Towns of Skåne
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The notion of towns and cities in Skåne is problematic[citation needed] as the Scanian usage of the Swedish terms for city/town and village differ somewhat from that in the rest of Sweden[citation needed], and may be considered related to the Danish usage[citation needed]. Unfortunately, this causes sometimes considerable confusion[citation needed], not the least in the context of translations from Swedish.
The Swedish term for town/city, stad, is by the Scanians primarily used for towns chartered with full town privileges before[citation needed] the industrial revolution[citation needed]. The Swedish term for village, by, similar to the Danish word for town/city, is in many context used for most other built-up areas[citation needed], including those with a known history of over 1,000 years (as for instance Dalby), small hamlets, and large suburbs as long as detached houses dominate[citation needed]. In more official contexts, the Swedish terms samhälle and tätort/centralort may be used instead of the term by that by many Swedes rather would be interpreted as "hamlet"[citation needed].
An intermediate position is occupied by towns chartered without full town-privileges, cf. market towns, originally with the now obsoleted term köping in Swedish, and those chartered in the late 19th to 20th century[citation needed]. In a Scanian mindset[citation needed], a "real" town is primarily characterized by a long history, evidenced by old architecture, winding streets echoing the town's organic growth, and main roads running from a central square to neighbouring towns (i.e. similar to the way most people define a town the rest of Sweden too). In ordinary conversations and in news paper prose, a characterization of these newer or lesser towns as either towns or villages is typically avoided whenever possible[citation needed], but if necessary småstad ("small-town") or tätort ("locality") may be considered appropriate.
The towns lost their function as administrative entities in 1971, when they were replaced by the unitary authorities, which became the Municipalities of Sweden. The towns retains some symbolic tokens of their former liberties, such as using a mural crown in their coats of arms[citation needed]. (All municipalities have coats of arms nowadays in Sweden).
So defined, the following towns in Scania are typically perceived as "stad" in Swedish, and might best be translated to city in English:
- Lund (chartered approximately 990), historically the cultural centre of Skåne and for extended times of all of Scandinavia
- Helsingborg (chartered in 1085), of strategic importance at the neck of The Sound
- Skanör and Falsterbo (chartered approximately 1200), situated at the southern entrance to The Sound, of particular importance in medieval times, widely renowned for the annual herring market from which salted herring was delivered to the Hanseatic towns on the European continent
- Ystad (chartered approximately 1200), harbour at the Baltic Sea and traditionally the principal port to the European continent
- Trelleborg (chartered approximately 1200), harbour at the Baltic Sea of importance already in pre-historical times
- Malmö (chartered approximately 1250), established as the fortified harbour of Lund, within a few centuries arguably the richest and most important town in Scania
- Simrishamn (chartered approximately 1300), since 1617 the sole town on Scania's eastern shore, principal port to the large island of Bornholm, that until 1660 was an integrate part of Terra Scania
- Landskrona (chartered in 1413), good natural harbour between Malmö and Helsingborg, considered as the best site for a regional capital
- Kristianstad (chartered in 1622), erected as a castle against the threatening Swedes, the last town to be chartered before the decline that followed the cession to Sweden
- Other urban areas that gained chartered city rights before the municipal reform in 1971: Hässleholm, Eslöv and Höganäs, may be called "cities" as well, even though they gained city rights only in the 20 century.[citation needed] Their relatively small size and lack of long history may also make them translated as "towns", but in a historical context "city" is also correct and acceptable in accordance with other urban areas that gained chartered city rights before the municipal reform in Sweden[citation needed].
The town of Åhus was chartered approximately 1200 at the mouth of Helge å where the archbichopric had built a castle at the harbour on Scania's eastern shore. The town suffered from the Danish reformation (in 1536) and even more from plunderings during extended Swedish–Danish wars of the 15th–17th centuries. The town was moved (or the privileges were) to Kristianstad in 1617.
The town of Ängelholm was chartered 1516–1547, originally erected when moved the three kilometres from the natural harbour of Luntertun. Ängelholm was of strategic importance at the North-Western entrance to Scania, at a bridge over Rönne å. Ängelholm was granted full town-privileges again in 1767, but remained insignificant for long. In the early 19th century, its population was less than 500.
Similarly, others of the towns listed above may be considered towns and not cities according to locals[citation needed], which is a "problem" that occurs only in English, not in Swedish. (Also in other parts of Sweden, or the world, people would frequently consider certain urban areas too small for being called cities.)
The judicial relevance of the notion of towns was abolished in 1971, which was generally interpreted as an official abolition of the very term town. Since the 1990s, many of the municipalities centred on the historical towns listed above have successfully reintroduced the notion of town, and in some cases officially changed their name[citation needed] to Malmö stad (the City of Malmö) and equivalents.
Another route is taken by the municipality of Staffanstorp, that from the 1990s actively has promoted the construction of neighbourhoods with streets and architecture that looks similar to century-old houses in towns of Holland, Denmark and northern Germany. That is how a town-centre in Staffanstorp (population 13,500) is erected as well as the new medieval-inspired Jakriborg district of Hjärup, planned for 1,300 apartments. This might, in due time, change the common perception of Staffanstorp and Hjärup from that of villages to that of (small-) towns.
[edit] Towns in order of size
Below is a list of Scanian towns with a population greater than 2,000 (as of 2000). In those cases when municipal borders cross through a town, it's counted to the municipality the largest part belongs to. Municipalities are noted in parenthesis, except when the municipality carry the name of the town. In the case of conurbations, the given size is the total size.
- Malmö & Arlöv¹, 248,520
- Helsingborg, 87,914
- Lund, 73,840
- Kristianstad, 31,592
- Landskrona, 27,393
- Trelleborg, 24,850
- Ängelholm, 21,716
- Hässleholm, 17,289
- Ystad, 16,851
- Eslöv, 15,521
- Staffanstorp², 13,596
- Höganäs, 13,401
- Höllviken², 9,387 (Vellinge Municipality)
- Oxie², 9,242 (Malmö Municipality)
- Svedala, 9,085
- Åhus, 8,681 (Kristianstad Municipality)
- Bjärred², 8,374 (Lomma Municipality)
- Lomma², 8,373
- Åstorp, 8,007
- Kävlinge², 8,006
- Klippan, 7,402
- Bromölla, 7,333
- Höör², 7,176
- Skanör² & Falsterbo², 7,087 (Vellinge Municipality)
- Osby, 6,903
- Skurup, 6,615
- Hörby, 6,421
- Simrishamn, 6,319
- Sjöbo, 6,270
- Bjuv, 6,228
- Vellinge², 5,973
- Tomelilla, 5,946
- Södra Sandby², 5,586 (Lund Municipality)
- Dalby², 5,469 (Lund Municipality)
- Åkarp², 5,339 (Burlöv Municipality)
- Perstorp, 5,321
- Löddeköpinge², 5,173 (Kävlinge Municipality)
- Bunkeflostrand², 5,114 (Malmö Municipality)
- Ödåkra, 4,839 (Helsingborg Municipality)
- Båstad, 4,683
- Tyringe, 4,606 (Hässleholm Municipality)
- Örkelljunga, 4,416
- Rydebäck², 4,287 (Helsingborg Municipality)
- Vinslöv, 3,818 (Hässleholm Municipality)
- Hittarp², 3,664 (Helsingborg Municipality)
- Veberöd², 3,569 (Lund Municipality)
- Furulund², 3,517 (Kävlinge Municipality)
- Hjärup², 3,402 (Staffanstorp Municipality)
- Bara², 3,289 (Svedala Municipality)
- Viken, 3,269 (Höganäs Municipality)
- Tollarp, 3,174 (Kristianstad Municipality)
- Knislinge, 3,130 (Östra Göinge Municipality)
- Svalöv, 3,071
- Ekeby, 2,983 (Bjuv Municipality)
- Broby, 2,955 (Östra Göinge Municipality)
- Hofterup², 2,931 (Kävlinge Municipality)
- Vejbystrand, 2,714 (Ängelholm Municipality)
- Munka-Ljungby, 2,702 (Ängelholm Municipality)
- Billesholm, 2,688 (Bjuv Municipality)
- Bårslöv², 2,664 (Helsingborg Municipality)
- Påarp², 2,652 (Helsingborg Municipality)
- Bjärnum, 2,636 (Hässleholm Municipality)
- Genarp², 2,512 (Lund Municipality)
- Häljarp², 2,511 (Landskrona Municipality)
- Ljunghusen², 2,253 (Vellinge Municipality)
- Förslöv, 2,058 (Båstad Municipality)
Notes
¹/ Arlöv is the center of the Burlöv Municipality, but as Arlöv constitutes a conurbation with Malmö, Arlöv is in this table counted as a neighbourhood of Malmö.
²/ Today chiefly detached house suburbs within the West-Scanian metropolitan area reaching from Mölle in the North-West to Ystad in the South-East.
