Kristianstad

Kristianstad

Kristianstad

Coat of arms
Kristianstad
Coordinates: 56°01′46″N 14°09′24″E / 56.02944°N 14.15667°E / 56.02944; 14.15667Coordinates: 56°01′46″N 14°09′24″E / 56.02944°N 14.15667°E / 56.02944; 14.15667
Country Sweden
Province Skåne
County Skåne County
Municipality Kristianstad Municipality
Area[1]
 • Total 17.69 km2 (6.83 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2010)[1]
 • Total 35,711
 • Density 2,019/km2 (5,230/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Website Official website

Kristianstad (Swedish pronunciation: [kriˈɧanːsta], older spelling Christianstad) is a city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 35,711 inhabitants in 2010.[1] During the last 15 years, it has gone from a garrison town to a developed commercial city, attracting visitors from the northeastern Scania, western Blekinge and northern Österlen.

History

Trinity Church (Heliga Trefaldighetskyrkan)

The city was founded in 1614 by King Christian IV of Denmark, the city's name literally means 'Town of Christian', as a planned city after the burning of the town of Vä and moving the city rights of the neighbouring town of Sölvesborg to the new town. 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 as a symbol of the power of Christian himself. One of these raids had sacked the nearby town of Vä in 1612. Vä 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 town planning of the Renaissance could be laid down for the first time at the foundation of the town. This makes the Kristianstad town centre of today exceptionally well-kept and easy to get around in.

Pylyp Orlyk was after 1709 chosen as a Hetman in exile by the cossacks and the Swedish king Charles XII. While in Bender Orlyk wrote one of the first state constitutions in Europe. This Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk was confirmed by Charles XII and it also names him as the protector of Ukraine. After 1714 Orlyk now together with several other cossacks followed the Swedish king Charles XII to Sweden. Orlyk with his family and about 40 other Cossacks arrived in Ystad, Sweden in late November 1715. After some months in Ystad they lived in the city of Kristianstad for some years.[2] Orlyk wrote numerous proclamations and essays about Ukraine including the 1710 Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk.[3]

Short-lived Danish capture of Kristianstad during the Scanian War (1676), painting by Claus Møinichen.

The city's coat of arms depicts two lions holding the King Christian IV'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. Since 1971, the coat of arms is used by Kristianstad Municipality. 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.

The city served as capital of Kristianstad County between 1719 and 1997. It now houses the administration of the Skåne Regional Council. For a long time Kristianstad also was a very important garrison town. One of Sweden's courts of appeal was located in Kristianstad before being moved to Malmö in 1917.

Geography

Sweden's lowest point, at 2.41 meters below mean sea level, is located in Kristianstad. Because of this, parts of the city have to be protected from flooding by a system of levees and water pumps. To expand the city, large areas of low-lying wetlands have had to be walled in. To prevent future flooding of the city center, the existing levees are in the process of being reinforced and new levees against both Helge å and Hammarsjön are under construction. An extensive system of ponds and dams is also under construction. The threat of flooding became substantial during late winter 2002, when the greater part of Tivoliparken was under water. However, the wetlands around the city are starting to be regarded more as an asset, not least thanks to the creation of the so-called "Water kingdom" (Vattenriket).

Environmental

Kristianstad has by now crossed a vital threshold, as the city and adjacent county, with a population of 80,000, in essence use no oil, natural gas or coal to warm homes and businesses, even throughout the extensive chilly winters. It is an absolute turnaround from 20 years ago, when all of its heating came from fossil fuels.[4]

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.

Culture

The Swedish Film industry (Svensk Filmindustri) commenced its activities in Kristianstad in the 1910s, before moving to Stockholm in 1920.

Events

The 2011 World Scout Jamboree was held near Rinkaby, in Kristianstad municipality.

Notable natives

Sister cities

Kristianstad has eight sister cities:[5]

Kongsberg, Norway

Sights

See also

References

Brew, Margit Scandinavian footprints: a history of Scandinavians settling in New Zealand Auckland, NZ: M.Brew, c2007.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "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. ↑ Alfred Jensen: Mazepa, p.174–194. Lund 1909.
  3. ↑ 300th anniversary of first Ukrainian constitution written by Pylyp Orlyk being celebrated, Kyiv Post (April 5, 2010)
  4. ↑ "Using Waste, Swedish City Cuts Its Fossil Fuel Use". New York Times. December 10, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Twin Cities". Kristianstad. Retrieved 29 April 2014.

External links

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