History

Along with Uppsala, Lund is one of the oldest cities in Sweden. Lund's origins are unclear. Until recently, the town was thought to have been founded by King Canute the Great of Denmark around 1020.^[5] The area was then part of the kingdom of Denmark. However, recent archaeological discoveries suggest that the first settlement was founded around 990, at the present site of the village of Uppåkra.^{[citation needed]} It was later moved to its present location by King Sweyn I Forkbeard. The distance moved was only some five kilometres, but the new location of Lund, on a hill and on the other side of a ford, gave the new site considerable defensive advantages in comparison with Uppåkra, which is situated on the highest point of a rather large plain.

The city was made a see in 1048 and united with Dalby in 1060,^[6] and in 1103 became the seat of the archbishop for Scandinavia. The diocese of nearby Dalby was absorbed in 1066. Lund Cathedral was similarly founded in or shortly after 1103. In 1152, the Norwegian archdiocese of Nidaros was founded as a separate province of the church, independent of Lund. In 1164 Sweden also acquired an archbishop of its own, although he was nominally subordinate to the archbishop of Lund. It is still, as the diocese of Lund, a diocese in the Church of Sweden.

Lund Cathedral School (Katedralskolan) was founded in 1085 by the Danish king Canute the Saint. This is the oldest school in Scandinavia and one of the oldest in Northern Europe. Many well-known people have attended it, among them actor Max von Sydow and several high-ranking politicians.

In 1658, the Scanian lands were ceded by Denmark to Sweden by the Treaty of Roskilde. On December 4, 1676 Lund was defended in the Battle of Lund, one of the bloodiest battles fought in Scandinavia.

Lund University, established in 1666, is Sweden's largest with 42,000 full or part-time students, although not all actually live in Lund. The figure includes Lund Institute of Technology, which is to some extent independent of the old university. As late as the 1940s, Lund was a relatively small city with few large-scale industries, covering only about a fourth of the current urban area and was dominated by the cathedral and the university. Since then, the student population has increased about twelvefold, many industrial companies in the chemical, medical or electronics branches and, more recently, within information management, have set up establishments in the city, and the town's population, architecture and pulse has been transformed.

Compared with many other Swedish cities, the urban heart of Lund is well preserved. A local law requires any downtown property that is due to be demolished and rebuilt to be archaeologically excavated.

Geography

Lund is located in Sweden's largest agricultural district, in the southwest of Scania, less than ten kilometres from the sandy shore of the Öresund Straits and about 16 kilometres as big as altafs. From the top of the hill Sankt Hans Backar it is possible to see Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. It is therefore some distance from other Swedish cities, about 250 kilometres to Gothenburg, 600 to Stockholm and about 1200 to Umeå. The city of Malmö, on the other hand, is only about 15 kilometres away.

Climate

Lund, and the rest of southern Sweden have oceanic climate. Despite its northern location, the climate is relatively mild compared to other locations in similar latitude, or even somewhat further south, mainly because of the Gulf Stream. Because of its northerly latitude, daylight lasts as long as 17 hours in midsummer, and only around 7 hours in midwinter.

Summers are warm and pleasant with average high temperatures of 22°C (72°F) and lows of around 14°C (57°F), but temperatures do sometimes exceed 25°C (77°F+) and occasional heat waves are common during the summer. Winters are cold, with temperatures steady between -1 to 3°C (30 - 37°F).

Rainfall is light to moderate throughout the year with 169 wet days. Snowfall occurs sparingly, mainly in December thru March, but snow covers does not remain for a long time, and Some winters tends to be virtually free of snow.

Architecture

During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund Cathedral, Liberiet, the restaurant Stäket and parts of the Cathedral School. Timber framing is characteristic of the houses built up to the end of the 19th century, for example the Wickmanska gården.

Most of the central buildings in Lund date from the late 19th century, when small houses were replaced by multi-storey ones. Notable buildings built during this period include the University Library (1902), Grand Hotel (1899) and the University Main Building (1882).

Transportation

Major roads

Lund has been connected to the motorway network since 1953 when the E22, the first motorway in Sweden, was built round the edge of the town. There are also other connections to most major roads in the area, for example the E6 via Riksväg 16, and the Länsväg 108 which connects to the E65.

Railways and public transport

Lund has been on the main railway line between Malmö and Stockholm since 1857. Today there are direct connections to Copenhagen and Elsinore via the Öresund Bridge. This connection is mainly served by the Öresundståg, maintained by DSB, the Danske Statsbaner in Denmark and Skånetrafiken in Scania, as well as by SJ in the rest of Sweden. Local traffic is managed by the two-coach electric multiple units Pågatåg, which provide connections to many destinations in Scania. Because of Lund's central position, it is possible to travel to the three largest cities in Sweden without having to change trains.

Public transport within Lund is all operated by Skånetrafiken^{[citation needed]} and consists of buses which connect around 400 bus stops together with 11 bus lines served by a fleet of 40 Mercedes Citaro running on compressed natural gas and a few smaller buses using diesel.

Airports

Lund is located very close to Malmö-Sturup Airport which is mainly used for domestic flights. Kastrup, the airport for Copenhagen is often used for longer international flights, and is about 45 minutes by train from Lund. There is also a very small airstrip, Hasslanda Flygfält, to the south of Lund, mainly used for private and charter flights.

Culture

The culture in Lund is characterized by the large student population and student traditions. A lot of the nightlife is located in student nations. The city is currently applying to be the European Capital of Culture in 2014.

Lund also has a city theatre and a few other places for concerts and theatres.

Literature and art

Classical writers who have lived in Lund at some time include August Strindberg, Esaias Tegnér, Ola Hansson, Axel Lundegård, Anders Österling, Bengt Lidforss, and Vilhelm Ekelund.

Lundakarnevalen (The Lund carnival)

The Lund carnival is held every fourth year since 1849, arranged by the students at Lund University. Some students dress up in costumes, often relating to and poking fun at current issues, and parade in wagons. Others perform humorous skits in the evenings.

Sports

Lund is not a notable center for sports except for handball, where it has two teams in the top league: H 43 and LUGI. It has also a chess team, Lunds ASK, that for decades has been among the top teams in Sweden. Lund is also the birth place of the online football manager game Hattrick. Lund also has Division 2 football club called Lunds BK.

Industry

Lund is a centre of high tech companies such as Sony Ericsson and Ericsson Mobile Platforms, and other telecommunication companies. The Lund Institute of Technology has historical connections with the industrial life. There is even a business park within Lund, Ideon, for high tech companies that have ties to the university.

Other important industries include medical technology (Gambro), pharmaceuticals (Astra Zeneca), biotechnology (Active Biotech, among others), (Alfa Laval) and publishing and library services. The hospital and the university in Lund are two other big employers, with extensive research facilities.

Lund is also home to the Tetra Pak company that manufactures and markets paper packaging and equipment for milk, orange juice etc. all over the world.

Education

• Lund University
• Lund Institute of Technology
• Lund School of Economics and Management
• Royal Swedish Physiographic Society

Notable natives

• Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, Olympic equestrian
• Martin Dahlin, footballer
• Timbuktu (Jason Diakité), hip-hop and reggae artist
• Mikael Håfström, film writer and director
• Joachim Johansson, tennis player
• Amanda Jenssen, singer and Idol competitor
• Roger Ljung, footballer
• Linus Thörnblad, Olympic high jumper
• Max von Sydow, actor
• Elin Wägner, feminist writer
• Måns Zelmerlöw, pop singer

See also

Lund Principle, an important principle in ecumenical relations between Christian churches.

This article originates from Wikipedia.

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