1.
Sweden
–
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.
Laholm Municipality
–
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
3.
Laholm
–
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
4.
Varberg
–
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
5.
Kungsbacka
–
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
