Uddevalla

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Map of Sweden, Uddevalla indicated by red dot

Uddevalla is the largest city in Bohuslän in western Sweden situated at 58°21′N 11°55′E. Its population is 35,000, although the Uddevalla Municipality has a little above 50,000. Administratively, Uddevalla belongs to Västra Götaland County. It is located at the bay Byfjorden, of the south-eastern part of the sea known as Skagerrak. The beaches of Uddevalla are filled with seashells, and Uddevalla has one of the largest shellbanks in the world.

Uddevalla has a small port and it did once host a large shipyard called Uddevallavarvet. In 1960 it was the largest employer in Bohuslän. But in the 1970s all shipyards in Sweden experienced a recession which also led to the closure of Uddevallavarvet in 1985.

1 History
2 Today
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

Uddevalla got its city rights in 1498 but was probably a place of merchancy long before that. Historically Uddevalla was part of Norway. Because of its location close to Sweden and Denmark, Terra Scania, it was often besieged. In 1612 it was burnt by Swedish troops under the command of Jesper Mattson Krus and in 1644 it was again burnt, by the Swedish commander Stake. In 1658, at the treaty of Roskilde, it was ceded to Sweden. A year later the Norwegians retook it, but in 1660 it was once again ceded to Sweden in the peace treaty of Copenhagen. Norway later repeatedly reconquered Uddevalla and the nearby fortress on Galleberg, the last time in 1788.

In the 18th and 19th century, Uddevalla's main importance laid in its herring fishing. But what also marked the city was the great fires which several times damaged the city. Most notably in 1806, when the entire city, four houses spared, was burnt to the ground, and 4,000 people became homeless.

In the 19th century Uddevalla had trouble getting out of its recession and struggled with poverty and alcoholism. The reasons were mainly that the fishing of herring decreased, that the canal of Trollhättan opened, and the aftereffects of the 1806 fire.

Uddevalla around 1700 from Suecia antiqua et hodierna

Sometime around 1870-1880, Uddevalla began to attract industries. Much of the development in the century can be attributed to the Scottish businessman William Thorburn, who is said to have been amazed by the city's beauty and hence settled there with his wife in 1822^{[citation needed]}. He founded a number of industries, mostly textile in the beginning. Another contributing reason to Uddevalla's recovery was the railroad.

[edit] Today

After the Swedish shipyard-crisis in the 1980's, forcing the closure of Uddevallavarvet, Uddevalla has had some economical problems. It has also been appointed the dullest city in Sweden^{[citation needed]}. The population has been rather steady during the last thirty years.

[edit] References

This article contains content from the Owl Edition of Nordisk familjebok, a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1904–1926 now in Public Domain.
Nationalencyklopedin