Malmö lies on the west coast of Skåne, facing the Danish capital of Copenhagen across the Öresund. A major port and Sweden's third largest city, it is an important economic and cultural center.
Malmö has numerous historical buildings and parks as well as the Municipal Theatre and Malmö Opera.
History
A settlement was established on this site in the second half of the 13th century and thanks to its sheltered anchorages in the shallow Lomma Bay, where the vessels of the Hanseatic towns came to fish for herring, rapidly developed.
The town's first fortifications were built during the reign of the Danish king Eric of Pomerania, who also granted Malmö its coat of arms in 1473. The town passed to Sweden under the treaty of Roskilde (1658).
The construction of the harbor and the energy and enterprise of a merchant named Frans Suell (statue in Norra Vallgatan) brought the town great prosperity in the 18th century, and it developed still further after the construction of the railroad between Stockholm and Malmö in the following century.
East of the center of Malmö, in Drottningtorget, is the Carriage Museum, housed in the old Town Hall (old carriages; history of the motor car). Nearby in the St Gertrud district are a number of carefully restored old houses (16th-19th C.), now a leisure center.
West of the Old Town of Malmö lies the Kungspark (King's Park), with a summer restaurant. From the Kungspark a bridge leads into the Slottspark (Castle Park), in which, surrounded by a moat, is Malmö Castle (Malmöhus), built 1537-42 and restored in 1870 after a fire. It now houses the Municipal Museum (archaeology, art and culture, natural history). From the Castle it is only a few yards to the Museum of Technology, associated with which is a Seafaring Museum.
To the north of the Form Design Center in Malmö is Charlotte Weibull's Doll House (Dockhus), which sells dolls in traditional costumes from all over Sweden.
During the summer there are daily sightseeing tours of the city, starting from Gustav Adolfs Torg at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., as well as harbor and canal cruises.
In the southeast of Malmö, in Amiralsgatan, lies the Folkets Park, an amusement park with numerous restaurants. Farther to the southeast is Sturup Airport.
In Hedmanska Gården, on Malmö's Lilla Torget, is the Form Design Center, with examples of modern Swedish design (furniture, textiles, glass, ceramics, decorative art).
Address: Form Design Center, Lilla Torg 9, S-20314 Malmö, Sweden
Södergatan, a busy shopping and business street in Malmö, runs south to Gustav Adolfs Torg. Beyond this, over the canal, is Södra Förstadsgatan, which leads to the elegant Triangeln shopping center, with a modern hotel.
In the southwest corner of the Slottspark in Malmo" is Linnépladsen (Linnaeus Square), with a sculpture, "Pegasus", by Carl Milles. At the southeast corner of the park is the Municipal Library. To the south of this is the Municipal Theater (1942-44), the largest theater in Scandinavia, with seating for 1,700 (visitors admitted).
South the Municipal Theater of Malmö is Pildammspark, with an open-air theater and the Margareta Pavilion. In this area too are the Stadium and the Exhibition Halls. The Hyllie Water Tower (77m/253ft high) is open to visitors.
To the southwest of Malmö, on the Öresund, are the Ribersborg beach and Limhamn, from which there is a ferry service to the Danish fishing village of Dragør. There are plans for a bridge over the äresund to Denmark.
From Malmö harbor there is a hydrofoil service to Copenhagen (45 minutes).
To the south of Malmö on E 22 are extensive residential suburbs. The idyllic seaside resort of Skanör-Falsterbo, at the southwestern tip of Skåne, is remarkable for its unusual beach flora and for the numbers of birds to be seen here.
The street between the Governor's Residence and the Malmö Town Hall leads to St Peter's Church (St. Petri), an imposing 14th century brick building modeled on St Mary's Church in Lübeck. Notable features of the interior are the pulpit (1599) and the Baroque altarpiece (1611). To the left of the entrance is the baptismal chapel, with Late Gothic wall paintings of flowers and animals and a font of 1601.
In the center of Malmö, to the south of the harbor, is the Old Town (Gamla Staden), enclosed on all sides by canals. It has preserved much of its original layout, particularly around Stortorget, the main square. In the center of the square stands an equestrian statue (1896) of King Charles X, who conquered Skåne in 1658 and united it with Sweden.
An attractive country house in the Malmö area is Svaneholm, which also dates from the 16th century; it now houses a restaurant which serves typical local dishes.
Address: Svaneholm Castle Restaurant, S-21120 Malmö, Sweden
Hours:
March 1 to December 31: 10am-5pm; Closed: Mon, Tue
On the east side of Stortorget is the Malmö Town Hall, built in 1546 in Dutch Renaissance style (altered in 19th C.). On the first floor are St Knut's (Canute's) Hall, once the meeting place of the influential Guild of St Knut, and the Council Chamber (Landstingssalen), with portraits of Danish and Swedish kings. At the northeast corner of the square is the Governor's Residence (Residens).
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