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'Kristianstad' (Danish: ''Christiansstad'') is a city situated at in Scania in southernmost Sweden. It has 33,083 inhabitants (2005), but including surrounding towns, villages and countryside the Kristianstad Municipality has 76,540 inhabitants (2006).
It is the seat of the Skåne Regional Council.
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. It is the coat of arms of king Christian IV of Denmark. Kristianstad is often called "the King's Village" by visiting Danes, just as Copenhagen is called "the Queen's Village". Kristianstad markets itself as "the most Danish city in Sweden". There is a Danish consulate in the city center.

Contents

Geography

History

Industry

Notable natives

See also

References

Trivia

References

External links

Geography

Part of Kristianstad constitutes the lowest point in Sweden, 2.41 meters below sea level. Dams and pumps are in function to protect the city from floods from the river Helgeån and the lake Hammarsjön. The marsh lands surrounding the town are known as the "Vattenriket" - The Water Kingdom".

History

The city was founded in 1614 as ''Christiansstad'' by King Christian IV of Denmark, in as a prestige project, after the burning of town of Vä. 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 to prove the power of Christian himself. One of these raids had sacked the nearby town of Væ in 1612. Væ 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 (; ) 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 townplanning of the Renaissance could be laid down for the first time at the foundation of the town. This makes the Kristianstad towncentre of today exceptionally well-kept and easy to get around in.
The city's coat of arms depicts two lions holding the King'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.

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 much of these have been closed.

Notable natives

★ Johan Christopher Toll, soldier

★ Frans G. Bengtsson, author

★ Bo Lundgren, politician

★ Ann-Louise Hanson, singer

★ Fredrik Böök, author

★ Seved Malm, musician

★ Åke Ohlmark, writer

★ Sixten Sparre, soldier

★ Georg af Klercker, soldier

★ Anton Salvin, actor

★ Bror Erik Friberg, Judge of Assessment Court, New Zealand,1877

See also

★ University College of Kristianstad

★ Kristianstad County (abolished 1998)

References

★ ''Some material has been incorporated from the corresponding article on Swedish wikipedia''

Trivia

Occasional mix-ups between Kristianstad and the Norwegian cities of Kristiansand and Kristiansund have been known to happen.^[1]

References

1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/765629.stm

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

External links

★ Kristianstad - Official site