that industry has gradually lost its strong significance.

[edit] Notability

One of Sweden's foremost riding gymnasiums is located in Strömsholm, as part of the Kantzowska Gymnasium. The Church of Kolbäck goes back to the 13th century and has interior decorations paid for by Queen Hedvig Eleonora in the 17th century. The Church of Säby was beautifully restored in the 1630s.