Cities
Most Swedish cities are small compared to other European cities (e.g., those in the United Kingdom and Germany). The largest city is Stockholm, with about 802,000 inhabitants, followed by Gothenburg with 493,000 and Malmö with 270,000.
Stockholm has been Sweden's capital since at least the 14th century. It is Sweden's metropolis, the centre of the government and of the media. It has a waterfront adjacent to the Stockholm Archipelago; parts of Stockholm are preserved largely intact from older times.
Gothenburg is a relatively recently built city (dating from the 17th century). It is visited for its attractions and shopping opportunities.
Malmö has recently emerged in the eastern part of the Oresund region, tied together with Copenhagen, Denmark, through the Oresund Bridge. During the last 15 years, Malmö has put more resources into culture; it previous had a reputation as a working class city. The twisted skyscraper Turning Torso and the main crane at the Kockums shipyard are landmarks, with the first being newer. Both Malmo and Gothenburg hosted the Uefa U21 European Championships during the summer of 2009.
Uppsala became the seat of the Archbishop of Sweden in 1167, with Scandinavia's largest church building Uppsala Cathedral inaugurated in the 1440s. Uppsala also became the center of education in Sweden with Uppsala University's founding in 1477.
Lund was part of Denmark until 1658, and had been the seat of Denmark's archbishop. In 1666, Lund was granted Sweden's second university, the Lund University; it is Scandinavia's largest.
Read more about this topic: Tourism In Sweden
Famous quotes containing the word cities:
“Do you know what Agelisas said, when he was asked why the great city of Lacedomonie was not girded with walls? Because, pointing out the inhabitants and citizens of the city, so expert in military discipline and so strong and well armed: “Here,” he said, “are the walls of the city,” meaning that there is no wall but of bones, and that towns and cities can have no more secure nor stronger wall than the virtue of their citizens and inhabitants.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)
“The only phenomenon with which writing has always been concomitant is the creation of cities and empires, that is the integration of large numbers of individuals into a political system, and their grading into castes or classes.... It seems to have favored the exploitation of human beings rather than their enlightenment.”
—Claude Lévi-Strauss (b. 1908)
“We are a most solitary people, and we live, repelled by one another, in the gray, outcast cities of Cain.”
—Edward Dahlberg (1900–1977)