History
Helsingborg is one of the oldest cities of Sweden. It has been the site of permanent settlement officially since 21 May 1085. Helsingborg's geographical position at the narrowest part of The Sound made it very important for Denmark, at that time controlling both sides of that strait. From 1429 the Danes introduced the Sound Duty (Sound Dues), a levy on all trading vessels passing through the sound between Elsinore and Helsingborg. This was one of the main incomes for the Danish Crown.
Following the Dano-Swedish War (1657-1658) and the Treaty of Roskilde Denmark had to give up all territory on the southern Scandinavian peninsula, and Helsingborg became a Swedish city. King Charles X Gustav of Sweden landed here on the 5th of March 1658 to take possession of the Scanian lands and was met by a delegation led by the bishop of the Diocese of Lund, Peder Winstrup. At that time the town had a population of barely 1,000 people.
The new situation, being a border town, caused problems for the city. The days of conflict were not over. The Danes made many attempts to regain the lost provinces. The last time was in 1710, when 14,000 invaders landed on the shores near Helsingborg. The Battle of Helsingborg was fought on the 28th of February just outside the city, which was badly affected. It took long time to recover and in 1770 the city had 1321 inhabitants and was just slowly growing.
On the 20th of October 1811 Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France and crown prince-elect of Sweden (later king Charles XIV John) took his first step on Swedish soil in Helsingborg on his journey from Paris to Stockholm.
From the middle of the 19th century onwards, however, Helsingborg was one of the fastest growing cities of Sweden, increasing its population from 4 000 in 1850 to 20 000 in 1890 and 56 000 in 1930 due to industrialization. From 1892 a train ferry was put in service, connecting Helsingborg with its Danish sister city Helsingør. A tramway network was inaugurated in 1903 and closed down in 1967. Plans are underway to reintroduce trams in the city.
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