Ystad 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
Ystad MunicipalityYstad Municipality is a municipality in Skåne County in southern Sweden. Its seat is located in the city Ystad.The present municipality was created in 1971 by the amalgamation of the former City of Ystad with four surrounding municipalities.-Localities:There are nine urban areas in Ystad...
,
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 17,286 inhabitants in 2005.
Ystad was mentioned for the first time in 1244. A Franciscan monastery, Gråbrödraklostret, was founded in 1267. Ystad joined the
Hanseatic LeagueThe 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...
in the 14th century. The charter of 1599 gave the town the right to
exportIn economics, an export is any good or commodity, transported from one country to another country in a legitimate fashion, typically for use in trade. Export goods or services are provided to foreign consumers by domestic producers. Export is an important part of international trade...
oxen. Ystad, together with all 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,...
, was transferred from
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...
to Sweden following the
Treaty of RoskildeThe Treaty of Roskilde was concluded on 26 February 1658 during the Northern Wars between Frederick III of Denmark-Norway and Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde...
in 1658.
Ystad 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
Ystad MunicipalityYstad Municipality is a municipality in Skåne County in southern Sweden. Its seat is located in the city Ystad.The present municipality was created in 1971 by the amalgamation of the former City of Ystad with four surrounding municipalities.-Localities:There are nine urban areas in Ystad...
,
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 17,286 inhabitants in 2005.
History
Ystad was mentioned for the first time in 1244. A Franciscan monastery, Gråbrödraklostret, was founded in 1267. Ystad joined the
Hanseatic LeagueThe 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...
in the 14th century. The charter of 1599 gave the town the right to
exportIn economics, an export is any good or commodity, transported from one country to another country in a legitimate fashion, typically for use in trade. Export goods or services are provided to foreign consumers by domestic producers. Export is an important part of international trade...
oxen. Ystad, together with all 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,...
, was transferred from
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...
to Sweden following the
Treaty of RoskildeThe Treaty of Roskilde was concluded on 26 February 1658 during the Northern Wars between Frederick III of Denmark-Norway and Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde...
in 1658. At that time it had a population of about 1,600. By 1850 it had reached 5,000. By 1866 Ystad had gained a railway connection, and it was established as a garrison town in the 1890s and the population exceeded 10,000. After
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
,
ferryA ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
services to
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and to the Danish island of
BornholmBornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming...
were opened.
Today
Some of the main industries of the town are trade, handicraft and tourism. It is considered one of the best preserved cities in the Scania province, and few cities in Sweden can match its picturesque old houses and streets.
The town has two large medieval churches, the Church of Saint Peter (also known as
Klostret) and the Church of the Virgin Mary (
Mariakyrkan), both highly influenced by the
GothicGothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
HansaThe 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...
architecture that can be seen in churches around the
Baltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
, for instance in
HelsingborgHelsingborg Helsingborg Helsingborg ( is a locality and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 91,457 inhabitants in 2005. The population of Helsingborg city is increasing by around 1,700 people every year....
,
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
RostockRostock is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is located on the Warnow river; the quarter of Warnemünde 12 km north of the city centre lies directly on the coast of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:Rostock is located nearly centrally on...
.
Ystad is known internationally as the setting for many of the novels of
Henning MankellHenning Mankell is a renowned Swedish crime writer, occasional children's author and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most iconic creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander.-Biography:...
, featuring fictional Ystad police inspector
Kurt WallanderKurt Wallander is a fictional character created by Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell. The protagonist of several mystery novels, he lives and works in the town of Ystad, 60 km south-east of the city of Malmö, in the southern province of Skåne....
.
There are frequent ferries to
BornholmBornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming...
,
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...
and to
ŚwinoujścieŚwinoujście is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. It is situated mainly on the islands of Usedom and Wolin, but also occupies smaller islands, of which the largest is Karsibór island, once part of Usedom, now separated by a Piast...
in
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. The town has train connections with
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...
,
SimrishamnSimrishamn is a locality and the seat of Simrishamn Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 6,546 inhabitants in 2005. Simrishamn is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a city....
and
CopenhagenCopenhagen ; ) is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban area with a population of 1,167,569 and a metropolitan area with a population of 1,875,179...
.
The name
In 1285 the name was written
Ystath. Its original meaning is not fully understood, but
probably the "
y" has something to do with an old word for the
yew treeTaxus is a genus of yews, small coniferous trees or shrubs in the yew family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 1-40 m, with trunk diameters of up to 4 m...
,
-stad is
town, or rather
place. In Danish times before 1658 the spelling was
Ysted.
Sports
The most popular sport in Ystad is
handballHandball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass and bounce a ball to throw it into the goal of the opposing team...
, with two big clubs. Ystads IF is located in the highest Swedish national league (Elitserien, as of 2008) whilst IFK Ystad is situated in the league below (Division 1, as of 2008). Through the years several famous handball players have played for either of these clubs, the most famous one probably being Per Carlén.
Newspapers
The only newspaper active in Ystad is the
Ystads Allehanda which also covers the neighbouring municipalities of
SkurupSkurup is a locality and the seat of Skurup Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 6,978 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...
,
TomelillaTomelilla is a locality and the seat of Tomelilla Municipality in Skåne County, Sweden with 6,204 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...
,
SimrishamnSimrishamn is a locality and the seat of Simrishamn Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 6,546 inhabitants in 2005. Simrishamn is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a city....
and
SjöboSjöbo is a locality and the seat of Sjöbo Municipality in Skåne County, Sweden with 6,364 inhabitants in 2005.-Overview:Sjöbo started growing when it became a halt on the railway between Malmö and Simrishamn in the early 20th century...
. The newspaper was founded in 1873
People from Ystad
- Richard Andersson
Richard Andersson is the founding father of several neoclassical metalbands in Sweden. Deep Purple, Rainbow, Jimi Hendrix, Yngwie Malmsteen, Symphony X, Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Niccolò Paganini, etc. are amongst his favourite artists.-Biography:As a kid,...
(born 1972), musician and songwriter
- Rolf Holmgren
Rolf Erling Holmgren is a Swedish actor and scriptwriter.He was born in Ystad in the southern Swedish province of Skåne. He took acting lessons in Stockholm and has been mostly active on the theater scene in Gothenburg, but he has also been in some films and on TV....
(born 1946), actor and scriptwriter
- Ernst-Hugo Järegård
Ernst-Hugo Järegård, was a Swedish actor.-Biography:Ernst-Hugo Järegård was born in Ystad, Scania...
(1928 – 1998), actor
- Börje Langefors
Börje Langefors is a Swedish engineer and computer scientist, Emeritus Professor of Business Information Systems at the Department of Computer and Systems Science, Stockholm University and Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, and "one of those who made systems development a science."-...
(born 1915), computer scientist
- Gunnar Malmquist
Karl Gunnar Malmquist was a Swedish astronomer.-Biography:Gunnar Malmquist was born in Ystad, where he completed his secondary school education before matriculating at the Lund University in 1911. He received his Ph.D. in 1921, was an amanuensis at the Lund Observatory 1915-1920 and a docent from...
(1893 – 1982), astronomer
- Anna Q. Nilsson
Anna Quirentia Nilsson was a Swedish born American actress who achieved success in American silent movies.-Early life:...
(1888 – 1974), Swedish born American actress
See also
- Chronicle of the Expulsion of the Grayfriars#Chapter 12 Concerning the Friary in Ystad
External links