Malmö

Malmö
City
Aerial view of Malmö Turning Torso St. Peter's Church Malmö Castle Malmö Arena
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	2xx xx
Area code	(+46) 40
Website	www.malmo.se

Malmö (

Malmö was one of the earliest-industrialised and most-

.

Malmö has a mild climate for the latitude and, normally, average high temperatures remain above freezing in winter, with prolonged snow cover being rare.

Malmö was Sweden's fastest growing city in 2020 and the population increased by 3,800 inhabitants during 2021.^[9] With around 1⁄5 to 1⁄3 of its residents adhering to Islam,^[10][11] the city stands out as the most Muslim-populated city in Sweden and Western Europe.^[12][10][13] Moreover, Malmö serves as a primary entry point for the majority of migrants heading to Sweden.^[10] Malmö is expected to have a population of 500,000 by 2050.^[14]

Malmö was for centuries Denmark's second-biggest city. The earliest written mention of Malmö as a city dates from 1275.

In the 15th century, Malmö became one of Denmark's largest and most visited cities, reaching a population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants. It became the most important city around the

Skåne

from 1660.

In 1434, a new

, did not take its current form until the mid-16th century. Several other fortifications were constructed, making Malmö Sweden's most fortified city, but only Malmöhus remains.

Sankt Petri Church

's tower at centre

Protestant Reformation

, and Malmö became one of the first cities in Scandinavia to fully convert (1527–1529) to this Protestant denomination.

In the 17th century, Malmö and the Skåneland region came under control of Sweden following the Treaty of Roskilde with Denmark, signed in 1658. Fighting continued, however; in June 1677, 14,000 Danish troops laid siege to Malmö for a month, but were unable to defeat the Swedish troops holding it.

By the dawn of the 18th century, Malmö had about 3,000 inhabitants. However, owing to the wars of Charles XII of Sweden (reigned 1697–1718) and to bubonic plague epidemics, the population dropped to 1,800 by 1727. The population did not grow much until the modern harbour was constructed in 1775. The city started to expand and the population in 1800 was 4,000. 15 years later, it had increased to 6,000.^[20]

In 1840, Frans Henrik Kockum founded the workshop from which the

to become Sweden's third-most populous city, and by 1900 Malmö had strengthened this position with 60,000 inhabitants. Malmö continued to grow through the first half of the 20th century. The population had swiftly increased to 100,000 by 1915 and to 200,000 by 1952.

1900–1969

In 1914 (15 May to 4 October), Malmö hosted the Baltic Exhibition. The large park Pildammsparken was arranged and planted for this large event. The Russian part of the exhibition was never taken down, owing to the outbreak of World War I.

On 18 and 19 December 1914, the Three Kings Meeting was held in Malmö. After a somewhat disturbed period (1905–1914), which included the dissolution of the

became the new King of Sweden, the tensions within Scandinavia were still unresolved, but during this historical meeting, the Scandinavian Kings found internal understanding, as well as a common line about remaining neutral in the ongoing war.

Within sports, Malmö has mostly been associated with football. IFK Malmö participated in the first ever edition of Allsvenskan 1924/25, but from the mid-1940s Malmö FF started to rise, and ever since it has been one of the most prominent clubs within Swedish football. They have won Allsvenskan 23 times in all (as of February 2018) between 1943/44 and 2017.

By 1971, Malmö's population reached 265,000 inhabitants, but this was the peak which would stand for more than 30 years.^[21] (Svedala was, for a few years in the early 1970s, a part of Malmö municipality.)

By the mid-1970s Sweden experienced a

The

opened in 1998 on Kockums' former dockside.

2000s and later

Further redevelopment of the now disused south-western harbour followed; a city architecture exposition (Bo01) was held in the area in 2001, and its buildings and villas form the core of a new city district. Designed with attractive waterfront vistas, it was intended to attract, and has been successful in attracting, the urban middle-class.

Since 1974, the Kockums Crane had been a landmark in Malmö and a symbol of the city's manufacturing industry, but in 2002 it was disassembled and moved to South Korea. In 2005, Malmö gained a new landmark with completion of Turning Torso, the tallest skyscraper in Scandinavia. Although the transformation from a city with its economic base in manufacturing has returned growth to Malmö, the new types of jobs have largely benefited the middle and upper classes.

In its 2015 and 2017 reports,

Malmö is currently growing fast and detailed work is being planned near the Malmö Central Station, in a district called Nyhamnen. Nyhamnen will provide 9,000 new housings, two larger buildings for offices and courts. It is expected to be complete around 2040–2050.^[26]

The

Geography

Malmö is located at 13°00' east and 55°35' north, near the southwestern tip of Sweden, in Skåne County.

The city is part of the transnational

ferry links further north, most ferry connections have been discontinued.

Climate

Malmö, like the rest of southern Sweden, has an oceanic climate (Cfb). Despite its northern location, the climate is mild compared to other locations at similar latitudes, mainly because of the influence of the Gulf Stream and also its westerly position on the Eurasian landmass. Owing to its northern latitude, daylight lasts 17 hours 31 minutes in midsummer, but only around seven hours in midwinter. According to data from 2002 to 2014 Falsterbo, to the south of the city, received an annual average of 1,895 hours of sunshine while Lund, to the north, received 1,803 hours. The sunshine data in the weather box is based on the data for Falsterbo.^[29]

Summers are mild with average high temperatures of 20 to 23 °C (68 to 73 °F) and lows of around 11 to 13 °C (52 to 55 °F). Heat waves during the summer arise occasionally. Winters are fairly cold and windy, with temperatures steady between −3 and 4 °C (27 and 39 °F), but it rarely drops below −10 °C (14 °F).

Rainfall is light to moderate throughout the year with 169 wet days. Snowfall occurs mainly in December through March, but snow covers do not remain for a long time,^[30] and some winters are free of snow.

Scandinavian peninsula with Central and Western Europe

through Denmark.

Öresund Line trains cross the Öresund Bridge every 15 minutes (hourly during night) connecting Malmö to

, also created as part of the tunnel project. From Hyllie Station, the line connects to the existing Öresund line in either direction, with the Öresund Bridge lying due west.

Besides the Copenhagen airport, Malmö has an airport of its own,

low-cost carriers

.

The

freeways

.

Malmö has 410 kilometres (250 mi) of bike paths; approximately 40% of all commuting is done by bicycle.

Buses

Malmö has an extensive network of buses within the city, and is also the destination of many regional bus lines from the rest of Skåne. The bus network replaced the tram network that existed from 1887 to 1973.

The city has two industrial harbours; one is still in active use and is the largest Nordic port for car imports.^[36] It also has two marinas: the publicly owned Limhamn Marina (55°35′N 12°55′E / 55.583°N 12.917°E / 55.583; 12.917) and the private Lagunen (55°35′N 12°56′E / 55.583°N 12.933°E / 55.583; 12.933), both offering a limited number of guest docks.

A local train line with circular traffic at seven stations was opened in December 2018. The stations are

Proposed metro

The

Municipality

Malmö Municipality is an administrative unit defined by geographical borders, consisting of the City of Malmö^[42] and its immediate surroundings.

Malmö (Malmö tätort) consists of the urban part of the municipality together with the small town of Arlöv in Burlöv Municipality. Both municipalities also include smaller urban areas and rural areas, such as the suburbs of Oxie and Åkarp. Malmö tätort is to be distinguished from Malmö stad (the city of Malmö), which is a semi-official name of Malmö Municipality.

The leaders in Malmö created a commission for a socially sustainable Malmö in November 2010. The commissions were tasked with providing evidence-based strategies for reducing health inequalities and improve living conditions for all citizens of Malmö, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged and issued its final report in December 2013.^{[43][non-primary source needed]}

Immigrant population by country of birth (2021)^[44]

Country	Population
Foreign-born	123,290 (35%)
Iraq	11,675
Syria	8,669
Denmark	7,485
Yugoslavia	7,257
Poland	6,619
Bosnia	6,374
Afghanistan	4,865
Lebanon	4,509
Iran	4,236
Pakistan	3,116
Turkey	2,710
Somalia	2,556
Romania	2,512
Germany	2,164
India	1,973
North Macedonia	1,899
Vietnam	1,887
United Kingdom	1,575
Hungary	1,545
Serbia	1,542
Finland	1,458
Chile	1,325
United States	1,321
China	1,253
Thailand	1,244
Croatia	1,239
Kosovo	1,066

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1950	198,856	—
1960	234,453	+17.9%
1970	265,505	+13.2%
1980	233,803	−11.9%
1990	233,887	+0.0%
2000	259,579	+11.0%
2010	298,963	+15.2%
2015	320,147	+7.1%
2020	347,949	+8.7%
Note: Svedala municipality was included in Malmö municipality during the large municipality reforms in Sweden, which occurred from the late 1960s until 1974, but Svedala soon became a new municipality of its own, which explains a good part of the decreased population between 1970 and 1980. (Statistics for the municipality)[45][46]

Malmö has a young population by Swedish standards, with almost half of the population under the age of 35 (48.2%).^[47]

After 1971, Malmö had 265,000 inhabitants, but the population then dropped to 229,000 by 1985.^[48] It then began to rise again, and had passed the previous record by the 1 January 2003 census, when it had 265,481 inhabitants.^[49] The total population of the urban area was 280,415 in December 2010. On 27 April 2011, the population of Malmö reached the 300,000 mark.^[50] In 2017 the total population of the city was 316,588 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 338,230.^[51]

Malmö is a diverse city with inhabitants from 179 different nationalities.^[52] In 2019, approximately 55.5% of the population of Malmö municipality (190,849 residents) had at least one parent born abroad.^[53] The statistics from 2020 show that 120,517 are foreign born, 43,740 are born in Sweden and have two foreign parents, 30,878 are born in Sweden with one Swedish parent and one foreign parent and 152,813 are born with two Swedish parents. The Middle East, Horn of Africa, former Yugoslavia and Denmark are the main sources of immigration.^[54][55]

. Together with Lund, Malmö is the region's economic and education hub.

Religion

The largest religion in Malmö is Christianity and the Church of Sweden has the largest membership base, with a total of 125,697 in 2019, corresponding to 36% of its population.^[58] There exist several

Malmö has one synagogue,

Economy

The economy of Malmö was traditionally based on shipbuilding (

about 16 kilometres (10 miles) to the north-east.

Malmö had a troubled economic situation following the mid-1970s. Between 1990 and 1995, 27,000 jobs were lost, and the budget deficit was more than one billion Swedish krona (SEK). In 1995, Malmö had Sweden's highest unemployment rate.^[65]

However, during the last two decades, there has been a revival. One contributing factor has been the economic integration with

] Malmö has had one of the strongest employment growth rates in Sweden, although a high proportion of jobs created are taken by workers from outside Malmö.[67] In 2021, Malmö had the highest unemployment rate of 11,3%.^[68]

As of 2016^[update], the largest private employers were:^[69]

• Skanska – heavy construction
• Nobina – transport
• PostNord – postal services
• Pågen – bakery
• IKEA – furniture
• Nordea – banking
• Securitas – security services

Almost 30 companies have moved their headquarters to Malmö during the last seven years,^[when?] generating around 2,300 jobs. Among them are IKEA which has most of its headquarter functions based in Malmö.^{[70][full citation needed]}

The number of start-up companies is high in Malmö. Around 7 new companies are started every day in Malmö. In 2010, the renewal of the number of companies amounted to 13.9%, which exceeds both Stockholm and Gothenburg. Especially strong growth is in the gaming area with Massive entertainment and King being the flagship companies for the industry. Among the industries that continue to increase their share of companies in Malmö are transport, financial and business services, entertainment, leisure and construction.^{[71][full citation needed]}

• Turning Torso, 191 meters
• The Point, part of Point Hyllie, 110 meters
• St. Peter's Church, Malmö, 96 meters
• Malmö Live, 87 meters
• Kronprinsen, 82 meters
• Hotel Triangeln, 69 meters

Name	Height (m)	Floors	Usage	Location	Estimated Completion
Docks	79.0 [72]	26	Residential	Västra Hamnen	2025

Malmö has the country's ninth-largest school of higher education, Malmö University, established in 1998. It has 1,600 employees and 24,000 students (2014).

In addition nearby Lund University (established in 1666) has some educational facilities located in Malmö:

• Malmö Art Academy (Konsthögskolan i Malmö)
• Malmö Academy of Music (Musikhögskolan i Malmö)
• Malmö Theatre Academy (Teaterhögskolan i Malmö)
• The Faculty of Medicine, which is located in both Malmö and Lund.

The United Nations World Maritime University is also located in Malmö. The World Maritime University (WMU)^[73] operates under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations. WMU thus enjoys the status, privileges and immunities of a UN institution in Sweden.

A striking depiction of Malmö (in the 1930s) was made by

The cities of Malmö and Copenhagen are, with the Öresund Bridge, the main locations in the television series The Bridge (Bron, Danish: Broen).^[76]

In 1944, Malmö Stadsteater (Malmö Municipal Theatre) was established with a repertoire comprising stage theatre, opera, musical, ballet, musical recitals and experimental theatre. In 1993 it was split into three units, Dramatiska Teater (Dramatical Theatre), Malmö Musikteater (Music Theatre) and Skånes Dansteater (Skåne Dance Theatre) and the name was abandoned. The ownership of the last two were transferred to

Since the 1970s the city has also been home to independent theatre groups and show or musical companies. It also hosts a rock–dance–dub culture; in the 1960s

have made repeated visits.

The Cardigans debuted in Malmö and recorded their albums there. On 7 January 2009 CNN Travel broadcast a segment called "MyCity_MyLife" featuring Nina Persson taking the camera to some of the sites in Malmö that she enjoys.

The Rooseum Centre for Contemporary Art, founded in 1988 by the Swedish art collector and financier Fredrik Roos and housed in a former power station which had been built in 1900, was one of the foremost centres for contemporary art in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s. By 2006, most of the collection had been sold off and the museum was on a time-out; by 2010 Rooseum had been dismantled and a subsidiary of the National Museum of Modern Art inaugurated in its place.

Malmö has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest three times, in 1992, 2013 and 2024.^[80][81] It is the only non-capital city to do so.

Big Slap is a music festival, held annually since 2013 at Pildammsparken. The 2022 edition of Big Slap featured Justin Bieber, the biggest concert in Malmö's history.^[82]

Malmö is the home of several bands, including CC & Lee, Fews, LeGrand, Nasty Idols, Spunsugar and Timeless Miracle.

Moderna Museet Malmö was opened in December 2009 in the old Rooseum building. It is a part of the Moderna Museet, with independent exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. The collection of Moderna Museet holds key pieces of, among others, Marcel Duchamp, Louise Bourgeois, Pablo Picasso, Niki de Saint Phalle, Salvador Dalí, Carolee Schneemann, Henri Matisse and Robert Rauschenberg^[83][84]

Malmö Museum (Malmö Museer) is a municipal and regional museum. The museum features exhibitions on technology, shipping, natural history and history. Malmö Museum has an aquarium and an art museum.

is also operated as a part of the museum. Exhibitions are primarily shown at Slottsholmen and at the Technology and Maritime Museum (Teknikens och sjöfartens hus).^{[85] [86] [87] [88]}

Malmö Konsthall is one of the largest exhibition halls in Europe for contemporary art, opened in 1975.^[89]

Malmö synagogue

Mosque

in Malmö

Malmö's oldest building is St. Peter's Church (Swedish: Sankt Petri). It was built in the early 14th century in Baltic Brick Gothic probably after St Mary's Church in Lübeck. The church is built with a nave, two aisles, a transept and a tower. Its exterior is characterized above all by the flying buttresses spanning its airy arches over the aisles and ambulatory. The tower, which fell down twice during the 15th century, got its current look in 1890.^[90] Another major church of significance is the Church of Our Saviour, Malmö, which was founded in 1870.

Another old building is Tunneln, 300 metres (1,000 ft) to the west of Sankt Petri Church, which also dates back to around 1300.

The oldest parts of Malmö were built between 1300 and 1600 during its first major period of expansion.^{[citation needed]} The central city's layout, as well as some of its oldest buildings, are from this time. Many of the smaller buildings from this time are typical Scanian: two-story urban houses that show a strong Danish influence.^{[citation needed]}

Recession followed in the ensuing centuries. The next expansion period was in the mid 19th century and led to the modern stone and brick city. This expansion lasted into the 20th century and can be seen by a number of

tenement architecture in the 1930s.

Around 1965, the government initiated the so-called Million Programme, intending to offer affordable apartments in the outskirts of major Swedish cities. But this period also saw the reconstruction (and razing) of much of the historical city centre.^[91]

Since the late 1990s, Malmö has seen a more cosmopolitan architecture. Västra Hamnen (the Western Harbor), like most of the harbors to the north of the city centre, was industrial. In 2001 its reconstruction began as an urban residential neighbourhood, with 500 residential units, most were part of the exhibition Bo01.^[92] The exhibition had two main objectives: develop self-sufficient housing units in terms of energy and greatly diminish phosphorus emissions. Among the new building's towers were the Turning Torso, a skyscraper with a twisting design, 190 metres (620 ft) tall, the majority of which is residential. It became Malmö's new landmark.^[93][94] The most recent addition (2015) is the new development of Malmö Live. This new building features a hotel, a concert hall, congress hall and a sky bar in the centre of Malmö. Point Hyllie is a new 110 m (360 ft) commercial tower that began construction in 2018.

The beach Ribersborg, by locals usually called Ribban,^[95] south-west of the harbor area, is a man-made shallow beach, stretching along Malmö's coastline. Despite Malmö's chilly climate, it is sometimes referred to as the "Copacabana of Malmö".^[96] It is the site of Ribersborgs open-air bath, opened in the 1890s.

The long boardwalk at the Western Harbor, Scaniaparken and Daniaparken, has become a favorite summer hang-out for the people of Malmö and is a popular place for bathing.^[97] The harbor is particularly popular with Malmö's vibrant student community and has been the scene of several impromptu outdoor parties and gatherings.

In the third week of August each year a festival, Malmöfestivalen, fills the streets of Malmö with different kinds of cuisines and events.

BUFF International Film Festival, an international children and young people's film festival, is held in Malmö every March.

Nordisk Panorama Film Festival, a film festival for short and documentary films by filmmakers from the Nordic countries, is held every September.

Malmö Arab Film Festival (MAFF), the largest Arabic film festival in Europe, is held in Malmö.

The Conference is an international two-day gathering in Malmö with 1000 participants. Speakers from all over the world, representing a wide range of disciplines are invited. The first edition of The Conference was in 2011 and before that it was called Moving Images (started 2005).

The Nordic Game conference takes place in Malmö every April/May.^[98][99] The event consists of conference itself, recruitment expo and game expo and attracts hundreds of "gamedev" (game development) professionals every year.

Malmö also hosts other 3rd party events that cater to all communities that reside in Malmö, including religious and political celebrations.

In addition to these, a number of free-of-charge papers, generally dealing with entertainment, music and fashion have local editions (for instance City, Rodeo, Metro and Nöjesguiden). Malmö is also home to the Egmont Group's Swedish magazine operations. A number of local and regional radio and TV broadcasters are based in the Greater Malmö area.

Eleda Stadion

, the home of Malmö FF

Malmö is home to several football teams.

] In the 2023 Regular Season, IFK Malmö ranked last in the Södra Götaland section of the fourth tier of the Swedish football league system, Division 2.

, widely regarded the best female football player of all time, played in FC Rosengård between 2014 and 2017.

Malmö Stadion was inaugurated for the opening match of the 1958 FIFA World Cup. The then world champions, West Germany, defeated Argentina 3–1 in front of a crowd of 31,156. A further two games in the cup were decided at the stadium.^[101]

Malmö has athletes competing in a variety of sport.

The most notable other sports team is the ice hockey team Malmö Redhawks. They were the creation of millionaire Percy Nilsson and quickly rose to the highest rank in the early to mid-1990s and won two Swedish championships, but for a number of years found themselves residing outside of the top flight. As of the 2015/2016 season they are once again competing in the top flight SHL league.

A first division handball team, HK Malmö, attracts a fair amount of attendance.

Rugby union team, Malmö RC, founded in 1954, have won 6 national championships. The club has teams for men, women and juniors.^[102]

Gaelic football has also been introduced to Malmö. The men of Malmö G.A.A. have won the Scandinavian Championships twice and the women once.^[103]

Other notable team a sports are baseball, American football and Australian football. Among non-team sports,

among others.

Women are permitted by the city council to swim topless in public swimming pools.[104]^[105] Everyone must wear bathing attire, but covering of the breasts is not mandatory.^[106][107]

Malmö has relations with the following cities:^[108]

Venue	Event
Malmö Stadion	FIFA World Cup 1958 UEFA Euro 1992
Baltic Hall	Table Tennis European Championships 1964 IHF World Men's Handball Championships 1967 Davis Cup 1996 Men's World Floorball Championships 2006 European Women's Handball Championships 2006 Men's World Floorball Championships 2024
Malmö Isstadion	World Junior Ice Hockey Championships 2014
Eleda Stadion	UEFA European Under-21 Football Championships 2009
Malmö Arena	World Men's Handball Championships 2011 Eurovision Song Contest 2013 Eurovision Song Contest 2024 Men's World Floorball Championships 2024

• Malmö Bulltofta Airport
• Chronicle of the Expulsion of the Greyfriars § Chapter 4 Concerning the Friary in Malmø
• List of governors of Malmöhus County
• Ports of the Baltic Sea
• Thin Blue Line (Swedish TV series), a 2021 TV series set in Malmö
• SS Malmö, ships named for the city
• Elisabeth Nilsson

• Facts & Figures about Malmö, 2005 at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 October 2006) – in English. From the municipal webpage, PDF format.
• "Fakta om Malmö politik". Malmö.se (in Swedish). Malmö stad —. Archived from the original on 21 February 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2010.

Further reading

• "Malmö", Norway, Sweden, and Denmark (8th ed.), Leipsic: Karl Baedeker, 1903,
  OL 16522424M
• Article Malmö Archived 22 December 2023 at the Wayback Machine from Nordisk familjebok, 1912 (in Swedish)

External links

Look up Malmö in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Malmö.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Malmö.

KML file (edit • help)

w:sv:Wikipedia:KML/Malmö

KML is from Wikidata

• Official municipal site in Swedish and English
• Malmotown.com Archived 5 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Malmö official visitor site
• Malmöfestivalen
• Maps of Malmö (in Swedish)