"Swedish Frontier Town" a Malmö Travel Page by Ramonq

Never tell a Malmönian that their city is merely a suburb of Copenhagen, as this is a grave mistake even though Malmö was once part of Denmark until 1658. Although the larger and more famous Danish capital city is only a 45 minutes bridge away, Malmö's history has developed separately from Copenhagen and has become Sweden's most industrialised and third largest city. The construction of the Öresund bridge that connects Copenhagen to Sweden and is one of the world's longest, has made Malmö more accessible to the rest of continental Europe. As a result, Malmö, in the Skane region of Sweden, has turned into a Swedish frontier town spawning new industries because of its newly found accessibility. Malmö is now hip with new developments being constructed around the city. A fine example of Malmö's coming of age is the arrival of the Turning Torso, currently Sweden's tallest building. It is a whimsical high-rise structure turned sculpture that displays a twisted effect. The facade is turned 90 degrees clockwise creating a weird impression of a contorted building. The renewed area around the port where the Turning Torso is located, is fashioning itself as a trendy residential development and an ambitious underground tunnel/mall near the Central Station is launching Malmö into the cutting edge of the 21st century. Malmö, once a poor cousin of Sweden's larger cities, is now forward-looking that utilises its inherent Scandinavian quirkiness and post-modern stylishness. Stockholm and Gothenburg, Sweden's largest cities, are starting to take notice of Malmö's rise in stature. Will Malmö's competitive streak rub out their cities sheen?

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Stortorget

Preserving the Past

But Malmö has not completely forgotten its ancient roots. At the Centrüm, lies the old town wherein most tourist sites are located. The main square, Stortorget, has an imposing monument to the Swedish King Karl X Gustav who conquered Malmö from Denmark by surprise in the 17th Century. You can also see that there are quite a few preserved Lutheran churches in Malmö, as it was one of the first cities to convert to Protestanism during the Reformation in the 16th century. At the small square called Lilla Torg, a popular meeting place, there are quaint medieval 16th century cottage houses that are now nightlife venues for party-loving Malmönians. The gothic inspired St Petri church was was built in the early 14th century still stands majestically over the town and has witnessed much of the city's history including the erection of the Malmöhus fortress that protected the town from foreign invaders. But the city has been part of the Germanic Hanseatic League, which is shipping association that monopolised trade amongst the participating states around the Baltic Sea. One can observe the strong German influence in Malmö's existing heritage buildings. It is interesting to note that before Christianity arrived here, Vikings used to roam around this area and they were trading herring fish to the rest of Europe. Malmö has always been a fishing port but the city's name itself means "gravel pile". The city's earliest written record can be traced back to the 13th century but the Vikings have left clues to their presence in the region.

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The Turning Torso Building

Looking to the future

The main street, Sodergatan is a wide shopping pedestrian mall flanked by famous brand name shops, cafes and restaurants. In Sweden, the industrial revolution was at its fiercest in Malmö and it fueled a consumerism boom downtown with elegant shopping arcades sprouting along Sodergatan. The port section was the centre of industrialisation, but during the 20th century, Malmö's industrial competitive edge declined, resulting into one of the highest unemployment and crime rates in Sweden, so they had to think of new ways to sustain its economy. Refugees from the Middle East and immigration from poorer European countries have strained its resources even further. Malmö took the challenge. Universities brought in knowledge and the service industry through cutting edge technology grew. With the opening of the Öresund Bridge in 2000, Malmö saw an opportunity to re-fashion itself into a post-industrial high-tech city and Sweden's transportation hub, starting at the port area. With Sweden being a part of the European Union, Malmö's economic survival is assured owing to its central location in Scandinavia.