Viken, Sweden

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Viken
Viken
Coordinates: 56°09′N 12°34′E / 56.150°N 12.567°E / 56.150; 12.567Coordinates: 56°09′N 12°34′E / 56.150°N 12.567°E / 56.150; 12.567
Country Sweden
Province Skåne
County Skåne County
Municipality Höganäs Municipality and
Helsingborg Municipality
Area[1]
  Total 2.45 km2 (0.95 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2010)[1]
  Total 4,227
  Density 1,728/km2 (4,480/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Viken is a bimunicipal locality situated in Höganäs Municipality and Helsingborg Municipality in Skåne County, Sweden with 4,227 inhabitants in 2010.[1] It has a surface area of 224 hectares. 223 of these are in the Höganäs municipality.

Well known for its harbour, the village has a long history of seafaring and fishing. It is also known for the distinctive changing rooms lining its coast.

With some of the highest real estate prices in south of Sweden, it has attracted billionaires, celebrities and politicians from all over the world. George Bush famously had lunch at the Viken Hotel in 1971, and claimed to have said "Leave me with this view, and I'll be forever happy". It's now the home of two ABBA members, the CEO of IKEA and Jordan Belfort.

Viken is known to have been the home of billionaire Carl-Eric Björkegren, who disappeared without a trace in 1994.[2] Theories vary in terms of what happened. In 2005, he was declared dead by the Stockholm District Court.

The creator of the Swedish comic character Bamse lived and died in Viken.

Etymology

Viken is the definite form (the noun + the definite suffix -en) of the Old Norse word vík meaning an inlet or creek (UK).[3]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km2 2005 och 2010" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012. 
  2. "Carl-Erik Bjorkegren". The Doe Network. Retrieved 2014-01-18. 
  3. Norwegian-English Dictionary (Einar Haugen. University of Wisconsin Press. page 483)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.