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Malmö - a city of diversity
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| Malmö, in the southernmost province of Skåne, is Sweden's
third largest city with a metropolitan population of about 600,000. It has
more parks, gardens and restaurants per capita than any other city in Sweden.
Malmö also features many attractions dating back to the Middle Ages.
Throughout Skåne there are more than 200 castles and manors, many
of them open to tourists, with many of the inns offering provincial cuisine. |
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The history of Malmö begins some time around the year of 1275, but
in those days it went under the name of Malmhauger. It was the good fishing
that atracted people here, and for hundreds of years, the locals exported
salt herring from here. For long periods of time the city was ruled by
Denmark and the German Hansa, but in 1658 it finally became Swedish. Right
now Malmö and the Öresund region is more topical than ever since
the opening of the Öresund Bridge, between Malmö and Copenhagen,
on July 1, 2000. This has made Malmö an important centre for Sweden´s
contacts with the continent and, with the rest of the world.
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 Malmö
Stortorg was Scandinavia's largest square with market trading during the
16th century, and even today it gives a magnificent impression with its
statue of King Karl X Gustaf, the townhall, the residence, the Hotel Kramer
built in the French chateau style, the pharmacy Lejonet and Jörgen
Kocks house. Right behind the Stortorget is the small square, where the
markethall once was. Today this is a great place to visit when hungry,
since there are plenty of restaurants and pubs here. This is also the
place where one finds the Form Design Center, that exhibits Swedish industrial
design and handicraft.
On the whole Malmö is interesting when it comes to architecture.
In the culture quarters of S:t Gertrud one finds the oldest half-timbered
house in Malmö, "Thottska huset" built in 1558, and many
other historically interesting buildings. The S:t Petri church was built
in the 13th century in the "German" Gothic architecture, with
red bricks. The tower fell down once in the 15th century. It was blamed
on a woman who had been seen pointing her finger at the tower prior to
the fall, and she was burned for that.
Turning Torso
Don't miss architect Santiago Calatrava's spectacular apartment building
in the Western Harbour.
At 190 metres, Turning Torso is the tallest building in Sweden.The building
was inspired by a sculpture "Turning Torso" by Calatrava himself.
Turning Torso consists of nine cubes with a total of 54 stories, with
a 90° twist from base to top.
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In Swedish 