Malmö
From top left to right: Turning Torso, Malmöhus Castle, Griffin Sculpture, Kronprinsen and the Øresund Bridge.
Coat of arms
Motto: Mångfald, Möten, Möjligheter (Eng.: Diversity, Meetings, Possibilities)
Malmö
Coordinates: 55°35′N 13°02′E / 55.583°N 13.033°E / 55.583; 13.033Coordinates: 55°35′N 13°02′E / 55.583°N 13.033°E / 55.583; 13.033
Country	Sweden
Province	Scania
County	Skåne County
Municipality	Malmö Municipality and Burlöv Municipality
Charter	13th century
Area[1]
• City	335.14 km2 (129.40 sq mi)
• Land	155.56 km2 (60.06 sq mi)
• Water	179.58 km2 (69.34 sq mi)
• Urban	76.81 km2 (29.66 sq mi)
• Metro	2,535.76 km2 (979.06 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2010)[1][2][3]
• City	300,515
• Density	896.6/km2 (2,322/sq mi)
• Urban	280,415
• Urban density	3,650.7/km2 (9,455/sq mi)
• Metro	658,704
• Metro density	260/km2 (670/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	www.malmo.se www.malmotown.com

Malmö (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈmalːˈmøː] ( listen)), in the southernmost province of Scania, is Sweden's third largest city by population after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and is one of the largest cities in Scandinavia.

Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County. The administrative entity for most of the city is Malmö Municipality which has 300,515 inhabitants in eight different localities, with 30% being of foreign origin (either born outside of Sweden or having both parents born abroad).^[2] Malmö is also a bimunicipal locality, as part of it is formally situated in Burlöv Municipality. The total population of the urban area was 280,415 in December 2010.^[1]

Greater Malmö is one of Sweden's three officially recognized Metropolitan areas (storstadsområden) and since 2005 is defined as the municipality of Malmö and 11 other municipalities in the southwestern corner of Scania.^[4] On 30 June 2008, its population was recorded to be 628,388.^[3] The region covers an area of 2,535.76 square kilometres (979.06 sq mi).^[5] The municipalities included, apart from Malmö, are Burlöv, Eslöv, Höör, Kävlinge, Lomma, Lund, Skurup, Staffanstorp, Svedala, Trelleborg and Vellinge. Lund, with a municipal population of over 100,000 and home to one of Scandinavia's major universities, is together with Malmö the region's economic and education hub.

Malmö was one of the earliest and most industrialized towns of Scandinavia, but it struggled with the adaptation to post-industrialism. Since the construction of the Öresund bridge, Malmö has undergone a major transformation with impressive architectural developments, attracting new biotech and IT companies, and particularly students through Malmö University College. The city contains many historic buildings and parks, and is also a commercial centre for the western part of Scania. During the last few years a university college has been established and the city is now trying to focus on education, arts and culture. Malmö was ranked #4 in Grist Magazine's "15 Green Cities" list in 2007.^[6]

There are movements for considering Malmö as part of the Copenhagen metropolitan area or an even larger metropolitan area, which would be called Örestad in Swedish and Ørestad in Danish, since it would consist of all the towns around the Sound.

History[link]

Malmö is thought to have been founded in the year 1275, as a fortified quay or ferry berth of the Archbishop of Lund, some 20 km to the north-east. It was for centuries Denmark's second biggest city. Its original name was Malmhaug (with alternate spellings), meaning "Gravel pile".

Malmö in 1580 in a German map book. The Malmö Castle is to the far left. The church tower is that of Saint Peter's Church.

In the 15th century, Malmö became one of Denmark's largest and most frequented cities, reaching a population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants. It became the most important city around the Øresund, with the German Hanseatic League frequenting it as a marketplace, notable for its flourishing herring fishing. During that time, the city arms were granted in 1437 by King Eric of Pomerania. It was based on Eric's own arms from Pomerania: an argent with a griffin gules. It gave the griffin's head to Malmö, eventually this extended to the entire province of Scania.

In 1434, a new citadel was constructed at the beach south of the town. This fortress, known today as Malmöhus, did not get its current appearance until the mid-16th century. Several other fortifications were constructed, making Malmö Sweden's most fortified city, but only Malmöhus remains.

Lutheran teachings became popular during the 16th century, and Malmö was one of the first cities in Scandinavia to fully convert (1527–29).

In the 17th century, Malmö and the Scanian region (Skåneland) came into Swedish possession. This happened following the Treaty of Roskilde, signed in 1658. Fighting was not yet over, however; in June 1677, 14,000 Danish troops laid siege to Malmö for a month, but were unable to conquer the Swedish troops holding it.

By the dawn of the 18th century, Malmö had about 2,300 inhabitants. However, due to the wars of Charles XII of Sweden and bubonic plague epidemics, the population dropped to 1,500 by 1727. The population did not grow much until the modern harbour was constructed by the late 18th century. The city started to expand, and in the year 1800 had 38,054 inhabitants.^[7]

Malmö in 1913

In 1840, the Kockums shipyard was founded and it eventually became one of the largest shipyards in the world. Between 1856 and 1864 the Southern Main Line was built and enabled Malmö to become a center of manufacture, with big textile and mechanical industries. In 1870, Malmö overtook Norrköping to become Sweden's third most populous city and by 1900 Malmö had strengthened this position with 60,000 inhabitants. Malmö continued to grow through the first half of the 20th century. The population had swiftly increased to 100,000 by 1915 and to 200,000 by 1952. By 1971, Malmö reached 265,000 inhabitants, but this was the peak which would stand for more than 30 years.^{[citation needed]}

By the mid 1970s, Sweden experienced a recession that struck especially hard on the industrial sector; shipyards and manufacturing industries were hard hit, which led to high unemployment in many cities of Scania. Kockums shipyard had become a symbol of Malmö as its greatest employer and when the shipbuilding ceased in 1986 the reassurance for the future of Malmö plummeted among politicians and the public. In addition, many middle class families moved into one-family houses in surrounding municipalities such as Vellinge Municipality, Lomma Municipality and Staffanstorp Municipality which profiled themselves as the suburbs of the upper middle class. By 1985, Malmö had lost 35,000 inhabitants and was down to 229,000.

The Swedish financial crises of the early 1990s exacerbated Malmö's decline as an industrial city; between 1990-95, Malmö lost about 27,000 jobs and its economy was seriously strained. However, from 1994 and under the leadership of the new mayor Ilmar Reepalu, the city of Malmö started to re-conceptualize itself as a center of culture and knowledge. Malmö reached bottom in 1995 and the same year marked the commencement of the massive Øresund Bridge project. A new university college (Swedish: högskola), Malmö University College, was opened in 1998 on Kockums' former dockside and further redevelopment of the now disused south-western harbor followed; a city architecture exposition (Bo01) was held in the area in 2001 and its buildings and villas forms the core of a new city district, aimed at the urban middle-class and with attractive waterfront vistas.

Since 1974 the Kockums Crane had been a landmark in Malmö and a symbol of the city's manufacturing industry, but in 2002 it was disassembled and moved to South Korea. In 2005 Malmö got a new landmark with completion of Turning Torso, the tallest skyscraper in Scandinavia. Although the transformation from a city with its economic base in manufacturing has returned growth to Malmö, it has largely benefited the already somewhat well-off. Malmö has the highest proportion of individuals of non-Scandinavian extraction of any Swedish city. And while the inner city are being gentrified and the upper-middle class have inhabited the Western Harbor, little have changed for the inhabitants of in the districts of the Million Programme; Malmö remains a city of sharp social divide and high unemployment.

On the 27th of April, 2011 the population of Malmö reached the 300,000 mark.^[8]

Geography[link]

Malmö is located at 13°00' east and 55°35' north. Its location near the southern tip of Sweden makes it closer to the Italian city of Milan than to the northernmost Swedish town Kiruna.

Malmö is part of the transnational Oresund Region and since 2000 the Øresund Bridge crosses the Øresund to Copenhagen, Denmark. The bridge was inaugurated 1 July 2000, and measures 8 kilometres (the whole link totalling 16 km), with pylons reaching 204.5 metres vertically. Apart from the Helsingborg-Helsingør ferry links further north, most ferry connections have been discontinued.

Climate[link]

Pildammsparken with the old water tower.

Malmö, like the rest of southern Sweden, has an oceanic climate. Despite its northern location, the climate is relatively mild compared to other locations in similar latitudes, or even somewhat farther south, mainly because of the Gulf Stream. Because of its northern latitude, daylight extends 17 hours in midsummer, to only around 7 hours in midwinter.

Summers are warm and pleasant with average high temperatures of 20 to 21 °C (68 to 70 °F) and lows of around 11 to 13 °C (52 to 55 °F), but temperatures do sometimes exceed 25 °C (77 °F) and occasional heat waves are common during the summer. Winters are fairly cold, with temperatures steady between -3 to 4 °C (27 to 39 °F), but it rarely drops below −10 °C (14 °F).

Rainfall is light to moderate throughout the year with 169 wet days. Snowfall occurs mainly in December through March, but snow covers do not remain for a long time^{[citation needed]}, and some winters are virtually free of snow.

Transport[link]

The Öresund Bridge, connecting Malmö to Copenhagen and Scandinavia with continental Europe.

Oresundtrains cross Øresund Bridge every 20 minutes (every 10 minutes during rush hour) connecting Malmö to Copenhagen, and the Copenhagen Airport. Also some of the X 2000 and Intercity trains to Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Kalmar cross the bridge, stopping at Copenhagen Airport. In March 2005, digging began on a new railway connection called the City Tunnel, which opened for traffic on December 4 2010. The tunnel runs from under Malmö Central Station to Triangeln continuing to Hyllievång (Hyllie Meadow), where it emerges to connect with the Øresund Bridge, effectively changing Malmö Central from being a terminus to being a transit station.

Besides the Copenhagen Airport, Malmö has an airport of its own, Malmö Airport, today chiefly used for low-cost carriers, charter flight routes, and domestic Swedish destinations.

The motorway system has been incorporated with the Øresund Bridge; the European route E20 goes over the bridge and then, together with the European route E6 follows the Swedish west coast from Malmö–Helsingborg to Gothenburg. E6 goes further north along the west coast and through Norway to the Norwegian town Kirkenes at Barents Sea. The European route to Jönköping–Stockholm (E4) starts at Helsingborg. Main roads in direction of Växjö–Kalmar, Kristianstad–Karlskrona, Ystad (E65), and Trelleborg start as freeways.

Malmö has 410 kilometres (250 mi) of bike paths and approximately 40% of all commuting is done by bicycle.

Malmö has 2 industrial harbours; one is still in active use and is the biggest Nordic port for car importation.^[10] Also, there are two marinas: the publicly owned Limhamn Marina (55°35′N 12°55′E / 55.583°N 12.917°E / 55.583; 12.917) and the private Lagunen (55°35′N 12°56′E / 55.583°N 12.933°E / 55.583; 12.933), both offering a limited number of guest docks. Free marine charts are available.

Municipality[link]

Malmö City Hall

Malmö Municipality is an administrative unit defined by geographical borders, consisting of the City of Malmö^[11] and its immediate surroundings.

The Malmö urban area, Malmö tätort consists of the urban part of the municipality together with the small town of Arlöv in the municipality of Burlöv. Both municipalities also include smaller urban areas and rural areas, such as the suburbs of Oxie and Åkarp. Malmö tätort is to be distinguished from Malmö stad (the city of Malmö), which is a semi-official name of Malmö Municipality.

Demographics[link]

After 1971, Malmö had 265,000 inhabitants, the population then dropped to 229,000 by 1985.^[12] It then began to rise again, and had passed the previous record by the 1 January 2003 census, when it had 265,481 inhabitants.^[13]

30% of Malmö's inhabitants, 87,554 persons, are born abroad^[14] which places Malmö as the Swedish city with the fourth most immigrants per capita.
The 10 largest groups of immigrants have arrived from:^[15]

1. Iraq (9,940)
2. Denmark (8,972)
3. Yugoslavia (8,426)
4. Poland (7,053)
5. Bosnia and Herzegovina (5,969)
6. Lebanon (3,780)
7. Iran (3,375)
8. Turkey ( 2,110)
9. Hungary (2,038)
10. Romania (2,014)

As of 2009, Malmö had the fourth-highest proportion of foreign-born residents of any municipality in Sweden.^[16] There were 171 different nationalities represented in Malmö in 2007.

Economy[link]

The economy of Malmö was traditionally based on shipbuilding (Kockums) and construction related industries, such as concrete factories. The region's leading university, along with its associated hi-tech and pharmaceutical industries, is located in Lund about 16 km to the north-east. As a result, Malmö had a troubled economic situation following the mid-1970s. Between 1990-1995, 27,000 jobs were lost, and the budget deficit was more than one billion Swedish krona. In 1995, Malmö had Sweden's highest unemployment rate^{[citation needed]}

However, during the last few years there has been a revival. The main contributing factor has been the economic integration with Denmark brought about by the Øresund Bridge. Almost 10% of the population^{[citation needed]} in Malmö works in Copenhagen. Also the university college founded in 1998 and the effects of integration into the European Union have contributed.

In 2004, the rate of wage-earners was 63%, compared to 74% in Stockholm and 71% in Gothenburg.^[17] This in turn lead to Malmö municipality in 2007 having the 9th lowest median income in Sweden,^[18] ranked far below the other larger Swedish cities Stockholm (31st) and Gothenburg (94th).

As of 2005, the largest companies were:^[19]

• Skanska – heavy construction: 3,025 employees
• ISS Facility Service AB – hospital service, cleaning, etc.: 1,725 employees
• E.ON Sverige – electricity: 1,025 employees
• Sydsvenskan – newspaper: 1,025 employees
• Pågen – bakery: 975 employees

Education[link]

Malmö has the country's eighth largest school of higher education, Malmö University College, established in 1998. It has 1,500 employees and 24,000 students (2011).

In addition nearby Lund University (established in 1666) has some education located in Malmö:

• Malmö Art Academy (Konsthögskolan i Malmö)
• Malmö Academy of Music (Musikhögskolan i Malmö)
• Malmö Theatre Academy (Teaterhögskolan i Malmö)
• The Faculty of Medicine, which is located in both Malmö and Lund.

The UN World Maritime University is also located in Malmö. The World Maritime University (WMU)^[20] operates under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations. WMU thus enjoys the status, privileges and immunities of a UN institution in Sweden.

Culture[link]

A striking depiction of Malmö was made by Bo Widerberg in his engaging debut film Kvarteret Korpen (Raven's End) (1963), largely shot in the shabby Korpen working-class district in Malmö. With humour and tenderness it depicts the tensions between classes and generations. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1965.

Theatre[link]

Malmö Opera.

In 1944, one of the city's most enduring cultural hubs was inaugurated, Malmö Stadsteater (Malmö Municipal Theatre) with a repertory embracing both stage theatre, opera, musical, ballet, musical recitals and theatrical experiments. In 1993 it was split into three separate units, Dramatiska Teater (Dramatical Theatre), Malmö Musikteater (Music Theatre) and Skånes Dansteater (Scanian Dance Theatre) and the name was abandon. When the ownership of the last two where transferred to Region Skåne in 2006 Dramatiska Teatern retained its old name. In the 1950s Ingmar Bergman was the Director and Chief Stage Director of Malmö Stadsteater and many of his actors, like Max von Sydow and Ingrid Thulin were brought to stardom through his films. Later stage directors include Staffan Valdemar Holm and Göran Stangertz.^[21] Malmö Musikteater were renamed Malmö Operan and plays operas and musicals, classics as newly composed, on one of Scandinavia's largest opera scenes with 1,511 seats.^[22] Skånes dansteater is also active and plays contemporary dance repertory and present works by Swedish and international choreographers in their house in Malmö harbour.^[23]

Since the 1970s the city has also been home to a rich, if fluctuating, array of independent theatre groups and some show/musical companies. It also hosts a rich rock/dance/dub culture; in the 1960s The Rolling Stones played the Klubb Bongo, and in recent years stars like Morrissey, Nick Cave, B.B. King and Pat Metheny have made repeated visits.

The Cardigans made their start in Malmö and recorded their albums there. On 7 January 2009 CNN Travel broadcasted a segment called "MyCity_MyLife" featuring Nina Persson taking the camera to some of the sites in Malmö that she enjoys.

The Rooseum Centre for Contemporary Art, founded in 1988 by the Swedish art collector and financier Fredrik Roos and housed in a former power station which had been built in 1900, was one of the foremost centres for contemporary art in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s. By 2006, most of the collection had been sold off and the museum was on a time-out; by 2010 Rooseum had been dismantled and a subsidiary of the national Museum of Modern Design inaugurated in its place.

Museums[link]

On 26 December 2009, Moderna Museet ("the modern museum") opened its first outpost in the old Rooseum building in Malmö. The collection of Moderna Museet holds key pieces of, among others, Marcel Duchamp, Louise Bourgeois, Pablo Picasso, Niki de Saint Phalle, Salvador Dalí, Carolee Schneemann, Henri Matisse och Robert Rauschenberg^[24][25] The Malmö Konsthall is one of the largest exhibition halls in Europe for contemporary art, opened in 1975.^[26]

Architecture[link]

St Peter's church in Malmö

Jugendstil Malmö synagogue

Malmö's oldest building is St Peter's Church. It was built in the early 14th century in Baltic Brick Gothic probably after St Mary's Church in Lübeck. The church is built with a nave, two aisles, a transept and a tower. Its exterior is characterized above all by the flying buttresses spanning its airy arches over the aisles and ambulatory. The tower, which fell down twice during the 15th century, got its current look in 1890.^[27]

Another old building is Tunneln, 300 metres (1,000 ft) to the west of St Peter's church, which also dates back to around 1300.

The oldest parts of Malmö were built between 1300-1600 during its first major period of expansion.^{[citation needed]} The central city's layout as well as some of its oldest buildings are from this time. Many of the smaller buildings from this time are typical Scanian: two story urban houses that show a strong Danish influence.^{[citation needed]}

Recession followed in the ensuing centuries. The next expansion period was in the mid 19th century and led to the modern stone and brick city. This expansion lasted into the 20th century and can be seen by a number of Jugendstil buildings for which the city is known, including the Malmö synagogue. Malmö was relatively late to be influenced by modern ideas of functionalist tenement architecture in the 1930s. Around 1965, the government initiated the so-called Million Programme, intending to offer affordable apartments in the outskirts of major Swedish cities. But this period also saw the reconstruction (and razing) of much of the historical city centre.^{[citation needed]}

Recent years have seen a bolder, more cosmopolitan architecture. Västra Hamnen (The Western Harbour), like most of the harbour to the north of the city centre, was industrial. In 2001, however, its reconstruction began as an exclusive, albeit secluded, urban residential neighbourhood. The 500 dwelling units are extremely unique and inventive, and most were part of the exhibition Bo01.^{[citation needed]} The exhibition had two main objectives: develop self-sufficient housing units in terms of energy and greatly diminish phosphorus emissions. Among the new buildings towers the Turning Torso, a spectacular twisting skyscraper, 190 metres (620 ft) tall, the majority of which is residential. It quickly became Malmö's new landmark within Sweden.^[28][29]

Other sights[link]

The beach Ribersborg in the western harbour, is a man-made shallow beach, stretching along Malmö's coastline. Despite Malmö's chilly climate, it is sometimes referred to as the "Riviera of the North" or the "Swedish Riviera"^{[citation needed]}. It is the site of Ribersborgs open-air bath, opened in the 1890s.