Ystad | |
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   | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Ystad  Ystad  Ystad | |
| Coordinates:55°25′N13°50′E / 55.417°N 13.833°E /55.417; 13.833 | |
| Country | Sweden |
| Province | Scania |
| County | Scania County |
| Municipality | Ystad Municipality |
| Area | |
• Total | 8.65 km2 (3.34 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2015)[1] | |
• Total | 28,985 |
| • Density | 2,120/km2 (5,500/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Ystad (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈy̌ːsta(d)][2]) is atown and the seat ofYstad Municipality, inScania County,Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010.[1] The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and tourist attraction. The detective seriesWallander, created byHenning Mankell, is set primarily in Ystad.[3]
In 1285, the town's name was writtenYstath. Its original meaning is not fully understood, but they probably is related to an old word for theyew tree,[4] whilestad meanstown orplace.
After the time ofAbsalon, Bishop of Roskilde and Archbishop ofLund, peace was brought to the area in the 11th century, fishing families settled at the mouth of the river Vassa as herring fishing became the main source of trade. Ystad was not mentioned in documents until 1244, in a record ofKing Eric's visit to the town with his brother,Abel. AFranciscan monastery,Gråbrödraklostret, was founded in 1267, and Ystad joined theHanseatic League in the 14th century.
The charter of 1599 gave the town the right toexport oxen. Ystad, together with all ofScania, was transferred fromDenmark to Sweden following theTreaty of Roskilde in 1658.[5][6]
By 1866 Ystad had arailway connection and it was established as agarrison town in the 1890s. AfterWorld War II,ferry services toŚwinoujściePoland and to the Danish island ofBornholm were opened.
In 1658, Ystad's population was about 1,600 and, by 1850 it had reached 5,000. The increased importance brought by the railway and the garrison in the 1890s drove the population above 10,000.[6]
In his novelInferno (1897), August Strindberg describes Ystad like so:
The little town to which I now betook myself lies in the extreme south of Sweden, on the seacoast. It is an old pirates' and smugglers' haunt, in which exotic traces of all parts of the world have been left by various voyagers.[7]
Ystad is the setting of the Swedish crime dramaWallander.[8][9]
Some of the main industries of the town are trade, handicraft and tourism, derived from being one of the best-preserved medieval towns in the Scania province and its association with the Wallander detective novels.[citation needed]
The ferry port has services to the Danish island ofBornholm, toSassnitz in Germany,[10] and toŚwinoujście inPoland, the latter forming part of theE65 road route south from Malmö.
Ystad connects theYstad Line andÖsterlen Line railways. Passenger traffic runs betweenMalmö andSimrishamn (operated bySkåne Commuter Rail). Until December 2017, a direct train service linked Ystad toCopenhagen via theØresund Bridge (operated byDanish State Railways[11]).
The most popular sport in Ystad ishandball, with two big clubs. Ystads IF is inElitserien (the highest Swedish men's national league, as of 2008[update]) whilst IFK Ystad is situated in Division 1 (the second highest league, as of 2008[update]). Several famous handball players have played for these clubs, includingPer Carlén.
The only newspaper published at present in Ystad is theYstads Allehanda, which also covers the neighbouring municipalities ofSkurup,Tomelilla,Simrishamn andSjöbo. The newspaper was founded in 1873.[12]
One of Sweden's best preserved medieval monasteries, theGreyfriars Abbey, lies in Ystad. The town also has an additional large medieval church, theChurch of the Virgin Mary (Mariakyrkan). Both are highly influenced byGothicHansa architecture (which can also be seen in churches around theBaltic Sea, for instance inHelsingborg,Malmö, andRostock) and are among the best examples in Sweden ofBrick Gothic. In addition, there are areas of surviving medieval town architecture, like the Latin school (builtc. 1500) and several townhouses. The city is also included in theEuropean Route of Brick Gothic.
From the steeple of the Church of the Virgin Mary the Tower Watchman (tornväktaren or lurblåsaren) sounds his horn every 15 minutes from 21:15 to 01:00 to let the people of Ystad know that the town is safe from fire and enemies. The Tower Watchman also says a special line when sounding his horn: "The clock strikes .... (for example twelve). All is quiet from fire and thieves! May God preserve the town!" The tradition has existed since the eighteenth century.
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