Encyclopedia
Halland is a historical
province on the western coast of
Sweden. It borders
Västergötland,
Småland,
Scania and the sea of
Kattegat.
County
Provinces serve no administrative function in Sweden today. Instead, that function is served by the
Counties of Sweden. However, the province of Halland is virtually coextensive with
Halland County, though parts of the province belong to
Västra Götaland County and
Skåne County. Historically, Halland also included the
Danish island of Anholt.
Halland has a population of 287,558. Of these, 272,142 are counted among
Halland County; 13,363 within
Västra Götaland County, and 2,053 in
Skåne County.
History
The
Bronze Age was probably a period of relative prosperity in Halland. This is shown in the number of new settlements and the numerous archeological remains. Over 1,100 tumuli and grave mounds are found.
The end of the Bronze Age witnesses an over-consumption of the resources. Large areas were deforested. This might have been a result of a high demand charcoal in smelting
gold or
bronze among the local elites.
The worsening climate at the beginning of the
Iron Age meant that the local elites no longer could obtain bronze to the same extant as before. As a result the social structures collapsed.
The early iron age social structures seems to have been relatively egalitarian, but from around 200 AD there is a trend where
villages form larger communities and small
kingdoms. This is likely to have been a distant influence from the growing
roman empire. During the 5th and
6th Century large free-standing farms were created; they grew larger as time passed. An example of such a farm can be found in Slöinge.
It was not just the social structure that changed, so too did the settlement structure. New villages were formed, while old were abandoned. The new centers that were formed became the kernel from which new areas were settled during
medieval times.
According to information from a trader traveling from Skingsal, close to the
Oslofjord to
Hedeby in the 870s it can be concluded that Halland was a Danish area at that time. It would stay so for the larger part of recorded historical times.
Iron extraction is known to have taken place in Hishult and Tvååker/Sibbarp during the iron age.
Halland came to use the
Scanian provincial law and participate in the Thing that took place in Getinge.
Halland was the scene of considerable military action from the
13th Century and on as
Sweden,
Denmark and to some degree
Norway fought for supremacy in
Scandinavia. The many wars came made the county poor. Not only were material damages caused by the military action, but the social impact of the fighting was devastating; people lacked the motivation to invest in their land and properties as it was likely to be destroyed anyway.
The county was the site of combat and plunder three times during the 13th Century: in 1256
Haakon IV of Norway invaded, followed by
Magnus I of Sweden in 1277 and Eric VI of Denmark in 1294. The county came to be split in two parts for the next century, with river
Ätran forming a boundary. The lords of the two parts succeeded each other in a high tempo.
As the
Kalmar Union was formed, Halland came for a brief period of time to have a rather central position. The king was to be elected, according to the union treaty, in
Halmstad.
During the rebellion of
Engelbrekt in 1434 the fortress in
Falkenberg was burnt down and two years later Lagaholm was captured by the Swedes.
The Swedish-Danish struggles in the early
16th Century came to affect the county as well, as in 1519 when the border regions were sacked by the Swedes as a vengeance for similar Danish action in
Västergötland.
The Count's Feud, the
Northern Seven Years' War and the
Kalmar War came all to affect Halland. One of the major battles of the Northern Seven Years' War, the battle of Axtorna took place in Halland.
Halland was occupied by Sweden in 1645 under the terms of the
Treaty of Brömsebro, for a period limited to 30 years. The conquest was later made permanent by ceding of the province in the
Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. The island of Anholt, part of the parish of Morup, was however forgotten in the peace settlement, and the island remains Danish. The last battle in Halland took place in Fyllebro at August 17 1676 during the
Scanian War.
The more peaceful conditions that followed meant that the county could start to develop again. The
19th Century saw the farming develop quickly to become one of the more efficient in the country by the end of the century. Parts of the county did however remain poor and
erosion and blown sand remained a problem for much of the century. The county did therefor see a lot of
emigration, continuing well into the
20th century.
The 20th Century has seen the county becoming one of the fastest growing in Sweden, as it has doubled its population since the
second world war. This is in part due to the northern parts, such as Kungsbacka and Onsala, becoming
suburbs of
Gothenburg.
Heraldry
Halland was granted its arms at the time of the funeral of
Charles X Gustav of Sweden in 1660. The province is a duchy and the arms are represented with a ducal coronet. Blazon: "Azure, a Lion rampant Argent langued, armed and dente Gules." Unlike
Blekinge, neither
Skåne nor Halland had their own coat or arms while part of Denmark.
Geography
The streams of
Lagan,
Ätran, Nissan and Viskan flow through the province and reach the sea in
Kattegat. Halland is well known for its good soil and as an agricultural district.
Cities
City status in Sweden required a Royal Charter and was quite sparingly granted. The Danish Crown was more hospitable with granting royal charters, and the status of the Town in Scania thus differ some from the rest of Sweden.
Privileges to towns in Halland was during the Danish time granted to:
Hundreds
Hundreds of Sweden were provincial divisions until early 20th century, when they lost importance. Halland's hundreds were: Faurås Hundred, Fjäre Hundred, Halmstad Hundred, Himle Hundred, Höks Hundred, Tönnersjö Hundred, Viske Hundred and Årstad Hundred.
Culture
The language varieties spoken in Halland are together called
Halländska, though they belong to two main dialectal groups. In northern Halland a variation of the
Götaland dialect is spoken and in the south the spoken language is a variety of Scanian, formerly East
Danish. The Småländska dialect spoken in the east, on the border to
Smalandia, is not counted as Halländska.
Sights
The
Varberg Fortress was built in the
13th century and improved with higher walls in the
15th century.
Dukes of Halland
Already in 13th century, Halland was given as duchy to a branch of the Danish royal dynasty. In 14th century, it was given to various relatives of danish and Swedish royal families, such as Benedict, Duke of Halland 1353-57.
Since 1772, Swedish Princes have been created Dukes of various provinces. This is solely a nominal title.
See List of Dukes of Halland
Sources
- Kungsvägen genom Halland - Bidrag till halländsk kulturhistoria och underlag för vägminnesvårdsprogram. Stellan Haverling. 1996. Gothenburg: Vägverket
External link
