Malmo

Malmö 

a city and port in southern Sweden on the eastern coast of the Öresund. It is the capital of the Iän (county) of Malmöhus. Population, 263,800 (1972); with its suburbs, over 400,000 (Greater Malmö, or Stor Malmoö).

Malmö is Sweden’s third largest city in population. It is a railroad junction and has a ferry link with Copenhagen. Bulltofta is Malmö’s airport. The city’s industries include machine building (including ship building and the manufacture of railroad cars), electrical engineering, cement, chemicals, textiles, garments, and flour milling. Malmö is a base for the fishing fleet. The city was first mentioned in the 12th century. It belonged to Denmark until 1658. In the 15th and 16th centuries Malmö was an important center for the herring trade. The city’s rapid industrial growth dates from the second half of the 19th century.

One-story buildings, some in the Renaissance style, are characteristic of Malmö’s older construction. Among the city’s Gothic architectural monuments are St. Peter’s Church (about 1314), the Malmöhus (15th to 16th centuries), and the Råadhus (1546). Malmö’s 20th-century constructions include a municipal theater (opened in 1944; architects, S. Lewerentz and others), a crematorium (1943; architect, S. Lewerentz), a stadium (1958; architect, F. Jaenecke), and a swimming pool (1959; architect, K. Ödeen).