Landskrona is a
localityUrban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort. The official term in English, used by Statistics Sweden, is, however, locality. There are 1,940 localities in Sweden . They could be compared with census-designated places in the United States.A tätort in Sweden has a minimum of...
and the seat of
Landskrona MunicipalityLandskrona Municipality is a municipality in Skåne County in Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Landskrona.The island of Ven was added to the City of Landskrona in 1959. The amalgamations leading to the present municipality took place in 1967, 1969 and 1974...
,
Skåne CountySkåne County is the southernmost county or län, of Sweden, basically corresponding to the historical province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronoberg and Blekinge. The seat of residence for the Skåne Governor is the town of Malmö...
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
with 28,670 inhabitants in 2005.
History
The city of Landskrona was founded at the location of
ScaniaScania is a geographical region on the southernmost tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, an occupied province in the Kingdom of Sweden, before 1658 a province in the Kingdom of Denmark and part of the historical lands of Denmark.To the north, it borders the provinces Halland, Småland and Blekinge,...
's (at that time a part of
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
) best natural harbour, as a means of King
Eric of PomeraniaEric of Pomerania was King Eric III of Norway Norwegian Eirik, King Eric VII of Denmark , and King of Sweden known there mainly as Erik av Pommern...
's anti-
HanseaticThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
policy, intended to compete with
DanishDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
towns under Hanseatic control. A
CarmeliteThe Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence the order receives its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
monastery was founded in 1410, English merchants were granted the privileges in a royal charter in 1412, and the town itself was chartered in 1413. Landskrona was burned by the Hanseatic League in 1428.
The town supported the deposed king
Christian II of DenmarkChristian II was a Danish monarch and King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union...
(1525), and opposed the
ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
in Denmark (1535), and in both cases found itself among the defeated. The Reformist King
Christian III of DenmarkChristian III , king of Denmark and Norway, was the son of Frederick I of Denmark and his first consort, Anna of Brandenburg.-Childhood:...
abstained however from retaliation, and instead founded a
castleA castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress, in that it describes a residence of a monarch or...
to protect the harbour. The castle, built where the monastery had been situated until the Reformation, was completed by 1560.
When
ScaniaScania is a geographical region on the southernmost tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, an occupied province in the Kingdom of Sweden, before 1658 a province in the Kingdom of Denmark and part of the historical lands of Denmark.To the north, it borders the provinces Halland, Småland and Blekinge,...
had been ceded to Sweden in 1658, the good harbour and the strong fort were reasons for plans to make Landskrona a commercial center of the acquired territory with extraordinary privileges for foreign trade. The castle was reinforced by
bastionA bastion is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defense against assaulting troops...
s, the area inside the
moatA moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
s extended to 400x400 meters, the castle was considered the strongest and most modern in
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a geographical region in northern Europe that includes, and is named after, the Scanian Province. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark...
, but was temporarily lost to the Danes after a comparably short siege July 8-August 2 1676. The commandant Colonel Hieronymus Lindeberg was consequently sentenced to death for high treason.
Any further plans for Landskrona were however not realized, for various reasons. The continued Swedish-Danish wars favoured
KarlskronaKarlskrona is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with 32,606 inhabitants in 2005. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Sweden's only remaining naval base and the HQ of the Swedish Coast...
, located at a safer distance from Denmark, replacing Landskrona as a naval base, the fortifications were discontinued, and
MalmöMalmö is the third most populous city in Sweden, situated in its southernmost province of Scania.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 290 007 inhabitants in eight different...
remained the most important commercial town - despite Malmö lacking a harbour until the late 18th century. The fortifications at Landskrona were expanded considerably between 1747 and 1788, but were condemned in 1822, whereafter the garrison was abolished in 1869. The walls and moats of the fortifications are today a beautiful recreational area, commonly known as the
Landskrona CitadelLandskrona Citadel, , is situated in Landskrona, Scania, southern Sweden.-External links:*...
.
Transport
Since January 2001 Landskrona has a new railway station on the main line between
MalmöMalmö is the third most populous city in Sweden, situated in its southernmost province of Scania.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 290 007 inhabitants in eight different...
and
GothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest amongst the Nordic countries. Situated on the south-west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 502,833 with 622,287 in the urban area and total of 911,406 inhabitants in the metropolitan area.The City of...
along the Swedish west coast. The connection between the new station and the city centre, "The Station Shuttle," is operated with
trolleybusA trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles...
es from 27 September 2003. Landskrona is now the only city in Sweden operating trolleybuses.
External links