Kristianstad
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| Kristianstad | |
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  Kristianstad
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | Sweden |
| Municipality | Kristianstad Municipality |
| County | Skåne County |
| Province | Skåne |
| Area [1] | |
| - Total | 17.67 km² (6.8 sq mi) |
| Population (2005-12-31)[1] | |
| - Total | 33,083 |
| - Density | 1,873/km² (4,851/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Kristianstad IPA: [kri'ɧansta] (older spelling Christianstad) is a city in Scania in southernmost Sweden and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Skåne County. It has 33,083 inhabitants (2005), less than half of the municipal total of 76,000.
It is the seat of the Skåne Regional Council.
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[edit] Geography
Part of Kristianstad constitutes the lowest point in Sweden, 2.41 meters below sea level. Dams and pumps are in function to protect the city from floods from the river Helgeån and the lake Hammarsjön. The marsh lands surrounding the town are known as the "Vattenriket" - The Water Kingdom".
[edit] History
The city was founded in 1614 as Christianstad by King Christian IV of Denmark, in as a prestige project, after the burning of the town of Vä. The purpose of the town was to guard the eastern half of the Danish province of Scania against any future raids from Sweden, but also to prove the power of Christian himself. One of these raids had sacked the nearby town of Væ in 1612. Væ then lost its charter and the people were moved to the new, better fortified city. The king also founded the town of Christianopel in eastern Blekinge to serve a similar purpose.
Construction of the towns was a great prestige project for the king, and Kristianstad's church (Danish: Trefoldighedskirken; Swedish: Heliga Trefaldighetskyrkan) is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful buildings constructed by King Christian IV, or even northern Europe's most beautiful Renaissance church. Also in Christianstad the townplanning of the Renaissance could be laid down for the first time at the foundation of the town. This makes the Kristianstad towncentre of today exceptionally well-kept and easy to get around in.
The city's coat of arms depicts two lions holding the King's crowned insignia, the monogram C4. The coat of arms was only slightly modified after the Swedish takeover following the 1658 Treaty of Roskilde in which the eastern third of Denmark was ceded to Sweden. The coat of arms is very similar to the coat of arms of the former town of Christianopel in eastern Blekinge, a town also founded by Christian IV. The coat of arms is since 1971 used by Kristianstad Municipality.
 "Stora kronohuset" |
 Cityhotel |
 Railway station |
 Citygate |
 Theatre |
 Heliga Trefaldighetskyrkan |
 "Kvarnen" |
 Citycenter |
[edit] Industry
Absolut Vodka, owned by V&S Group, is produced by the town of Åhus located within the municipality. Kristianstad was the main military seat in Scania for a long time, boosting military camps and trainings. After the reforms and military cutbacks of the 1990s all of these have been closed.
[edit] Notable natives
- Johan Christopher Toll, soldier
- Bo Lundgren, politician
- Ann-Louise Hanson, singer
- Fredrik Böök, author
- Seved Malm, musician
- Åke Ohlmarks, writer
- Sixten Sparre, soldier
- Georg af Klercker, soldier
- Anton Salvin, actor
- Bror Erik Friberg, Judge of Assessment Court, New Zealand,1877
[edit] See also
[edit] Trivia
Kristianstad's coat of arms is one of the few coat of arms in the world depicting a foreign king's or queen's coat of arms. It is the coat of arms of king Christian IV of Denmark, the founder of the city.
Occasional mix-ups between Kristianstad and the Norwegian cities of Kristiansand and Kristiansund have been known to happen.[2]
[edit] References
- Some material has been incorporated from the corresponding article on Swedish wikipedia
Brew, Margit Scandinavian footprints: a history of Scandinavians settling in New Zealand Auckland, NZ: M.Brew, c2007.
- ^ a b Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km2 2000 och 2005 (xls) (Swedish). Statistics Sweden. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
- ^ BBC News | EUROPE | Soldiers' map mix-up
[edit] External links
- Kristianstad - Official site
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Kristianstad is one of 134 towns with the historical City status in Sweden. |
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