Sundsvall

Sundsvall

Top:Panorama view of downtown Sundsvall, Stenstaden and South Stadsberget, 2nd left:Mid Sweden University (Mittuniversitetet), 2nd right:Court of Appeal for Lower Norrland in Bunsouska Pond, 3rd left:North Gate Arena and Gustav Adolf Church, 3rd right:Sundsvall Theater, Bottom:Kulturmagasiret, Sundsvall Museum and Library
Sundsvall
Coordinates: 62°24′N 17°19′E / 62.400°N 17.317°ECoordinates: 62°24′N 17°19′E / 62.400°N 17.317°E
Country Sweden
Province Medelpad
County Västernorrland County
Municipality Sundsvall Municipality
Area[1]
 • Total 27.46 km2 (10.60 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2010)[1]
 • Total 51,354
 • Density 1,847/km2 (4,780/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Sundsvall (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈsɵn(d)sˈval]   ) is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 51,354 as of 2010; more than 95,000 live in the surrounding municipal area.

History

Sundsvall circa 1700, in Suecia antiqua et hodierna.

The town was chartered in 1621, and a first urban plan for Sundsvall was probably created by Olof Bure in 1642, less likely in 1623.[2] It has a port by the Gulf of Bothnia, and is located 395 km north of Stockholm. The city has burned down and been rebuilt four times.[3] The first time, in 1721, it was set on fire by the Russian army during the Great Northern War.

The city was burnt on 25 June 1888[4]

According to one historian, Swedish industrialism started in Sundsvall when the Tunadal sawmill bought a steam-engine driven saw in 1849. In the early 20th century Sundsvall was an even greater centre of forestry industry in Sweden than it is today. The first large Swedish strike was the "Sundsvall strike" in 1879.[5] The industrial heritage makes social democrat and socialist sympathies more prevalent in the Sundsvall region than in Sweden as a whole.

In 1888 on the 25 June, strong wind and dry conditions contributed to two city fires in Sweden on the same day. On this day both Umeå and Sundsvall caught fire.[4] The Sundsvall fire was the largest in Sweden's history. It is presumed that the fire was caused by a spark from a steamship. After the fire, and unlike Umeå, the decision was to rebuild using stone. Sundsvall's centre was later nicknamed Stenstaden (the stone city). One advantage of the new construction was that within three years the town was arguing that it should be allowed reduced insurance as new rules had been brought in that applied to wooden towns. One disadvantage was that after the fire only the better off could afford to live in the centre.[6]

Today Sundsvall is not only dominated by the pulp and paper industry, and the aluminium production but there are also banks, insurance companies, telecommunications administration and a number of large public data-processing centres such as the national social insurance board. The main campus of the newly established Mid Sweden University is also located in the city.

Storgatan, the famous main street in Sundsvall in the heart of Stenstaden ("The stone city")

Culture

Each July the town holds a large, commercial music festival in the city called Gatufesten. There are two theatres and various musical venues. There is also a small guitar festival and a larger heavy metal festival every autumn called Nordfest. Sundsvall is also home to the unique festival Musikschlaget which is an alternative song contest for groups around Sweden with disabilities.

Transport

Its airport is Sundsvall-Timrå Airport, also called Midlanda.

Sport

Notable people

Gallery

Sundsvall viewed from above Sundsvall City Centre Gustav Adolfskyrkan

Climate

Sundsvall has a climate which is on the border between subarctic and cold continental. Temperatures are made significantly milder and regulated by the influence from the Gulf Stream.

Climate data for Sundsvall
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 11.0
(51.8)		 13.9
(57)		 15.2
(59.4)		 21.9
(71.4)		 27.4
(81.3)		 31.0
(87.8)		 33.0
(91.4)		 31.3
(88.3)		 27.2
(81)		 20.1
(68.2)		 14.0
(57.2)		 10.5
(50.9)		 33.0
(91.4)
Average high °C (°F) −5
(23)		 −3
(27)		 2
(36)		 7
(45)		 14
(57)		 19
(66)		 21
(70)		 19
(66)		 14
(57)		 9
(48)		 2
(36)		 −2
(28)		 8.1
(46.6)
Average low °C (°F) −15
(5)		 −13
(9)		 −8
(18)		 −2
(28)		 2
(36)		 8
(46)		 10
(50)		 9
(48)		 5
(41)		 1
(34)		 −5
(23)		 −11
(12)		 −1.6
(29.1)
Record low °C (°F) −35.5
(−31.9)		 −34.8
(−30.6)		 −34.2
(−29.6)		 −20.0
(−4)		 −8.2
(17.2)		 −2.0
(28.4)		 1.9
(35.4)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 −7.7
(18.1)		 −15.2
(4.6)		 −22.1
(−7.8)		 −36.6
(−33.9)		 −36.6
(−33.9)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 38
(1.5)		 28
(1.1)		 30
(1.18)		 32
(1.26)		 35
(1.38)		 41
(1.61)		 58
(2.28)		 64
(2.52)		 64
(2.52)		 52
(2.05)		 53
(2.09)		 46
(1.81)		 541
(21.3)
Avg. precipitation days 16 13 13 11 11 11 14 14 15 15 15 16 164
Source #1: World Meteorogical Organization[7]
Source #2: Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute[8]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "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. ↑ Nils Ahlberg, Stadsgrundningar och planförändringar : Svensk stadsplanering 1521–1721, avhandling vid Institutionen för landskapsplanering Ultuna och Konstvetenskapliga institutionen, Stockholms universitet 2005, s. 550
  3. ↑ http://www.algonet.se/~hogman/slhist_l.htm
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fire of 1888, Sunsvall.se, retrieved 28 May 2014
  5. ↑ http://www.popularhistoria.se/o.o.i.s?id=43&vid=612
  6. ↑ Rohland, Eleonora (1 February 2011). "From Wood to Stone: The Risk Management of Swiss Re in The Sundsvall Fire 1888" (PDF). Environment and History 17 (1): 153–169. doi:10.3197/096734011X12922359173096. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  7. ↑ World Meteorogical Organization: WWIS: Sundsvall
  8. ↑

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sundsvall.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sundsvall.