Halland | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 | |
| Country |  Sweden |
| Land | Götaland |
| County | Halland County Västra Götaland County Skåne County |
| Area | |
• Total | 4,796 km2 (1,852 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2023)[1] | |
• Total | 351,508 |
| • Density | 73/km2 (190/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | |
| • Language | Swedish |
| • Dialect | Halländska Götamål |
| Culture | |
| • Flower | Broom |
| • Animal | Salmon |
| • Bird | Peregrine falcon |
| • Fish | Salmonidae |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Area codes | 0300 0340 0345 0346 035 0430 |
Halland (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈhǎlːand]ⓘ) is one of the traditionalprovinces of Sweden (landskap), on the western coast ofGötaland, southernSweden. It bordersVästergötland,Småland,Scania and the sea ofKattegat. Until 1645 and theSecond Treaty of Brömsebro, it was part of theKingdom of Denmark. Its name meansLand of Rocky Slabs (Swedish:hällar) referring to the coastal cliffs of especially the northern part of the region.
Theprovinces of Sweden serve no administrative function. Instead, that function is served by theCounties of Sweden. However, the province of Halland is almost coextensive with the administrativeHalland County, though parts of the province belong toVästra Götaland County andSkåne County, while the county also includes parts ofSmåland andVästergötland.
As of 31 December 2023, Halland had a population of 351,508.[2]
During the Danish era until 1658, the province had nocoat of arms and no seal. In Sweden, however, every province had been represented byheraldic arms since 1560.[3] WhenCharles X Gustav of Sweden suddenly died in 1660 a coat of arms had to be created for the newly acquired province, as each province was to be represented by its arms at the royal funeral. There are several theories about the choice of a lion.Bengt Algotsson, duke of Halland and Finland in the 14th century, used a lion in his personal arms,blazonedAzure, a Lion rampant Argent langued and armed Gules.
The same coat of arms was later granted for the administrative Halland County, which has almost the same boundaries.
The rivers ofViskan,Ätran,Nissan andLagan flow through the province and reach the sea inKattegat. Halland is well known for its fertile soil and as an agricultural district.
Most of the region is made up of a relief unit known as theSub-Mesozoic hilly peneplain. AroundMorup andTvååker hilltops areremnants of theSub-Cambrian peneplain, an ancienterosion surface that covers much of eastern Sweden.[4] Looseflintnodules of Cretaceous age have been found around Halland. The flints are remnants of a former cover ofsedimentary rock that has been eroded. At present the sedimentary cover continues to exist inScania, Denmark and offshore.[5]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(June 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
TheBronze Age was probably a period of relative prosperity in Halland. This is shown in the number of new settlements and the numerous archaeological remains. Over 1,100 tumuli and grave mounds have been found.
Theend of the Bronze Age witnessed anover-consumption of resources. Large areas were deforested. This might have been a result of a high demand for charcoal in smeltinggold orbronze among the local elites.
The worsening climate at the beginning of theIron Age meant that the local elites no longer could obtainbronze to the same extent as before. As a result, the social structures collapsed.
The early Iron Age social structures seem to have been relativelyegalitarian, but from around 200 AD there was a trend in whichvillages formed larger communities and smallkingdoms. This is likely to have been a distant influence from the growingRoman Empire. During the 5th and 6th century large free-standing farms were created; they grew larger as time passed. An example of such a farm can be found inSlöinge.
It was not just the social structure that changed, so too did thesettlement structure. New villages were formed, while old ones were abandoned. The new centers that were formed became the kernel from which new areas were settled duringmedieval times.
According to information from a trader travelling fromSkiringssal, close to theOslofjord toHedeby in the 870s it can be concluded that Halland was a Danish area at that time. It would stay so for most of recorded history.
Iron extraction is known to have taken place inHishult andTvååker/Sibbarp during the Iron Age.
As part of theScanian lands (then part of the Kingdom ofDenmark) Halland came under theScanian Law and participated in the ScanianThing, one of three Things electing the Danish king. Local assemblies took place inGetinge.
Halland was the scene of considerable military action from the 13th century and on asSweden,Denmark and to some degreeNorway fought for supremacy inScandinavia. The many wars made the province poor. Not only were material damages caused by military action, but the social impact of the fighting was devastating; people lacked the motivation to invest in their land and properties as it was likely to be destroyed anyway.
The county was the site of combat and plunder three times during the 13th Century: in 1256Haakon IV of Norway invaded, followed byMagnus III of Sweden in 1277 andEric VI of Denmark in 1294. The county came to be split in two parts for the next century, with the riverÄtran forming a boundary. The lords of the two parts succeeded each other in a high tempo.
As theKalmar Union was formed, Halland came for a brief period of time to be centrally located. According to the union treaty, the king was to be elected inHalmstad.
During the rebellion ofEngelbrekt in 1434 the fortress inFalkenberg was burnt down and two years laterLagaholm [sv] was captured by the Swedes. The Swedo-Danish struggles in the early 16th century came to affect the province as well, as in 1519 when the border regions were sacked by the Swedes as a vengeance for similar Danish action inVästergötland.
The Danish civil war called theCount's Feud in 1534–1536, theNorthern Seven Years' War between Denmark-Norway and Sweden in 1563–1570 and theKalmar War betweenDenmark-Norway andSweden in 1611–1613 all affected Halland. One of the major battles of theNorthern Seven Years' War, thebattle of Axtorna, took place in Halland.
Halland was temporarily (for a period of 30 years) transferred to Sweden in 1645 under the terms of theSecond Treaty of Brömsebro. The conquest was later made permanent by the ceding of the province in theTreaty of Roskilde in 1658. The last battle in Halland took place inFyllebro on 17 August 1676, during theScanian War.
The more peaceful conditions that followed meant that the province could start to develop again. The 19th century saw the farming develop quickly to become one of the more efficient in the country by the end of the century. Parts of the province did however remain poor anderosion and blown sand remained a problem for much of the century. The county did therefore see a lot ofemigration, continuing well into the 20th century.
The 20th century has seen the province becoming one of the fastest growing in Sweden, as it has doubled its population sinceWorld War II. This is in part due to the northern parts, such asKungsbacka andOnsala, more or less becomingsuburbs ofGothenburg.
During Danish rule, privileges to towns in Halland were granted to:
Suchprivileges have no official significance nowadays.
Hundreds of Sweden were provincial divisions until the early 20th century, when they lost importance. Halland's hundreds were:Faurås Hundred,Fjäre Hundred,Halmstad Hundred,Himle Hundred,Höks Hundred,Tönnersjö Hundred,Viske Hundred andÅrstad Hundred.
Thelanguage varieties spoken in Halland are together calledhalländska, though they belong to two main dialectal groups. In northern Halland a variation of theGötaland dialect is spoken and in the south the spoken language is a variety ofScanian.
As early as the 13th century, southern Halland was given as duchy to a branch of the Danish royal family. In the 14th century, it was given to various relatives and friends of Danish and Swedish royal families, such asBengt Algotsson (during 1353–1357).
Since 1772 Swedish royal princes have been nominated dukes of provinces without political significance. Such a title was held byPrince Bertil, Duke of Halland (1912–1997), who was survived by his wifePrincess Lilian, Duchess of Halland (1976–2013), and currently is held by Prince Julian (since 2021).
Football in the province is administered byHallands Fotbollförbund. Team handball is also popular, withHK Drott,HK Aranäs andHK Varberg.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
