In the port city of Malmö, seat of Skåne län (county), southern Sweden

 "Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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(in southern Sweden) The port city of Malmö, seat of Skåne län (county), is located across The Sound (Öresund) from Copenhagen, Denmark. Malmö was originally known as Malmhaug (“Sandpile”). It was chartered in the late 13th century, and during the late Middle Ages its herring trade attracted German merchants from Lübeck, who settled here and named it Elbogen (“Elbow”) for the curve of the coastline at that point. Following its union with Sweden in 1658, the city suffered an economic decline, partly because of the loss of certain trading privileges that it had enjoyed under Danish rule, and the many wars between Sweden and Denmark. With the building of the harbor in 1775, its fortunes revived a bit, but it saw no large-scale economic development until the arrival of the railroad after 1856.

+ Malmö is found near the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, across The Sound (Öresund) from Copenhagen, Denmark. Malmö was part of Denmark until the 17th century. Now a major industrial center and port, its climate, moderated by the sea, features cool winters and mild summers.

+ Since the mid-19th century, Malmö has been an industrial and transportation center, and it is now Sweden’s third largest city. Through its busy port pass a wide range of imports and exports. Factories and warehouses have been built on extensive landfills in The Sound. An international airport is located about 19 miles (31 km) east of the city, near Skurup. Malmö is connected with Copenhagen and Zealand by the Öresund Link, a bridge and tunnel system that opened in 2000. Malmö’s historic buildings include Malmöhus (a 16th-century castle and fortress that is now a museum) and the 14th-century St. Peter’s Church (a great example of early Baltic Gothic architecture). Malmo is something of a crossroads. With mainland Europe a quick ferry-crossing away, there are more than 150 different nationalities in Malmo. (Think of a creative, international mix of Italian cafes, markets straight out of the Middle East, and fashionable bars.)

+ One of Malmö’s most conspicuous monuments is Malmöhus Castle, a moated fortress that was completed in 1542 and now occupies a park. Canals nearly encircle the Old Town area nearby. The Old Town’s centerpiece is the Stortorget, a large Renaissance-era cobbled market square. Within the square are a statue of Charles X Gustav, the king who made Skåne part of Sweden, and a fountain depicting a nightingale and other symbols of the city. One of the Old Town’s oldest buildings is the white-steepled St. Peter’s Church, a specimen of Baltic Gothic architecture from the 14th century. Surviving from the 16th century are the Town Hall and the Governor’s Residence.

+ Malmö University was opened in 1998. The city also is home to the Malmö Academies of Performing Arts. On the grounds of the Malmö Castle are museums of art, history, science and technology, and seafaring.