1.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
2.
Swedish Air Force
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The Swedish Air Force is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. The Swedish Air Force was created on July 1,1926 when the units of the Army. Because of the international tension during the 1930s the Air Force was reorganized and expanded from four to seven squadrons. When World War II broke out in 1939 further expansion was initiated, although Sweden never entered the war, a large air force was considered necessary to ward off the threat of invasion and to resist pressure through military threats from the great powers. By 1945 the Swedish Air Force had over 800 combat-ready aircraft, a major problem for the Swedish Air Force during World War II was the lack of fuel. Sweden was surrounded by countries at war and could not rely on imported oil, instead domestic oil shales were heated to produce the needed petrol. The Swedish Air Force underwent a rapid modernization from 1945 and it was no longer politically acceptable to equip it with second-rate models. When the Saab 29 Tunnan fighter was introduced around 1950, Sweden suddenly had planes that were equal to the best of the Royal Air Force, the Soviet Unions VVS, during the 1950s the air force started to build road bases after an idea taken from Germany. Built under the BASE60 distributed airfield scheme, the bases were ordinary highways constructed in such a way that they could serve as landing strips. In the early eighties road number 44 was rebuilt to four short runways. Along the road a number of turn-around-sites for rearming and refueling were built. These short runways are used today for training, landing and taking off with Gripen. During the Cold War large amounts of money were spent on the Swedish Air Force, in 1957 Sweden had the worlds fourth most powerful air force, with about 1000 modern planes in front-line service. During the 1950s, it introduced fighters such as the Saab J29 Tunnan, Saab A32 Lansen, in June 1952 the Swedish Air Force lost two aircraft on Cold War operations, in what became known as the Catalina affair. A signals intelligence Douglas DC-3 was intercepted by Soviet MiG-15s over the Baltic, a PBY Catalina rescue seaplane was then also downed, the five-man crew being rescued from the sea by a freighter. When the Soviet Union attacked Finland in November 1939, Sweden came to its neighbours assistance in most ways short of joining the war outright, a Swedish volunteer infantry brigade and a volunteer air squadron fought in northern Finland in January till March 1940. The squadron was designated F19 and consisted of 12 Gloster Gladiator fighters, the Swedish Air Force saw combat as part of the United Nations peace-keeping mission ONUC during the Congo Crisis in 1961 to 1964. It established an air wing, F22, equipped with a dozen semi-obsolete Saab 29 Tunnans
3.
Laholm Municipality
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Laholm Municipality is a municipality in Halland County in southwest Sweden. The seat is located in Laholm, the amalgamation process during the local government reform in the 1970s took place in two steps. In 1971 the City of Laholm merged with two municipalities forming the unitary municipality and three years later four more units were added. There are 14 urban areas in Laholm Municipality, in the table the localities are listed according to the size of the population as of December 31,2010. The municipal seat is in bold characters, statistics Sweden Laholm Municipality - Official site
4.
Laholm
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Laholm is a locality and the seat of Laholm Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 6,527 inhabitants in 2015. Laholm is, despite its population, for historical reasons often still referred to as a city. Statistics Sweden, however, only counts localities with more than 10,000 inhabitants as cities, geographically the town is located at the estuary of the river Lagan in the Bay of Laholm. Laholm is one of Swedens oldest cities, and it is the oldest city in the province of Halland, the first charter was granted in the 13th century, in what was then Danish territory. The church was founded in 1225, during the wars between Sweden and Denmark in the 16th and 17th century, Laholm was burnt down several times. In 1645, when Halland became a part Sweden, the town had 330 inhabitants, in the middle of the 19th century the population reached the 1,000 mark, doubled in the early 20th century and reaching 3,000 around 1950. The local government reform of 1971 made the town the seat of Laholm Municipality which has over 25,000 inhabitants, of interest is still the old street structure, intact from medieval times and the Laholm church. The towns and communes coat of arms dates back to the Middle Ages and it shows three silver salmon with red fins on a blue background, owing to the importance of salmon fishing in the area. The arms is nearly identical to that of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in London. City Hotel Laholm Hostel of Laholm Tourist agency of Laholm
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Varberg
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Varberg is a locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden with 27,602 inhabitants in 2010. 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 Bohuslän archipelago and as far as the North Cape. Varberg is a charming and popular resort and many people from inland cities such as Borås are either moving to Varberg or holidaying there. Varberg is located in a terrain of hills and plains and it is largely without trees and green areas, in its place are bald rocks and sand. The Swedish authoritative author and bishop Esaias Tegnér described it in 1826 as the least appealing place in Sweden, the sandy beaches are however very popular in the summer. Another main factor in Varberg is its natural surroundings, just a 20-minute drive inland reveals a totally different landscape. Here you will be among a landscape, rolling hills with lakes. Varberg has a climate that although moderate by Swedish standards. Summers are in general cooler than both in Halmstad and Gothenburg, with highs being moderated by the marine airflow, although this moderation occurs, some summer days can be very warm, and some winter nights see severe frosts. A fortress called Varberg was erected in the 1280s as part of a chain of establishments along the coast. In the middle of the 14th century, the old settlement Getakärr 1 kilometre north of the fortress took its new name from the fortress, the town was moved 5 km northwards around the year 1400. It was destroyed during the Kalmar War and rebuilt near the fortress, in 1645 Halland passed from Denmark to Sweden by the Treaty of Brömsebro for a period of 30 years. It had at that time about 600 inhabitants, the transfer was made permanent by the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. The town was moved again after a fire in 1666, to the location were the city centre is today, the city was devastated by a huge fire in 1863 and was subsequently rebuilt with stone or brick houses. In 1890 the population figure had passed 4,000 and with industrialization it reached 8,500 in 1930, the local government reform of 1971 made Varberg the seat of the much larger Varberg Municipality, with a current population of close to 56,000 inhabitants. Although several houses were torn down in the 1970s, most of the city still remains intact. Varbergs fortress is its most notable building, mostly because of its size as it has no architectural uniformity. It was first built as a castle in 1280, with new parts being built in successions, near Varberg there is the VLF transmitter Grimeton, an interesting radio-technical facility and classified by UNESCO to be a World Cultural Heritage site
6.
Kungsbacka
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Kungsbacka is a locality and the seat of Kungsbacka Municipality in Halland County, Sweden, with 19,057 inhabitants in 2010. It is one of the most affluent parts of Sweden, in due to its simultaneous proximity to the countryside. The first records referring to Kungsbacka as a date from the 15th century. Some trade still took place from the coast, but the significance as a place of naval commerce lessened over the centuries. Today, it is the home of over 2,000 businesses, a devastating fire in 1846 destroyed the town centre, sparing only a little red wooden cabin which is still standing today. In late 2006 and early 2014 other fires affected the town centre, the town remained small until the 1960s. The municipal reform of 1971 made it the seat of the much larger Kungsbacka Municipality, the town began to grow as a part of Metropolitan Gothenburg. It is the terminus of the Gothenburg commuter rail system. The following cities are twinned with Kungsbacka, Saarijärvi, Central Finland, Finland Neiva, Huila, Colombia Bengt Andersson, artist, woodcut engraver and mural painter. Beda Hallberg 1869-1945, founder of Majblommans Riksförbund, Sweden squad -1950 FIFA World Cup, Third Place
7.
Swedish Army
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The Swedish Army is a branch of the Swedish Armed Forces in which its main responsibility is land operations. The Swedish Army is attached to the Northern European Command and SJF, the peace-time organization of the Swedish Army is divided into a number of regiments for the different branches. The number of active regiments has been reduced since the end of the Cold War, the regiment forms training organisations that train the various battalions of the army and home guard. The Swedish Armed Forces recently underwent a transformation from conscription-based recruitment to a professional defense organisation. This is part of a goal to abandon the mass army from the Cold War and develop an army better suited to modern maneuver warfare. The battalion is the unit but all units are completely modular. There are a total of 6 permanent staffs under the central command capable of handling large battlegroups,4 regional staffs and 2 brigade staffs, until 1975 the Swedish monarch was the formal head of the army. In 1937, the staff agency Chief of the Army was created to lead the army in peace time, following a larger reorganization of the Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, CA ceased to exist as an independent agency. Instead, the post Chief of Army Staff was created at the newly instituted Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters. In 1998, the Swedish Armed Forces was again reorganized, most of the duties of the Chief of Army Staff were transferred to the newly instituted post of Inspector General of the Army. The post is similar to that of the Inspector General of the Swedish Navy, in 2014, the Chief of Army position was reinstated. This plan, however, was considered by the Supreme Commander to be due to the economic situation at the time. In 2013, the Armed Forces issued a statement saying that the reorganisation would only suffice for a defense of Swedish territory for one week. The force was to include the following units, In addition, the Territorial Defense Forces/Home Guard consists of 40 battalions with a total of 22000 men. Many of the soldiers have served abroad in the missions of the regular army. From 1942 onwards, the Swedish government embarked upon a massive and ambitious militarization program in which conscription was strictly enforced and compulsory service was extended for three years. From 1950 until around 1976 the size of the army was at an average of 250000 soldiers with a peak of 400000 active duty soldiers during the late 1950s, the compulsory service period included 2 months of basic training and 3 months of advanced occupational training. The rules were enforced, but dodging the draft was punishable with a year of imprisonment
8.
Halmstad
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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 city had a population of 92,797 in 2012, out of a municipal total of over 90,000. Halmstad is Swedens 20th-largest city by population and located about midway between Gothenburg and Malmö and it is Europes northernmost city with a lot of timber framing architecture. Halmstad, at the part of the Kingdom of Denmark, received its first city charter in 1307. The oldest remains of that first town are to be found at Övraby upstream on Nissan, just south of, the remains of the church can still be seen today between a defunct brick industry and a former landfill. In the 1320s the town moved to the present day town centre, at this time there were two monasteries in the town and during the 15th century the St. Nikolai church was built. Halland was the object of numerous battles, sieges and occupations by Swedish troops, during the Kalmar Union – a Nordic Union between Sweden, Norway and Denmark which lasted between 1400 and 1520 – it was in Halmstad that the Union King was to be finally selected. 1619 is an important date in the history of Halmstad, in March of that year, King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden and Christian IV met at the castle. Over a period of a week they celebrated the payment in full of the Älvsborg ransom, august of the same year saw the destruction of Halmstad by fire. Halland became part of Sweden for a period of thirty years when peace was declared at the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645, the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658 made this acquisition permanent. Sweden defeated Denmark in the Battle of Fyllebro which took place in 1676 just outside Halmstad, the first May Day demonstration in Sweden was held in Halmstad in 1897. The population grew from 48,800 in 1990 to 58,577 in 2010, in September 2007 the city hosted the Solheim Cup, which was played at the Halmstad Golfklubb. In 2011 Halmstad was the port of the Tall Ships Races. Halmstad has the south Scandinavian variety of the relatively wet climate with warm summers and cool to cold winters. Founded in 1983, Halmstad University is a higher education institution offering bachelors and masters programs in various fields of study. In addition, it conducts Ph. D. programs in three fields of research, Information Technology, Innovation Science and Health Science, Halmstad University has more than 9000 students, including 245 exchange students and 163 international programme students
9.
Halland
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Halland is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden, on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat, the provinces of Sweden serve no administrative function. Instead, that function is served by the Counties of Sweden, as of December 31,2009, Halland had a population of 303,895. Of these,287,668 lived in Halland County,13,980 lived in Västra Götaland County, during the Danish era until 1658, the province had no coat of arms and no seal. In Sweden, however, every province had been represented by heraldic arms since 1560, when Charles X Gustav of Sweden suddenly died in 1660 a coat of arms had to be created for the newly acquired province. Each province was to be represented by its arms at the royal funeral, there are several theories about the choice of a lion. Bengt Algotsson, duke of Halland and Finland in the 14th century, blazon, Azure, a Lion rampant Argent langued, armed and dente Gules. The same coat of arms was granted for the administrative Halland County. The rivers of Lagan, Ätran, Nissan and Viskan flow through the province, Halland is well known for its fertile soil and as an agricultural district. The Bronze Age was probably a period of prosperity in Halland. This is shown in the number of new settlements and the archaeological remains. Over 1,100 tumuli and grave mounds have been found, the end of the Bronze Age witnessed an over-consumption of resources. This might have been a result of a demand for 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 extent as before. As a result, the structures collapsed. The early Iron Age social structures seem to have been relatively egalitarian and 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, an example of such a farm can be found in Slöinge. It was not just the structure that changed, so too did the settlement structure
10.
Falkenberg
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Falkenberg is a locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 20,035 inhabitants in 2010. It is located at the mouth of river Ätran, the name consists of the Swedish words for falcon and mountain. The main beach of the town, Skrea strand, was awarded a Blue Flag once again in 2007, in the early part of the 13th century the Danish king built a fort on the east shore of the river Ätran, which eventually would give the town its name. Halland was at that part of Denmark. It is known that falconry was pursued in the area, however, in Hallandia antiqua et hodierna, that specified a location where the falconry should have taken place, and which should have given name to the town, has later been shown to be incorrect. The area north of Ätran was from time to time Norwegian or Swedish and it was on this side that a market town developed. At around 1300 a church was built, from the 14th century until the Northern Seven Years War a second town, Ny-Falkenberg was located close to the town. The fort was destroyed by Engelbrekt Engelbrektssons troops in 1434, the town gained market rights at the latest in 1558. Along with the rest of the Halland, Falkenberg was to be temporarily Swedish in accordance with the Treaty of Brömsebro, the Treaty of Roskilde thirteen years later made the province permanently Swedish. For a long period it struggled to keep its privileges with regard to trade, also like the rest of the county, it only started to slowly industrialise in the late 19th century. In the 20th century it has gained a reputation as a seaside resort, Falkenberg is located along a traditional trade route along the Swedish west coast, about 45 km northwest of Halmstad, and 105 km south of Gothenburg. These transport needs are catered by European route E6, which runs as a dual carriageway just outside the town. County road 150 and County road 154 connect to Torup and Svenljunga, Falkenberg railway operated from the 1890s to the 1950s. The town has seven bus routes, the town hosts several teams at national level. The football team, Falkenbergs FF, has since the late 1980s established itself in the second division, the table tennis team, Falkenbergs BTK, has won ten national championships, as well as one European championship. In the early 2000s, Falkenbergs VBK developed to one of the best volleyball teams in the country. BK Falkarna has played ten seasons in the top bowling league, ed. Falkenberg - staden som hembygd. Kommunalt sekel - Falkenbergs stadsfullmäktige 1866-1965
