Lund

Lund
Coat of arms
Motto: Idéernas stad (Eng: The city of ideas)
Lund
Coordinates:
Country	Sweden
Province	Skåne
County	Skåne County
Municipality	Lund Municipality
Area[1]
- Total	24.99 km2 (9.6 sq mi)
Population (2005-12-31)[1]
- Total	76,188
- Density	3,049/km2 (7,896.9/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Lund (Swedish pronunciation: [lɵnd]  ( listen)) is a city in the province of Scania, southern Sweden. The town has 76,188 inhabitants in 2005,^[1] out of a municipal total of 105,000. It is the seat of Lund Municipality, Skåne County. The city is believed to have been founded around 990, when the Scanian lands belonged to Denmark. It soon became a major Christian center of the Baltic Sea region, at a time when the area was still a frontier area for Christian mission, and within Scandinavia and especially Denmark through the Middle Ages. From 1103 it was the seat of an archbishop. At the center of the city stands the towering Lund Cathedral, built ca 1090-1145.

Lund University, established 1666, is today one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research.^[2][3][4]

History

Lund Cathedral

Along with Sigtuna, Lund is the oldest city in present-day Sweden. Lund's origins are unclear. Until recently, the town was thought to have been founded around 1020 by either Sweyn I Forkbeard or his son Canute the Great of Denmark.^[5] The area was then part of the kingdom of Denmark. But, recent archaeological discoveries suggest that the first settlement dated to circa 990, possibly the relocation of settlers at Uppåkra. The Uppåkra settlement dates back to the first century B.C.^[6] and its remains are at the present site of the village of Uppåkra. King Sweyn I Forkbeard moved Lund to its present location, a distance of some five kilometres. The new location of Lund, on a hill and across a ford, gave the new site considerable defensive advantages in comparison with Uppåkra, situated on the highest point of a large plain.

The city was made a see in 1048 and united with Dalby in 1060,^[7] and in 1103 became the seat of the archbishop for Scandinavia. The diocese of nearby Dalby was absorbed in 1066. Lund Cathedral was similarly founded in or shortly after 1103. In 1152, the Norwegian archdiocese of Nidaros was founded as a separate province of the church, independent of Lund. In 1164 Sweden also acquired an archbishop of its own, although he was nominally subordinate to the archbishop of Lund. It is still, as the diocese of Lund, a diocese in the Church of Sweden.

A street in the old part of the town

Lund Cathedral School (Katedralskolan) was founded in 1085 by the Danish king Canute the Saint. This is the oldest school in Scandinavia and one of the oldest in Northern Europe. Many prominent people were educated there, among them the actor Max von Sydow and several high-ranking politicians.

In 1658, the Scanian lands were ceded by Denmark to Sweden by the Treaty of Roskilde. On December 4, 1676 Lund was defended in the Battle of Lund, one of the bloodiest battles fought in Scandinavia.

Adelgatan Street, Lund

Lund University, established in 1666, is Sweden's largest, with 42,000 full or part-time students, although not all live in Lund. The figure includes Lund Institute of Technology, which is to some extent independent of the old university. As late as the 1940s, Lund was a relatively small city with few large-scale industries, covering only about a fourth of the current urban area, and dominated by the cathedral and the university. Since then, the student population has increased about twelvefold; many industrial companies in the chemical, medical or electronics branches and, more recently, within information management, have set up establishments in the city; and the town's population, architecture and energy have been transformed.

Compared with many other Swedish cities, the urban heart of Lund is well preserved. A local law requires archaeological excavation in association with any downtown property planned for demolition and redevelopment.

Geography

Lund is located in Sweden's largest agricultural district, in the southwest of Scania, less than ten kilometres from the sandy shore of the Öresund Strait. From the top of the Sankt Hans Hill it is possible to see Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. It is therefore some distance from other Swedish cities, about 250 kilometres to Gothenburg, 600 to Stockholm and about 1200 to Umeå. The city of Malmö, on the other hand, is only about 15 kilometres away.

Climate

Lund, and the rest of southern Sweden have oceanic climate. Despite its northern location, the climate is relatively mild compared to other locations in similar latitude, or even somewhat further south, mainly because of the Gulf Stream. Because of its northerly latitude, daylight lasts as long as 17 hours in midsummer, and only around 7 hours in midwinter.

Summers are warm and pleasant with average high temperatures of 22 °C (72 °F) and lows of around 14 °C (57 °F), but temperatures do sometimes exceed 25 °C (77 °F) and occasional heat waves are common during the summer. Winters are cold, with temperatures steady between -1 to 3 °C (30 to 37 °F).

Rainfall is light to moderate throughout the year with 169 wet days. Snowfall occurs sparingly, mainly in December through March, but snow cover does not remain for a long time, and some winters tends to be virtually free of snow.

Main sights

During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund Cathedral, Liberiet, the restaurant Stäket and parts of the Cathedral School. Timber framing is characteristic of the houses built up to the end of the 19th century, for example the Wickmanska gården.

Most of the central buildings in Lund date from the late 19th century, when small houses were replaced by multi-storey ones. Notable buildings built during this period include the University Library (1902), Grand Hotel (1899) and the University Main Building (1882).

Skyline	Lund University main building	The University Library	Liberiet
Grand Hotel	The Cathedral School	Wickmanska gården	Botaniska trädgården

Transportation

Major roads

Lund has been connected to the motorway network since 1953 when the E22, the first motorway in Sweden, was built round the edge of the town. There are also other connections to most major roads in the area, for example the E6 via Riksväg 16, and the Länsväg 108 which connects to the E65.

Lund train station

Cycling

Lund has been praised for its cycling infrastructure.^[9] There are 5000 bike parking spaces in the town, including a multi-storey facility, 160 km of cyclepaths, and 45% of commuters travel by bicycle. There has been no increase in car usage for the past 10 years.

Railways and public transport

Lund has been on the main railway line between Malmö and Stockholm since 1857. Today there are direct connections to Copenhagen and Elsinore via the Öresund Bridge. This connection is mainly served by the Öresundståg, maintained by DSB, the Danske Statsbaner in Denmark and Skånetrafiken in Scania, as well as by SJ in the rest of Sweden. Local traffic is managed by the two-coach electric multiple units Pågatåg, which provide connections to many destinations in Scania. Because of Lund's central position, it is possible to travel to the three largest cities in Sweden without having to change trains.

Public transport within Lund is overseen by Skånetrafiken^[10] but the actual bus network is licensed to the Bergkvarabuss company. The city buses connect around 400 bus stops with 11 bus lines served by a fleet of 40 Mercedes Citaro running on compressed natural gas and a few smaller buses using diesel. There are plans of initiating a tram network to achieve faster and higher-capacity public transport in some parts of the city and to the suburban towns of Dalby, Staffanstorp and Södra Sandby.

In recent years the pressure on rail and bus lines has increased, due to the ever growing commuting between Lund, Malmö and other nearby places and increased casual and professional contacts with the Copenhagen area. As of 2009, the railyard and quays area of Lund station is undergoing some rearrangements to accommodate expected growth in traffic, while Malmö station is also being rebuilt in tandem with the Malmö city rail tunnel, due to open in 2010/11.

Airports

Lund is located very close to Malmö-Sturup Airport which is mainly used for domestic flights. Kastrup, the airport for Copenhagen is often used for longer international flights, and is about 45 minutes by train from Lund. There also used to be a very small airstrip, Hasslanda Flygfält, to the south of Lund, mainly used for private and charter flights.

Culture

Lund University Male Voice Choir at the Lund University main building on 1 May 2005

The culture in Lund is characterized by the large student population and student traditions. A substantial part of the nightlife is located at student fraternities called 'Nations'.

Lund also has a city theatre (though without a local ensemble of its own) and a number of other places for concerts and theatres.

Lund hosts the largest open-air museum of Scania, Kulturen. Kulturen is the second oldest dedicated open-air museum in the world and consists of more than 30 buildings, as well as large collections on Scanian art, crafts. local archaeology and history. The museum was founded in 1892 by Georg Karlin. Today the museum often hosts different exhibitions and its visitors can experience how Swedish people lived and worked throughout the centuries.^[11]

Literature, art, and cinema

Numerous prominent figures from the literary world lived and worked in Lund, often in association with the university and theatre. They are listed below with notable natives.

The city has a vivid tradition in music and theatre, stimulated by the church, university, schools, student musical festivities (the Lund Student Singers), and the Spex tradition (parodistic musical plays, often setting well-known music to new lyrics and mixing up the historical and the present in unconventional intrigues) and, especially, the "Lund Carnival" (for which see the special section). Lund has long been a regional centre for classical and church music. In more recent decades, it has developed a lively pop and jazz scene.

The concluding scenes in Ingmar Bergman's classic film Wild Strawberries were set in, and were shot, in Lund.

Lundakarnevalen (the Lund Carnival)

The Lund carnival has been held every four years since the mid-nineteenth century: tradtional accounts say it originated at a wedding in 1849 (the four-year intervals place the party in 2002, 2006, 2010, etc). Arranged by the students of the university, from the 1950s onwards the event has grown in size and intensity, but it remains an amateur event. midway between a music and stage fair, a city festival, and an outpouring of satire, parody and general madness. Some students dress up in costumes, often relating to and poking fun at current issues, and parade in wagons. Others perform humorous skits in the evenings. The carnival revues and other stage entertainments have launched a number of well-known entertainers and actors over the years.

Sports

Lund is not a notable center for sports except for handball, where it has two teams in the top league: H 43 and LUGI. It has also a chess team, Lunds ASK, that for decades has been among the top teams in Sweden. Lund is also the birth place of the online football manager game Hattrick. Lund also has Division 1 football club called Lunds BK. Lund is Going to have Handball World Championship 2011 In the Färs och Frosta Sparbank Arena.

Industry

Lund is a centre of high tech companies, such as Sony Ericsson and Ericsson Mobile Platforms, and other telecommunication companies. The Lund Institute of Technology has historical connections with the industrial economy. A business park, Ideon, is for high tech companies that have ties to the university.

Other important industries include medical technology (Gambro), pharmaceuticals (Astra Zeneca), biotechnology (Active Biotech, among others), heat exchanger and separator (Alfa Laval), and publishing and library services. The hospital and the university in Lund are two other major employers, with extensive research facilities.

Lund is home to the Tetra Pak company, which manufactures and markets paper packaging and equipment for milk, orange juice, etc. all over the world.

Education

• Lund University
• Lund Institute of Technology
• Lund School of Economics and Management
• Royal Swedish Physiographic Society

Notable natives and residents

(Put additions in alphabetical order)

• Axwell, professional DJ
• Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, Olympic equestrian
• Martin Dahlin, footballer
• Timbuktu (Jason Diakité), hip-hop and reggae artist
• Mikael Håfström, film writer and director
• Joachim Johansson, tennis player
• Amanda Jenssen, singer and Idol competitor
• Roger Ljung, footballer
• Lukas Moodysson, film writer, director
• The Radio Dept., band
• Linus Thörnblad, Olympic high jumper
• Max von Sydow, actor
• Elin Wägner, feminist writer
• Måns Zelmerlöw, pop singer

Notable literary residents include:

• Vilhelm Ekelund;
• Hjalmar Gullberg;
• Ola Hansson;
• Carl Linnaeus, scientist and author;
• Axel Lundegård;
• Anders Österling;
• Lars Norén, poet and playwright;
• Bengt Lidforss;
• Göran Sonnevi;
• August Strindberg, playwright; and
• Esaias Tegnér.

See also

• Lund Principle, an important principle in ecumenical relations between Christian churches.

Hailee Araya, Ethio-Swedish scriptwriter/actress is also a Lund Native born and raised in Lund.

References

External links

• Lunds Kommun - Official site (Swedish)
• Lund Municipality - Official site (English)
• Lund City Portal with forums - Unofficial site (English)(Swedish)
• Visitlund.se Tourist information

Lund is one of 133 places with the historical city status in Sweden.

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