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| The three crowned hearts on our coat of arms help to spread happiness and thoughtfulness. Possibly this is why people feel so welcome here. Of course, the glorious bathing along the coast, the crowds of people in town and the skilled bar-staff in restaurants also help to make people feel so happy here. |
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| Tylösand. Photo: Halmstads kommun |
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| On a summer’s day, with swallows flying high up in the sky, bringing a feeling of total calm, it is hard to believe that the history of Halmstad contains several bloody battles. Along the coast, two Nordic kings fought each other in Viking times, and by the Middle Ages, Halmstad was the largest town on the west coast. The town charter was granted as early as 1307. |
The Danes
For a long time, Halmstad belonged to Denmark. Outside the Town Hall, you can see Christian IV and Gustav II Adolf shaking hands after the legendary festivities of 1619 ("Kungamötet" (Royal Meeting) by Edvin Öhrström). Halmstad became Swedish in 1645. |
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| One of the old bastions. Photo: Ing-Marie Abrahamsson |
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Christian IV, King of Denmark 1588-1648, left his mark on Halmstad. He often stayed in the Danish region of Halland and built Halmstads Slott (Halmstad Castle), the fortified Norre Port and set out the town as it remains today, with Stora Torg (Big Square) at the centre. In order to defend the border against the Swedes, Halmstad changed from being a peaceful market town into a strong border fortress. This work started in the 1590s under the jurisdiction of Hans van Stenwinkel and Willum Cornelissen (both are buried in St Nicholas’ church).
A bank of earth and stone, with six protruding bastions, surrounds the town in a crescent shape. As an additional defence there are two platforms on Galgberget, which provide space for long-range artillery. A moat runs outside the 7 metre high, 18 metre wide bank (Karl XI:s väg). Each bastion has space for two cannons. Remains of the bank and the moat can clearly be seen in Slottsparken. Out of the four original town gates – one for each point of the compass, only Norre Port survives. |
Halmstad Castle
The castle was built as a residence for the nobility and for the king and his court when visiting Halmstad. Compared to other castles Christian IV had built, Halmstad Castle is relatively simple. However, the tall steeple tells a tale of royal power. |
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The castle was virtually complete in 1619 when Christian IV invited Gustav II Adolf to Halmstad. A party at the castle lasted for seven whole days. A memento of the meeting is Kungastenen (The Royal Stone), a stone relief by Edvin Öhrström, by the town hall at Stora Torg. The town was destroyed by fire the same year, so Christian IV took the opportunity to recreate Halmstad as a modern Renaissance town, with straight roads and regular-sized quarters. Along Storgatan, between the castle and Norre Port you can still see distinguished merchant houses, built after the fire.
Halmstad lost its importance as a border stronghold in 1645, when Halland became Swedish, and in the 18th century the garrison was withdrawn, the fortress pulled down and the moat filled in. The glory days of Halmstad were in the past. It wasn’t until the 20th century that the town developed outside the area of the old fortifications.
Old Halmstad AssociationThe association has published an annual every year since its formation in 1923. The association works to preserve, make available and spread information about the history of Halmstad. Old Halmstad Association  |
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