Wikipedia / Kungsbacka
Wikipedia / Kungsbacka
Kungsbacka () is a locality and the seat of Kungsbacka Municipality in Halland County, Sweden, with 19,057 inhabitants in 2010. It is a part of Greater Gothenburg (Göteborg) Metropolitan Area. The distance to Gothenburg is 25 km.
It is one of the most affluent parts of Sweden, in part due to its simultaneous proximity to the countryside and the large city of Gothenburg. Its mayor since 2020 is Lisa Andersson.
History
The first records referring to Kungsbacka as a town date from the 15th century, when it was part of Denmark. By the time it was recognised as part of Sweden (1658), the river running through the town, on which some transportation of goods took place, was almost completely overgrown and despite pleas to restore its function, this did not occur. Some trade still took place from the coast, but the town's significance as a place of naval commerce declined over the centuries. Today, it is home to over 2,000 enterprises, and the river still runs through it.
A devastating fire in 1846 destroyed the town centre, sparing only a little red wooden cabin which still stands today. In late 2006 and early 2014 other fires affected the town centre, and construction work is ongoing to restore the loss of wooden buildings.
In the early 1900s the city was known for its low municipal tax rates, which were by 1931 second only to those of Djursholm. This made the town a popular place of residence for wealthy pensioners. As a result, Kungsbacka was one of the few cities in Sweden were The Right remained the largest party, even when the Swedish Social Democratic Party won a nationwide majority during the elections of 1940.
The town remained small until the 1960s. The municipal reform of 1971 made it the seat of the much larger Kungsbacka Municipality. The town began to grow as a part of Metropolitan Gothenburg. It is the southern terminus of the Gothenburg commuter rail system, situated 28km from central Gothenburg.
Sister cities
The following cities are twinned with Kungsbacka:
Saarijärvi, Central Finland, Finland
Notable people
Bengt Andersson, football player
Jonny Andersson, International motorcycle trials rider
Torsten Billman 1909–1989. Artist, woodcut engraver and mural painter
Lasse Brandeby, comic actor
Christian Folin (born 1991), ice hockey player for Frölunder HC
Lars Gathenhielm, 1689–1718. Pirate
Calle Johansson, ice hockey player
Fredrik Jacobson, golfer
Hasse Jeppson 1925–2013. Football player. Sweden squad – 1950 FIFA World Cup, Third place
Niklas Rubin, ice hockey goaltender
Omar Rudberg, Singer in FO&O
Ulrik Munther, Singer
Fridolina Rolfö, football player for Sweden
Alexander Jeremejeff, professional footballer for PAOK F.C.
Erik Persson, Swedish 2016 Olympic and 2020 Olympic swimmer
Anna Takanen, actor, director and writer, born in Kungsbacka
Sports
The following sports clubs are located in Kungsbacka:
References
External links
Kungsbacka Municipality – official website