History of Falkenberg
Encyclopedia
The history of Falkenberg
is, to a smaller or larger extent, known since the late 13th century, when the town starts to appear in written sources. The town might have taken over the position as a local power center from a location in Stafsinge. It was then Danish, and would remain so up till 1645, with some minor interruptions.
From the 14th century and on to the Northern Seven Years' War
(1563-1570) a second town, Ny-Falkenberg (New Falkenberg) was located close to the town. The fort
from which the fiefdom
had been run was destroyed by Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
's troops in 1434, and would not be rebuilt, hence marking the end of the fiefdom. The town gained its market rights in 1558.
Better infrastructure in the latter part of the 19th century, meant that the town break a long period of stagnation and see some substantial growth. The industralisation process started at the late 19th/early 20th century. In the 20th century the town has continued to growth, both in terms of population and size. For the first time it has come to include areas on the southern strand of river Ätran.
In the late 13th century, the Danish king built a fort on the southern strand of river Ätran. It was given the name Falkenberg
(Falcon + mountain), and would late give the town its name. It is not known wherefrom the fort got its name. What is known is that falconry
has taken place in the area. Notes in Hallandia antiqua et hodierna
, pointing out a specific hill as the Falcon mountain, is unverified.
The northern strand of the river was from time to time Norwegian or Swedish. There a trading centre known as Ätraby developed. Its church Saint Lawrence church
, was built at around 1300. The settlement might have developed in competition with an earlier power center in Stafsinge. The settlement might have existed in 1256, as Haakon IV of Norway
destroyed a market town (Kaupstadh) at river Ätran. Whether this market town was Falkenberg or the earlier power center is unknown.
Several royal meeting took place in or around Falkenberg in the late 13th/early 14th century. On these meetings marriages were negotiated. It was from Falkenberg that Christopher
issued the market town rights for Halmstad
.
The fort was destroyed by the men of Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
in 1434 and was not rebuilt. However, the trading centre took over its name. From the 14th century and on to the Northern Seven Years' War
(1563-1570) a second town, Ny-Falkenberg (New Falkenberg), was located close to the town. Its main street was located where Tröingevägen is today, north east of the hospital.
Falkenberg was, together with the rest of the county, ceded to Sweden in the mid 17th century. By then it had been heavily affected by the many wars which since the 13th century had ravaged the county. Christer Bonde, president of the Swedish National Board of Trade
described it as a "minor stain", after his tour of inspection in the conquered territories. He was not alone. Several other notes from this time mentions the town in similar, unfavourable, words. The town had then, and would for quite some time, about 200 people, mainly working with farming. Farming and fishing continued to be the major trade in the town into the mid 19th century.
The Swedish state had an intention to limit the number of towns with the right to trade internationally (Sw.
stapelstäder). Hence, the town lost these rights in 1660, had them returned in 1679 (during the Scanian War
), and finally lost them again in 1724. A long battle with the state about the rights ensued. It would take until 1866 before the town regained the rights.
In 1660 the down suffered a major fire, in which 16 of the houses was lost. It was followed by several fires in the first half of the 18th century (1706, 1708, 1718, 1725, 1732 and 1743). As a result of all these fires, thatched roofs
were forbidden. They were often replaced with brick roofs. The last major fire took place in 1841.
A register of the townspeople's occupations in 1737 reveals two bakers, a glassmaker, a gold smith, a gloves maker, a hat maker, a wheel maker, a copper smith, a potter, a mason, a painter, , three shoemakers, two tailors, a butcher, three smiths, four lumbermen, a weaver, four inn owners, twelve seamen and fishers and twelve workers. From the 18th century and onwards more and more potteries were built, the most wellknown Törngrens krukmakeri
.
Salmon
fishing has in all likelihood been carried out in river Ätran since ancient times. It is mentioned from the 16th century and onwards. Hallandia antiqua et hodierna
describes it as the best in Halland. The good fishing-waters draw many Englishmen to the town in the 19th. This early tourism is described in Days in Falkenberg - A Record of Sport in Sweden, a book written in 1884 by A. M. Wilkinsson, a lawyer from London. Among those fishing were sir Hyde Parker
and a son to Thomas Babington Macaulay. At the end of the 19th century the town gained about one fifth of its revenue from the fishing. Nowadays the revenue from the fishing is estimated to be of the order of five million SEK.
The Falkenberg Bridge
was built in the mid 18th century. The current town hall (Falkenbergs town hall) was built in 1826, although earlier town halls had existed at the same spot.
It was suggested in the early 1860s that the town should have a town council
. Up until then the decisions had been made at assemblies, where all those attending and with a right to vote could do so. After some early opposition the town council was introduced in 1865.
From 1820s and onwards action had been taken to improve the state of the Port of Falkenberg.
In the mid 19th century the need for a better harbour became desperate. Hallands Ångbåtsaktiebolag (Halland Steamboat Inc.) had begun traffic along the westcoast, but refused to stop in Falkenberg, due to the poor state of the port. At the same time the importance of the port grew, as it was needed for the export of timber
from the inland. The maximum depth in the harbour was 9 feet (2.7 meters), and it was only 6 feet (1.8 meter) at the quay. Hence, the boats often had to anchor at some distance out at sea, where the goods were transferred to smaller boats, which were able to use the harbour.
The limited depth was caused by sand drifting towards the harbour, due to underwater streams. In order to increase the depth a dredge was bought, at a cost of 9 000 Swedish riksdaler
. Over the coming decades the dredge struggled to keep the depth. In 1890 the port once again lost the steamboat traffic. In 1909–1910 the northern wharf was extended and in the end of 1910 money was put up to build a 2,000 meter long breakwater
and to extend the southern wharf. These projects took until 1926 to finish. These works proved successful, as the depth was increased to five meters and the dredge could be rented out.
The first plans for a railway between Falkenberg and Halmstad
were discussed in 1881. As a result, Mellersta Hallands järnväg AB was formed, seated in Falkenberg. The stock company was successful in issuing stocks. With support by the Halland County Council and the state it would not only build the track, but also extend it to Varberg
.
The work on the railway began in 1884, and in 1885 it reached Falkenberg. Two different stretches were suggested; one longer, northern, which would pass through the upper parts of Storgatan and Marknadsgatan; one short, souther, which would pass Tullkammaregatan and Storgatan. The latter alternative was cheaper and was chosen. As a consequence, the railway would pass through the remains of the old fort
. The railway proved to be an economic success. When it was nationalised in 1895, it gave the town a return of 58 725 Swedish kronor on a 130 500 kronor investment.
The first telegraph station was opened in 1869. The town was connected to the national telephone grid in 1894. As the communications became better and better, the town gained a stronger role as the chief town for the surrounding countryside.
AB. Dan. Lundgrens leather factory was founded in 1834, and was for a long time one of the largest companies in the town. Bryggeriaktiebolaget Falken
was founded in 1896, and has since been one of the largest employers in the town. Doktorspromenaden (The Doctor's Walk) was constructed in 1862.
The registers tell about barber-surgeons in the towns since the 17th century. From 1849 it had a town medical officer. The county council granted money for a cottage hospital in 1878, which was inaugurated four years later. The hospital facilities grew in numbers in the early 20th century, and in 1911 the county council decided to make it a general hospital, with a capacity of 34 beds.
The Herting mansion was bought by the town in 1901. The purchase was motivated by plans to build a hydro power plant; plans that were realized a few years later. The power plant has since been expanded step by step. Initially the power was to low to keep up with the demand, and the electricity had to be rationed. The problem was rectified by said expansions, as well as with the purchase of electricity from the Yngeredsfors power station, upstreams Ätran.
Following the threat of a cholera
epidemic in 1892 an epidemic hospital was built in 1897. The building was used until 1925. It does nowadays belong to the Falkenbergs gymnasieskola
and is known as the yellow villa. The building could not always host all the patients, and in those cases the Herting Sawmill was used to cater for the rest. Between 1925 and 1950 the epidemic hospital was located at Tallgläntan, however from 1933 and onwards it was for children only.
The 20th century has seen the town develop as a beach resort, in particular along Skrea Strand
. By 1914 it had 14 cabins, by 1928 it had increased to 300 and nowadays there are about 1,600. From the 1930s and onwards some restaurants and a hotel has been established in the area to cater for the needs of the tourists.
The town begun to expand administratively in 1907 when Herting was incorporated, albeit with protests from Skrea
, to which it had previously belonged. Further incorporation took place in 1936-1937, when Arvidstorp, become a part of the town. In that case the feelings had been the opposite, as Arvidstorp had struggled for over 20 years to become part of the town. In 1950 a minor part of Vinberg
was transferred to the town and in 1951-1952 the incorporation of Skrea took place. As a result of the 1971 municipal reform the town is now the seat of Falkenberg Municipality
. A new town hall
was built in 1960.
Falkenbergs Football Club was founded in 1894 as the town's first major sports club. It was followed in 1906 by Falkenberg Women Gymnastics Club. Falkenberg Arena was built in 1921. Falkenbergs FF
was founded in 1928 and Falkenbergs BTK
in 1925. In the 1940s and 1950s a heated debate took place on whether to broad the old Falkenberg Bridge
or not. The matter was taken to national level and as an end result it was decided to leave the bridge untouched, but increase its capacity by building a footbridge, thereby leaving the entire bridge to the cars, without the need to share it with the pedestrians.
Falkenberg
Falkenberg is a locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 18,972 inhabitants in 2005.The town has a population of 19,000 and is located at the mouth of the river Ätran. The name consists of the Swedish words for falcon and mountain...
is, to a smaller or larger extent, known since the late 13th century, when the town starts to appear in written sources. The town might have taken over the position as a local power center from a location in Stafsinge. It was then Danish, and would remain so up till 1645, with some minor interruptions.
From the 14th century and on to the Northern Seven Years' War
Northern Seven Years' War
The Northern Seven Years' War was the war between Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck and the Polish–Lithuanian union, fought between 1563 and 1570...
(1563-1570) a second town, Ny-Falkenberg (New Falkenberg) was located close to the town. The fort
Falkenberg (fort)
Falkenberg was a fort in Falkenberg, Sweden. It was first mentioned in 1298. It would later give the town, which was previously known as Ätraby, its name. The fort was the location for several Nordic treaties during the fourteenth century...
from which the fiefdom
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
had been run was destroyed by Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson was a Swedish rebel leader and later statesman. He was the leader of the Engelbrekt rebellion in 1434 against Eric of Pomerania, king of the Kalmar Union.-Biography:...
's troops in 1434, and would not be rebuilt, hence marking the end of the fiefdom. The town gained its market rights in 1558.
Better infrastructure in the latter part of the 19th century, meant that the town break a long period of stagnation and see some substantial growth. The industralisation process started at the late 19th/early 20th century. In the 20th century the town has continued to growth, both in terms of population and size. For the first time it has come to include areas on the southern strand of river Ätran.
The middle ages
| Year | Population |
| 1770 | 551 |
| 1810 | 636 |
| 1850 | 953 |
| 1854 | 941 |
| 1890 | 1 760 |
| 1910 | 4 452 |
| 1930 | 5 604 |
| 1950 | 8 667 |
| 1970 | 13 476 |
| 1995 | 18 308 |
| Source (mainly): CyberCity |
|
In the late 13th century, the Danish king built a fort on the southern strand of river Ätran. It was given the name Falkenberg
Falkenberg (fort)
Falkenberg was a fort in Falkenberg, Sweden. It was first mentioned in 1298. It would later give the town, which was previously known as Ätraby, its name. The fort was the location for several Nordic treaties during the fourteenth century...
(Falcon + mountain), and would late give the town its name. It is not known wherefrom the fort got its name. What is known is that falconry
Falconry
Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...
has taken place in the area. Notes in Hallandia antiqua et hodierna
Hallandia antiqua et hodierna
Hallandia antiqua et hodierna is a Swedish language book on the history of Halland. It was written by Jacob Richardson and was published in two parts in 1752 and 1753;a planned third part was never published. The book is strongly influenced Suecia antiqua et hodierna and was based on two journeys,...
, pointing out a specific hill as the Falcon mountain, is unverified.
The northern strand of the river was from time to time Norwegian or Swedish. There a trading centre known as Ätraby developed. Its church Saint Lawrence church
Saint Lawrence church, Falkenberg
Saint Lawrence church is located in Falkenberg old town, Sweden and probably built around 1300. It was the town's parish church until 1892, when it was replaced with Falkenbergs church....
, was built at around 1300. The settlement might have developed in competition with an earlier power center in Stafsinge. The settlement might have existed in 1256, as Haakon IV of Norway
Haakon IV of Norway
Haakon Haakonarson , also called Haakon the Old, was king of Norway from 1217 to 1263. Under his rule, medieval Norway reached its peak....
destroyed a market town (Kaupstadh) at river Ätran. Whether this market town was Falkenberg or the earlier power center is unknown.
Several royal meeting took place in or around Falkenberg in the late 13th/early 14th century. On these meetings marriages were negotiated. It was from Falkenberg that Christopher
Christopher II of Denmark
Christopher II was king of Denmark from 1320 to 1326 and again from 1329 until his death. He was son of Eric V. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in an almost total dissolution of the Danish state.-Biography:Being the brother of King Eric VI, Christopher was a...
issued the market town rights for Halmstad
Halmstad
Halmstad is a port, university, industrial and recreational city at the mouth of Nissan in the province of Halland on the Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat of Halmstad Municipality and the capital of Halland County...
.
The fort was destroyed by the men of Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson was a Swedish rebel leader and later statesman. He was the leader of the Engelbrekt rebellion in 1434 against Eric of Pomerania, king of the Kalmar Union.-Biography:...
in 1434 and was not rebuilt. However, the trading centre took over its name. From the 14th century and on to the Northern Seven Years' War
Northern Seven Years' War
The Northern Seven Years' War was the war between Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck and the Polish–Lithuanian union, fought between 1563 and 1570...
(1563-1570) a second town, Ny-Falkenberg (New Falkenberg), was located close to the town. Its main street was located where Tröingevägen is today, north east of the hospital.
Modern period (-1860)
| Year | Mayor |
|---|---|
| 1444 | Herman Röde |
| 1446 | Peder Bengtsen |
| dead 1592 | Carl Jacobsen |
| 1658-1664 | Mickel Lauritzsson |
| 1664-1680 | Johan Larsson |
| 1680-1686 | Antonius (Tönnis) Gertsson Lubinus |
| 1686-1705 | Hans Gertsson Lubinus |
| 1705-1709 | Germund Skeppsgård |
| 1709-1730 | Gustav Dahlberg |
| 1730-1748 | Söhren Söhrensson |
| 1748-1767 | Johan Falckman |
| 1767-1776 | Arvid N. Boman |
| 1776-1795 | Peter Wallin |
| 1795-1826 | Johan Lagergren |
| 1826-1853 | Lars Bergström |
| 1853-1912 | Anders Magnus Lundberg |
| 1912-1932 | Bernt Wilmer Bengtsen |
Swedish National Board of Trade
Swedish National Board of Trade is a Swedish government agency that answers to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The agency is located in Stockholm....
described it as a "minor stain", after his tour of inspection in the conquered territories. He was not alone. Several other notes from this time mentions the town in similar, unfavourable, words. The town had then, and would for quite some time, about 200 people, mainly working with farming. Farming and fishing continued to be the major trade in the town into the mid 19th century.
The Swedish state had an intention to limit the number of towns with the right to trade internationally (Sw.
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
stapelstäder). Hence, the town lost these rights in 1660, had them returned in 1679 (during the Scanian War
Scanian War
The Scanian War was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark-Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish provinces along the border with Sweden and in Northern Germany...
), and finally lost them again in 1724. A long battle with the state about the rights ensued. It would take until 1866 before the town regained the rights.
In 1660 the down suffered a major fire, in which 16 of the houses was lost. It was followed by several fires in the first half of the 18th century (1706, 1708, 1718, 1725, 1732 and 1743). As a result of all these fires, thatched roofs
Thatching
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...
were forbidden. They were often replaced with brick roofs. The last major fire took place in 1841.
A register of the townspeople's occupations in 1737 reveals two bakers, a glassmaker, a gold smith, a gloves maker, a hat maker, a wheel maker, a copper smith, a potter, a mason, a painter, , three shoemakers, two tailors, a butcher, three smiths, four lumbermen, a weaver, four inn owners, twelve seamen and fishers and twelve workers. From the 18th century and onwards more and more potteries were built, the most wellknown Törngrens krukmakeri
Törngrens krukmakeri
Törngrens krukmakeri is a pottery in Falkenberg, Sweden. It was founded in 1789 and claims to be one of the oldest, still manufacturing, potteries in Europe. The pottery is still in the ownership of the same family, now in its seventh generation....
.
Salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
fishing has in all likelihood been carried out in river Ätran since ancient times. It is mentioned from the 16th century and onwards. Hallandia antiqua et hodierna
Hallandia antiqua et hodierna
Hallandia antiqua et hodierna is a Swedish language book on the history of Halland. It was written by Jacob Richardson and was published in two parts in 1752 and 1753;a planned third part was never published. The book is strongly influenced Suecia antiqua et hodierna and was based on two journeys,...
describes it as the best in Halland. The good fishing-waters draw many Englishmen to the town in the 19th. This early tourism is described in Days in Falkenberg - A Record of Sport in Sweden, a book written in 1884 by A. M. Wilkinsson, a lawyer from London. Among those fishing were sir Hyde Parker
Hyde Parker
Hyde Parker may refer to:* Vice-Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet *Hyde Parker * Vice-Admiral Hyde Parker...
and a son to Thomas Babington Macaulay. At the end of the 19th century the town gained about one fifth of its revenue from the fishing. Nowadays the revenue from the fishing is estimated to be of the order of five million SEK.
The Falkenberg Bridge
Falkenberg Bridge
The Falkenberg Bridge is a stone arch bridge in Falkenberg, Sweden, built between 1756 and 1761. The bridge span river Ätran and is a listed building since 1984. It has gone through major repair and restoration works in 1927 and 1994. The bridge is still in use and is used by an average of 3,800...
was built in the mid 18th century. The current town hall (Falkenbergs town hall) was built in 1826, although earlier town halls had existed at the same spot.
It was suggested in the early 1860s that the town should have a town council
Town council
A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
. Up until then the decisions had been made at assemblies, where all those attending and with a right to vote could do so. After some early opposition the town council was introduced in 1865.
The town starts to grow (1860-)
In the mid 19th century the need for a better harbour became desperate. Hallands Ångbåtsaktiebolag (Halland Steamboat Inc.) had begun traffic along the westcoast, but refused to stop in Falkenberg, due to the poor state of the port. At the same time the importance of the port grew, as it was needed for the export of timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
from the inland. The maximum depth in the harbour was 9 feet (2.7 meters), and it was only 6 feet (1.8 meter) at the quay. Hence, the boats often had to anchor at some distance out at sea, where the goods were transferred to smaller boats, which were able to use the harbour.
The limited depth was caused by sand drifting towards the harbour, due to underwater streams. In order to increase the depth a dredge was bought, at a cost of 9 000 Swedish riksdaler
Swedish riksdaler
The riksdaler was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar, was named after the German Thaler. The similarly named Reichsthaler, rijksdaalder, and rigsdaler were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, the...
. Over the coming decades the dredge struggled to keep the depth. In 1890 the port once again lost the steamboat traffic. In 1909–1910 the northern wharf was extended and in the end of 1910 money was put up to build a 2,000 meter long breakwater
Breakwater (structure)
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
and to extend the southern wharf. These projects took until 1926 to finish. These works proved successful, as the depth was increased to five meters and the dredge could be rented out.
The first plans for a railway between Falkenberg and Halmstad
Halmstad
Halmstad is a port, university, industrial and recreational city at the mouth of Nissan in the province of Halland on the Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat of Halmstad Municipality and the capital of Halland County...
were discussed in 1881. As a result, Mellersta Hallands järnväg AB was formed, seated in Falkenberg. The stock company was successful in issuing stocks. With support by the Halland County Council and the state it would not only build the track, but also extend it to Varberg
Varberg
Varberg is a locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden with 26,041 inhabitants in 2005.Varberg and all of Halland are well known for their 'typical west coast' sandy beaches. In Varberg the coast changes from wide sandy beaches to rocky terrain that continues north into...
.
The work on the railway began in 1884, and in 1885 it reached Falkenberg. Two different stretches were suggested; one longer, northern, which would pass through the upper parts of Storgatan and Marknadsgatan; one short, souther, which would pass Tullkammaregatan and Storgatan. The latter alternative was cheaper and was chosen. As a consequence, the railway would pass through the remains of the old fort
Falkenberg (fort)
Falkenberg was a fort in Falkenberg, Sweden. It was first mentioned in 1298. It would later give the town, which was previously known as Ätraby, its name. The fort was the location for several Nordic treaties during the fourteenth century...
. The railway proved to be an economic success. When it was nationalised in 1895, it gave the town a return of 58 725 Swedish kronor on a 130 500 kronor investment.
The first telegraph station was opened in 1869. The town was connected to the national telephone grid in 1894. As the communications became better and better, the town gained a stronger role as the chief town for the surrounding countryside.
AB. Dan. Lundgrens leather factory was founded in 1834, and was for a long time one of the largest companies in the town. Bryggeriaktiebolaget Falken
Bryggeri AB Falken
Bryggeri AB Falken was a brewery in Falkenberg, Sweden. After being bought by Carlsberg it is now just a brand name....
was founded in 1896, and has since been one of the largest employers in the town. Doktorspromenaden (The Doctor's Walk) was constructed in 1862.
The registers tell about barber-surgeons in the towns since the 17th century. From 1849 it had a town medical officer. The county council granted money for a cottage hospital in 1878, which was inaugurated four years later. The hospital facilities grew in numbers in the early 20th century, and in 1911 the county council decided to make it a general hospital, with a capacity of 34 beds.
The Herting mansion was bought by the town in 1901. The purchase was motivated by plans to build a hydro power plant; plans that were realized a few years later. The power plant has since been expanded step by step. Initially the power was to low to keep up with the demand, and the electricity had to be rationed. The problem was rectified by said expansions, as well as with the purchase of electricity from the Yngeredsfors power station, upstreams Ätran.
Following the threat of a cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic in 1892 an epidemic hospital was built in 1897. The building was used until 1925. It does nowadays belong to the Falkenbergs gymnasieskola
Falkenbergs gymnasieskola
Falkenbergs gymnasieskola is a gymnasium in Falkenberg, Sweden.It has about 2,000 students, including people in adult education . The students choose between 16 different concentrations. The gymnasium share building the town library.The school is located in an old tannery, and was inaugurated in...
and is known as the yellow villa. The building could not always host all the patients, and in those cases the Herting Sawmill was used to cater for the rest. Between 1925 and 1950 the epidemic hospital was located at Tallgläntan, however from 1933 and onwards it was for children only.
The 20th century has seen the town develop as a beach resort, in particular along Skrea Strand
Skrea strand
Skrea strand is an about two kilometre long beach in Falkenberg, Sweden. It has a 250 metre long pier and about 1,600 cabins. An indoor bath, Klitterbadet, is located close to the beach.-History:...
. By 1914 it had 14 cabins, by 1928 it had increased to 300 and nowadays there are about 1,600. From the 1930s and onwards some restaurants and a hotel has been established in the area to cater for the needs of the tourists.
The town begun to expand administratively in 1907 when Herting was incorporated, albeit with protests from Skrea
Skrea
Skrea is a locality in Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 789 inhabitants in 2005.It was first mentioned in writing in 1447. Remains of houses used 100–550 have been found in the village. The nature reserve Grimsholmen is near the village....
, to which it had previously belonged. Further incorporation took place in 1936-1937, when Arvidstorp, become a part of the town. In that case the feelings had been the opposite, as Arvidstorp had struggled for over 20 years to become part of the town. In 1950 a minor part of Vinberg
Vinberg
Vinberg is a locality and a parish situated in Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 598 inhabitants in 2005.The parish is home to three villages: Vinberg, Vinbergs kyrkby and Tröingeberg, the latter being a suburb of Falkenberg....
was transferred to the town and in 1951-1952 the incorporation of Skrea took place. As a result of the 1971 municipal reform the town is now the seat of Falkenberg Municipality
Falkenberg Municipality
Falkenberg Municipality is a municipality in Halland County on the Swedish west coast. The town Falkenberg is the municipal seat....
. A new town hall
Falkenberg Town Hall
Falkenberg Town Hall is a listed modern building, built 1958-1959 and inaugurated 16 August 1960. Lennart Tham was chosen as architect after no less than three competitions, the last one in 1949. The building process was delayed due to the need to build a new fire station, as the town hall would be...
was built in 1960.
Falkenbergs Football Club was founded in 1894 as the town's first major sports club. It was followed in 1906 by Falkenberg Women Gymnastics Club. Falkenberg Arena was built in 1921. Falkenbergs FF
Falkenbergs FF
Falkenbergs FF, also known simply as Falkenberg or FFF, is a Swedish football club based in Falkenberg. The club, formed on 3 January 1928 and the ladies section was created in 1955, is currently playing in the second highest Swedish league, Superettan. Falkenberg are affiliated to the Hallands...
was founded in 1928 and Falkenbergs BTK
Falkenbergs BTK
Falkenbergs Bordtennisklubb is a Swedish table tennis club formed on November 30, 1925.The club played its first season in the top league in 1951 and has over the years won ten national championships and one European championship.Several world class players has represented the club, including...
in 1925. In the 1940s and 1950s a heated debate took place on whether to broad the old Falkenberg Bridge
Falkenberg Bridge
The Falkenberg Bridge is a stone arch bridge in Falkenberg, Sweden, built between 1756 and 1761. The bridge span river Ätran and is a listed building since 1984. It has gone through major repair and restoration works in 1927 and 1994. The bridge is still in use and is used by an average of 3,800...
or not. The matter was taken to national level and as an end result it was decided to leave the bridge untouched, but increase its capacity by building a footbridge, thereby leaving the entire bridge to the cars, without the need to share it with the pedestrians.