Halland
is a historical province (landskap) on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.
County
Provinces serve no administrative function in Sweden today. Instead, that function is served by the Counties of Sweden. However, the province of Halland is virtually coextensive with Halland County, though parts of the province belong to Västra Götaland County and Skåne County. Historically, Halland also included the Danish island of Anholt.
Halland has a population of 287,558. Of these, 272,142 are counted among Halland County; 13,363 within Västra Götaland County, and 2,053 in Skåne County.
History
The bronze age was probably a period of relative prosperity in Halland. This is shown in the number of new settlements and the amount of remains. Over 1 100 timuli and grave mounds are found.
The end of the bronze age do however see an overconsumption of the resources. Large areas was left treeless. This might have been a result of a high demand for gold or bronze among the local elites.
The worsening climate at the beginning of the iron age meant that the local elites no longer could obtain bronze to the same extant as before. As a result the social structures collapsed.
The early iron age social structures seems to have been relatively elagitarian, but from around 200 there is a trend where villages form larger communities and small kingdoms. This is likely to have been an distant influence from the growing roman empire. During the 5th and 6th Century large free-standing farms, which grew larger and larger by time. An example of such a farm can be found in Slöinge.
It was not just the social structure that changed, so too did the settlement structure. New villages were formed, while old were abandoned. The new centra that were formed were later to be the kernel from which new areas were settled during medieval times.
According to information from a trader travelling from Skingsal, close to the Oslofjord to Hedeby in the 870s it can be concluded that Hallands was a Danish area at that time. It would stay so for the larger part of historical times.
Iron extraction is known to have taken place in Hishult and Tvååker/Sibbarp during the iron age.
Halland came to use the Scanian provincial law and the Thing took place in Getinge.
Halland came to be the scene of considerable military action from the 13th Century and on as Sweden, Denmark and to some degree Norway fought about the power of Scandinavia. The many wars came to make the county poor. Not only due to the material damage caused by the military action, but also due to the social impact of the fighting as people lacked the motivation to invest in their land and properties as it was likely to be destroyed anyway.
The county was plundered three times during the 13th Century; in 1256 Haakon IV of Norway paid a visit, followed by Magnus I of Sweden in 1277 and Eric VI of Denmark in 1294. The county came to be split in two parts for the next century, with river Ätran forming a boundary. The lords of the two parts came to succeed each other in a high tempo.
As the Kalmar Union was formed Halland came for a brief period of time to have a rather central position. The king should according to the union trety be elected in Halmstad.
During the rebellion of Engelbrekt in 1434 the fortress in Falkenberg was burnt down and two years later Lagaholm was captured by the Swedes. The Swedish-Danish struggles in the early 16th Century came to affect the county as well, as in 1519 when the border regions were sacked by the Swedes as a vengeance for similar Danish action in Västergötland.
The Count's Feud, the Northern Seven Years' War and the Kalmar War came all to affect Halland. One of the major battles of the Northern Seven Years' War, the battle of Axtorna took place in Halland.
Halland became a Swedish possession in 1645 by the Treaty of Brömsebro, initially for a period limited to 30 years. The conquest was later made permanent by the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. The island of Anholt, part of the parish of Morup, was however forgotten in the peace settlement, and the island remains Danish. The last battle in Halland took place in Fyllebro at August 17 1676 during the Scanian War.
The more peaceful conditions that followed meant that the county 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 county did however remain poor and erosion and blown sand remained a problem for much of the century. The county did therefor see a lot of emigration, continuing well into the 20th century.
The 20th Century has seen the county becomming one of the fastest growing in Sweden, as it has doubled its population since the second world war. This is in part due to the northern parts, such as Kungsbacka and Onsala, becoming suburbs of Gothenburg.
Heraldry
Halland was granted its arms at the time of the funural of Charles X Gustav of Sweden in 1660. The province is a duchy and the arms is represented with a dukal coronet. Blazon: "Azure, a Lion rampant Argent langued, armed and dente Gules." Unlike Blekinge, neither Skåne nor Halland had their own coat or arms while part of Denmark.
Geography
The streams of Lagan, Ätran, Nissan and Viskan flow through the province and reach the sea in Kattegat. Halland is well known for its good soil and as an agricultural district.
Cities
City status in Sweden required a Royal Charter and was (until discontinued in 1971) quite sparingly granted. The Danish Crown was more hospitable with granting royal charters, and the status of the Town in Scania thus differ some from the rest of Sweden.
Privileges to towns in Halland was during the Danish time granted to:
- Falkenberg (1558)
- Halmstad (approximately 1200)
- Kungsbacka (approximately 1400)
- Laholm (approximately 1200)
- Varberg (approximately 1100)
Hundreds
Hundreds of Sweden were provincial divisions until early 20th century, when they lost importance. Hallands hundreds were: Faurås Hundred, Fjäre Hundred, Halmstad Hundred, Himle Hundred, Höks Hundred, Tönnersjö Hundred, Viske Hundred and Årstad Hundred.
Culture
The language varieties spoken in Halland are together called Halländska, though they belong to two main dialectal groups. In northern Halland a variation of the Götaland dialect is spoken and in the south the spoken language is a variety of Scanian, formerly East Danish. The Småländska dialect spoken in the east, on the border to Smalandia, is not counted as Halländska.
Sights
The Varberg Fortress was built in the 13th century and improved with higher walls in the 15th century.
Dukes of Halland
Since 1772, Swedish Princes have been created Dukes of various provinces. This is solely a nominal title.
Sources
- Kungsvägen genom Halland - Bidrag till halländsk kulturhistoria och underlag för vägminnesvårdsprogram. Stellan Haverling. 1996. Gothenburg: Vägverket
External link
- Halland - Tourist site