FALKENBERG

'Falkenberg' is a town in Halland County, Sweden. It is the administrative centre (seat) of Falkenberg Municipality. The town has a population of 18,972 (2005) and is located at the mouth of the river Ätran. The name consists of the Swedish words for falcon and mountain.

Contents

History

Politics

Communications

Areas of the town

Sport

People from Falkenberg

See also

References

External links

History

Main articles: History of Falkenberg

As with the rest of Halland, Falkenberg belonged to Denmark at the time of the earliest available written records. In the early part of the 13th century the Danish king built a fort on the southern shore of the river Ätran, which eventually would give the town its name. It is known that falconry was pursued in the area. However, in Hallandia antiqua et hodierna, that specified a location ("mountain") 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 River Ätran was from time to time Norwegian or Swedish. 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 (1563-1570) a second town, ''Ny-Falkenberg'' (''New Falkenberg'') was located close to the town. The fort was destroyed by Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson's troops in 1434. The town gained market rights at the latest in 1558.
Along with the rest of the county, Falkenberg became Swedish following the Treaty of Brömsebro (1645). For a long period it struggled to keep its privileges with regard to trade and jurisdiction from the Danish time. 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.

Politics

The Right Party was the major party until 1931, when the Social Democratic Party gained that position. With the exception of the 1946 election the social democrats won a majority of the seats from 1938 until 1966. The town has remained a stronghold for the social democrats even after the municipal reform in the early 1970s. The municipality has, however, been run by the centre-right, except for 1994-1998.

Communications

The town is located along a traditional trade route along the Swedish west coast. These transport needs are currently catered by European route E6, which runs as a dual carriageway just outside the town, and the West Coast Railway Line. 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.

Areas of the town

★ Falkagård ★ The Old Town ★ Herting ★ Hjortsberg ★ Fajans ★ Skogstorp ★ Skrea Strand

★ Tröingeberg ★ Västra gärdet ★ Östra gärdet ★ Arvidstorp ★ Näset ★ Slätten

Sport

The town hosts several teams at national level. The football team , Falkenbergs FF, has since the late 1980s established itself in the second league (currently Superettan). 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 become one of the best volleyball teams in the country and accordingly won the national championship 2007. BK Falkarna has played ten seasons in the top bowling league.
Sport venues in the town include Falkenberg Stadium, hosting Falkenbergs FF, Falkenberg Sports Centre, hosting Falkenbergs VBK and Klitterbadet, a bath house.

People from Falkenberg

★ Stellan Bengtsson, table tennis player

★ Ulf "Tickan" Carlsson, table tennis player

★ Nina Björk, author, journalist, feminist

★ Walter Dickson, author

★ Erik "Spänst" Svensson, athlete

★ Jojje Jönsson, actor

★ Carl-Johan Vallgren, author

★ Pär Zetterberg, football player

★ Annika Andersson, comedian

See also

★ Falkenberg Farewell

References

★ Falkenberg - staden som hembygd, , , , , 1995, ISBN 91-630-3848-X

★ Kommunalt sekel - Falkenbergs stadsfullmäktige 1866-1965, Eric Hägge, , , Landströms trycksaker AB, 1966,

External links

★ Falkenberg Municipality