Historic Helsingborg, with its many old buildings, is a scenic coastal city. The buildings are a blend of old-style stone-built churches and a 600-year-old medieval fortress (Kärnan) in the city centre, and more modern commercial buildings. The streets vary from wide avenues to small alley-ways.Kullagatan, the main pedestrian shopping street in the city, was the first pedestrian shopping street in Sweden.
Helsingborg is one of the oldest cities of what is now Sweden. It has been the site of permanent settlement officially since 21 May 1085.[6] Helsingborg's geographical position at the narrowest part ofØresund made it very important forDenmark, at that time controlling both sides of that strait. From 1429Eric of Pomerania introduced theSound Dues, alevy on all trading vessels passingthrough the sound between Helsingør and Helsingborg.[7] This was one of the main sources of income for the Danish Crown. Crossing traffic, like fishermen, were not subject to the tax, which was initially directed against theHanseatic League.[citation needed]
Its situation on a conflict-ridden border caused problems for Helsingborg. Denmark recapturedScania twice, but could not hold it. The last Danish attempt to regain Scania was in 1710, when 14,000 men landed on the shores near Helsingborg. TheBattle of Helsingborg was fought on 10 March just outside the city, which was badly affected. It took a long time to recover; even in 1770 the city had only 1,321 inhabitants and was still growing slowly.[8]
From the middle of the 19th century onwards, 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.[citation needed] From 1892, atrain ferry was put in service, connecting Helsingborg with its Danish sister cityHelsingør. Atramway network was inaugurated in 1903 and closed down in 1967.[citation needed]
Following theSwedish orthography reform of 1906, the spelling of many place names in Sweden was modernized. In 1912, it was decided to use the formHälsingborg. In preparation for the local government reform in 1971, Hälsingborg city council proposed that the new, enlarged municipality should be spelledHelsingborg; this form was adopted by thegovernment of Sweden from 1 January 1971.
InWorld War II, Helsingborg was among the most important drop-off points for the rescue of Denmark'sJewish population during theHolocaust.Adolf Hitler had ordered that all Danish Jews were to be arrested and deported to theconcentration camps onRosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year which fell on 2 October 1943. WhenGeorg Ferdinand Duckwitz, a German maritime attaché received word of the order on 28 September 1943, he shared it with political and Jewish community leaders. Using the nameElsinore Sewing Club (Danish: Helsingør Syklub) as a cover for messages, the Danish population formed anUnderground Railroad of sorts, moving Jews away from the closely watchedCopenhagen docks to spots farther away, especiallyHelsingør, just two miles across the Øresund from Helsingborg. Hundreds of civilians hid their fellow Danish citizens—Jews—in their houses, farm lofts and churches until they could board them onto Danish fishing boats, personal pleasure boats and ferry boats. In the span of three nights, Danes had smuggled over 7200 Jews and 680 non-Jews (gentile family members of Jews or political activists) across the Øresund, to safety in Sweden, with one of the main destinations at Helsingborg.[10]
Helsingborg has anoceanic climate (Cfb) typical of southern Sweden, although its winters are very mild for a location at such a high latitude. Although the temperature differences between seasons are significant, Helsingborg often lacks ameteorological winter with both January and February averaging just above the freezing point in terms of mean temperatures. Summers are warm and comparatively long by Swedish standards, with summer arriving earlier and fall later than virtually all areas of Sweden, aside from other parts of Skåne. Helsingborg & nearby surroundings also have a history withbeing hit by tornadoes.[11] On 8 August 1947, a High-end F1/T3Tornado hit the Ramlösa district of Helsingborg, causing moderate damage to a farm. Greenhouses were damaged or destroyed, a stall sustained deroofing, a shed was blown away and a tree was snapped.[12] On 16 August 2007, downtown Helsingborg was impacted by an F1 Tornado, damaging a school and snapping trees.[13][14] On 22 June 2014, aWaterspout was observed outside Helsingborg.[15][16] On 27 August 2018, the Eskilsminne district of Helsingborg was hit by an F0 Tornado. Some roofs sustained minor damage.[17][18][19]
Climate data for Helsingborg (2002–2022 averages), extremes since 1948
113,816 live in the city of Helsingborg as of 2020, up from 104,250 inhabitants in 2015.[1] 149,280 live in the municipality, with the city being by far the most populated one. Helsingborg is the second-largest city in Scania (afterMalmö) andninth-largest in Sweden.
Helsingborg is a major regional centre of trade, transport and business. In 2001Campus Helsingborg, a branch ofUniversity of Lund, opened in the formerTretorn rubber factory buildings, founded byHenry Dunker.Three ferry companies take people and cargo to and from Denmark around the clock. The route is popular with day-trippers going toHelsingør orCopenhagen, or simply enjoying the views from the ferries.[citation needed]IKEA, the retailer of furniture and home interiors, has its international corporate headquarters in Helsingborg.Nicorette, the nicotine chewing gum, has a manufacturing plant there.[citation needed]Ramlösa is a mineral water fromRamlösa Brunn, a southern suburb of the city. Mobile phone developerSpectronic is also situated in Helsingborg. The online custom clothing retailerTailor Store Sweden AB has its offices in Helsingborg.Zoégas, a major coffee company, has been located here since the 1800s.[22]
TheProfessional Bowlers Association (PBA) andWorld Bowling Tour (WBT) have jointly hosted aten-pin bowling event in Sweden since 2017 called the Lucky Larsen Masters. Olympia Bowling in Helsingborg hosted the event in 2019, and is scheduled to host again in September 2023.[25]