Malmö

For other uses, see Malmö (disambiguation).

Malmö
From top left to right: Turning Torso, Malmö Castle, Griffin Sculpture, Kronprinsen and the Øresund Bridge.
Coat of arms
Motto: Mångfald, Möten, Möjligheter (Eng.: Diversity, Meetings, Possibilities)
Malmö
Coordinates: 55°35′N 13°02′E
Country	Sweden
Province	Scania
County	Skåne County
Municipality	Malmö Municipality and Burlöv Municipality
Charter	13th century
Government
• Mayor	Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh (Social Democrats)
Area
• City	158.4 km2 (61.2 sq mi)
• Land	157 km2 (61 sq mi)
• Water	1.5 km2 (0.6 sq mi)
• Urban	77 km2 (30 sq mi)
• Metro	2,522 km2 (974 sq mi)
Population (31 March 2012)
• City	303,873
• Urban	280,415
• Urban density	3,651/km2 (9,460/sq mi)
• Metro	664,428
• Metro density	264/km2 (680/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	www.malmo.se/english www.malmotown.com

Malmö (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈmalːˈmøː] ( listen)), in the southernmost province of Scania, is Sweden's third largest city by population after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and is one of the largest cities in Scandinavia.

Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County. The administrative entity for most of the city is Malmö Municipality which, as of 31 March 2013, has 309,105 inhabitants in eight different localities. Malmö is also a bimunicipal locality, as part of it is formally situated in Burlöv Municipality. The total population of the urban area was 280,415 in December 2010.

Greater Malmö is one of Sweden's three officially recognized Metropolitan areas (storstadsområden) and since 2005 is defined as the municipality of Malmö and 11 other municipalities in the southwestern corner of Scania. On 31 March 2012, its population was recorded to be 303,873. The region covers an area of 2,522 square kilometres (974 sq mi). The municipalities included, apart from Malmö, are Burlöv, Eslöv, Höör, Kävlinge, Lomma, Lund, Skurup, Staffanstorp, Svedala, Trelleborg and Vellinge. Lund, with a municipal population of over 100,000 and home to one of Scandinavia's major universities, is together with Malmö the region's economic and education hub.

Malmö was one of the earliest and most industrialized towns of Scandinavia, but it struggled with the adaptation to post-industrialism. Since the construction of the Öresund bridge, Malmö has undergone a major transformation with impressive architectural developments, attracting new biotech and IT companies, and particularly students through Malmö University. The city contains many historic buildings and parks, and is also a commercial centre for the western part of Scania. During the last few years a university has been established and the city is now trying to focus on education, arts and culture. Malmö was ranked #4 in Grist Magazine's "15 Green Cities" list in 2007.

There are movements for considering Malmö as part of the Copenhagen metropolitan area or an even larger metropolitan area, which would be called Öresundsregionen in Swedish and Øresundsregionen in Danish, since it would consist of all the towns around the Sound.

History

Malmö's 1437 grant of arms

Malmö is thought to have been founded in 1275, as a fortified quay or ferry berth of the Archbishop of Lund, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the north-east. It was for centuries Denmark's second biggest city. Its original name was Malmhaug (with alternate spellings), meaning "Gravel pile" or "Ore Hill".

In the 15th century, Malmö became one of Denmark's largest and most frequented cities, reaching a population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants. It became the most important city around the Øresund, with the German Hanseatic League frequenting it as a marketplace, notable for its flourishing herring fishing. During that time, the city arms were granted in 1437 by King Eric of Pomerania. It was based on Eric's own arms from Pomerania: argent with a griffin gules. It gave the griffin's head to Malmö, eventually this extended to the entire province of Scania.

In 1434, a new citadel was constructed at the beach south of the town. This fortress, known today as Malmöhus, did not get its current appearance until the mid-16th century. Several other fortifications were constructed, making Malmö Sweden's most fortified city, but only Malmöhus remains.

Malmö in 1580: Malmö Castle can be seen at far left, Saint Peter's Church tower at center.

Lutheran teachings became popular during the 16th century, and Malmö was one of the first cities in Scandinavia to fully convert (1527–29).

In the 17th century, Malmö and the Scanian region (Skåneland) came into Swedish possession. This happened following the Treaty of Roskilde, signed in 1658. Fighting was not yet over, however; in June 1677, 14,000 Danish troops laid siege to Malmö for a month, but were unable to conquer the Swedish troops holding it.

By the dawn of the 18th century, Malmö had about 2,300 inhabitants. However, due to the wars of Charles XII of Sweden and bubonic plague epidemics, the population dropped to 1,500 by 1727. The population did not grow much until the modern harbour was constructed by the late 18th century. The city started to expand, and in 1800 had 38,054 inhabitants.

Malmö in 1913

In 1840, the Kockums shipyard was founded and it eventually became one of the largest shipyards in the world. Between 1856 and 1864 the Southern Main Line was built and enabled Malmö to become a center of manufacture, with big textile and mechanical industries. In 1870, Malmö overtook Norrköping 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. By 1971, Malmö reached 265,000 inhabitants, but this was the peak which would stand for more than 30 years.^{[citation needed]}

By the mid-1970s, Sweden experienced a recession that struck especially hard on the industrial sector; shipyards and manufacturing industries were hard hit, which led to high unemployment in many cities of Scania. Kockums shipyard had become a symbol of Malmö as its greatest employer and when the shipbuilding ceased in 1986 the reassurance for the future of Malmö plummeted among politicians and the public. In addition, many middle-class families moved into one-family houses in surrounding municipalities such as Vellinge Municipality, Lomma Municipality and Staffanstorp Municipality which profiled themselves as the suburbs of the upper middle class. By 1985, Malmö had lost 35,000 inhabitants and was down to 229,000.

Aerial view of central Malmö

The Swedish financial crises of the early 1990s exacerbated Malmö's decline as an industrial city; between 1990–95, Malmö lost about 27,000 jobs and its economy was seriously strained. However, from 1994 and under the leadership of the former mayor Ilmar Reepalu, the city of Malmö started to re-conceptualize itself as a center of culture and knowledge. Malmö reached bottom in 1995 and the same year marked the commencement of the massive Øresund Bridge project. A new university Malmö University, was opened in 1998 on Kockums' former dockside and further redevelopment of the now disused south-western harbor followed; a city architecture exposition (Bo01) was held in the area in 2001 and its buildings and villas forms the core of a new city district, aimed at the urban middle-class and with attractive waterfront vistas.

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 got 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, it has largely benefited the already somewhat well-off. While the inner city are being gentrified and the upper-middle class have inhabited the Western Harbor, little has changed for the inhabitants of in the districts of the Million Programme; Malmö remains a city of sharp social divide and high unemployment.

The politicians in the City of Malmö decided in November 2010 to establish a commission for a socially sustainable Malmö. The commission´s task was to propose evidence-based strategies for reducing health inequalities and improve living conditions for all citizens of Malmö, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.

Geography

Malmö
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     49   2 −3     30   2 −3     40   5 −1     38   10 2     41   16 7     52   20 11     61   21 13     58   21 12     59   17 10     57   12 7     61   7 3     58   4 −1 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: World Weather Information Service
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.9   36 27     1.2   36 27     1.6   41 30     1.5   50 36     1.6   61 45     2   68 52     2.4   70 55     2.3   70 54     2.3   63 50     2.2   54 45     2.4   45 37     2.3   39 30 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

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

Malmö is part of the transnational Oresund Region and since 2000 the Øresund Bridge crosses the Øresund to Copenhagen, Denmark. The bridge was inaugurated 1 July 2000, and measures 8 kilometres (5 miles) (the whole link totalling 16 km), with pylons reaching 204.5 kilometres (127.1 miles) vertically. Apart from the Helsingborg-Helsingør ferry links further north, most ferry connections have been discontinued.

Climate

Pildammsparken with the old water tower.

Malmö, like the rest of southern Sweden, has an oceanic climate. Despite its northern location, the climate is surprisingly mild compared to other locations in similar latitudes, or even somewhat farther south, mainly because of the Gulf Stream. Because of its northern latitude, daylight extends 17 hours in midsummer, to only around 7 hours in midwinter.

Summers are warm and pleasant with average high temperatures of 20 to 21 °C (68 to 70 °F) and lows of around 11 to 13 °C (52 to 55 °F), but temperatures do sometimes exceed 25 °C (77 °F) and occasional heat waves are common during the summer. Winters are fairly cold, with temperatures steady between −3 to 4 °C (27 to 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^{[citation needed]}, and some winters are virtually free of snow.

Climate data for Malmö
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	2 (36)	2 (36)	5 (41)	10 (50)	16 (61)	20 (68)	21 (70)	21 (70)	17 (63)	12 (54)	7 (45)	4 (39)	11.4 (52.5)
Average low °C (°F)	−3 (27)	−3 (27)	−1 (30)	2 (36)	7 (45)	11 (52)	13 (55)	12 (54)	10 (50)	7 (45)	3 (37)	−1 (30)	4.8 (40.6)
Precipitation mm (inches)	49 (1.93)	30 (1.18)	40 (1.57)	38 (1.5)	41 (1.61)	52 (2.05)	61 (2.4)	58 (2.28)	59 (2.32)	57 (2.24)	61 (2.4)	58 (2.28)	604 (23.78)
Avg. precipitation days	17	13	14	12	12	12	14	13	14	15	17	16	169
Source: World Weather Information Service

Transport

The Öresund Bridge, connecting Malmö to Copenhagen and the Scandinavian peninsula with Central Europe through Denmark.

Oresundtrains cross Øresund Bridge every 20 minutes (every 10 minutes during rush hour) connecting Malmö to Copenhagen, and the Copenhagen Airport. The trip takes around 20 minutes. Also some of the X 2000 and Intercity trains to Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Kalmar cross the bridge, stopping at Copenhagen Airport. In March 2005, digging began on a new railway connection called the City Tunnel, which opened for traffic on December 4, 2010. The tunnel runs from under Malmö Central Station to Triangeln continuing to Hyllievång (Hyllie Meadow), where it emerges to connect with the Øresund Bridge, effectively changing Malmö Central from being a terminus to being a transit station.

Besides the Copenhagen Airport, Malmö has an airport of its own, Malmö Airport, today chiefly used for low-cost carriers, charter flight routes, and domestic Swedish destinations.

The motorway system has been incorporated with the Øresund Bridge; the European route E20 goes over the bridge and then, together with the European route E6 follows the Swedish west coast from Malmö–Helsingborg to Gothenburg. E6 goes further north along the west coast and through Norway to the Norwegian town Kirkenes at Barents Sea. The European route to Jönköping–Stockholm (E4) starts at Helsingborg. Main roads in direction of Växjö–Kalmar, Kristianstad–Karlskrona, Ystad (E65), and Trelleborg start as freeways.

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

Malmö has 2 industrial harbours; one is still in active use and is the biggest Nordic port for car importation. Also, there are two marinas: the publicly owned Limhamn Marina (55°35′N 12°55′E) and the private Lagunen (55°35′N 12°56′E), both offering a limited number of guest docks. Free marine charts are available.

Municipality

Malmö Old City Hall

Main article: Malmö Municipality

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

The Malmö urban area, Malmö tätort consists of the urban part of the municipality together with the small town of Arlöv in the municipality of Burlöv. 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.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Malmo

Malmö is a young city. Almost half of the population is under the age of 35 (48%).

Malmö has also the highest percentage of Muslims in Scandinavia with around 25% or 75,000 people with Islamic cultural background. Furthermore, it has the third highest proportion of individuals with migrant background in Sweden.

41% have a foreign background. 30% of the population has been born abroad and another 11% of the population was Swedish-born with foreign-born parents. The Middle East, East Africa, Ex-Yugoslavia and Denmark are the main sources of migration.

After 1971, Malmö had 265,000 inhabitants, the population then dropped to 229,000 by 1985. The total population of the urban area was 280,415 in December 2010. It then began to rise again, and had passed the previous record by the 1 January 2003 census, when it had 265,481 inhabitants.

On the 27th of April, 2011 the population of Malmö reached the 300,000 mark.

As of 2009, Malmö had the fourth-highest proportion of foreign-born residents of any municipality in Sweden. In addition to these figures,14% of the population are foreign nationals.

The 10 largest groups of immigrants have arrived from:

1. Iraq Iraqi-Kurdistan (9,940)
2. Denmark (8,972)
3. FR Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) (8,426)
4. Poland (7,053)
5. Bosnia and Herzegovina (5,969)
6. Lebanon (3,780)
7. Iran (3,375)
8. Turkey (2,110)
9. Hungary (2,038)
10. Romania (2,014)

In 2011, 174 countries and about 150 languages were represented in Malmö.

Economy

City overview, with Øresund Bridge and Limhamns kalkbrott in the foreground, and Turning Torso further away

The economy of Malmö was traditionally based on shipbuilding (Kockums) and construction related industries, such as concrete factories. The region's leading university, along with its associated hi-tech and pharmaceutical industries, is located in Lund about 16 kilometres (10 miles) to the north-east. As a result, Malmö had a troubled economic situation following the mid-1970s. Between 1990-1995, 27,000 jobs were lost, and the budget deficit was more than one billion Swedish krona. In 1995, Malmö had Sweden's highest unemployment rate^{[citation needed]}

However, during the last few years there has been a revival. The main contributing factor has been the economic integration with Denmark brought about by the Øresund Bridge. Almost 10% of the population^{[citation needed]} in Malmö works in Copenhagen. Also the university founded in 1998 and the effects of integration into the European Union have contributed.

In 2004, the rate of wage-earners was 63%, compared to 74% in Stockholm and 71% in Gothenburg. This in turn led to Malmö municipality in 2007 having the 9th lowest median income in Sweden,.

As of 2005, the largest companies were:

• Skanska – heavy construction: 3,025 employees
• ISS Facility Service AB – hospital service, cleaning, etc.: 1,725 employees
• E.ON Sverige – electricity: 1,025 employees
• Sydsvenskan – newspaper: 1,025 employees
• Pågen – bakery: 975 employees
• Seavus – software developer: 515 employees

Almost 30 companies have moved their headquarters to Malmö during the last seven years, generating around 2,300 jobs.

The level of new started 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. Among the industries that continue to increase their share of companies in Malmö are transport, financial and business services, entertainment, leisure and construction.

Education

Malmö has the country's eighth largest school of higher education, Malmö University, established in 1998. It has 1,500 employees and 24,000 students (2011).

In addition nearby Lund University (established in 1666) has some education 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) 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.

Culture

A striking depiction of Malmö was made by Bo Widerberg in his engaging debut film Kvarteret Korpen (Raven's End) (1963), largely shot in the shabby Korpen working-class district in Malmö. With humour and tenderness it depicts the tensions between classes and generations. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1965.

Theatre

Malmö Opera

In 1944, one of the city's most enduring cultural hubs was inaugurated, Malmö Stadsteater (Malmö Municipal Theatre) with a repertory embracing both stage theatre, opera, musical, ballet, musical recitals and theatrical experiments. In 1993 it was split into three separate units, Dramatiska Teater (Dramatical Theatre), Malmö Musikteater (Music Theatre) and Skånes Dansteater (Scanian Dance Theatre) and the name was abandoned. When the ownership of the last two where transferred to Region Skåne in 2006 Dramatiska Teatern retained its old name. In the 1950s Ingmar Bergman was the Director and Chief Stage Director of Malmö Stadsteater and many of his actors, like Max von Sydow and Ingrid Thulin were brought to stardom through his films. Later stage directors include Staffan Valdemar Holm and Göran Stangertz. Malmö Musikteater were renamed Malmö Operan and plays operas and musicals, classics as newly composed, on one of Scandinavia's largest opera scenes with 1,511 seats. Skånes dansteater is also active and plays contemporary dance repertory and present works by Swedish and international choreographers in their house in Malmö harbour.

Since the 1970s the city has also been home to a rich, if fluctuating, array of independent theatre groups and some show/musical companies. It also hosts a rich rock/dance/dub culture; in the 1960s The Rolling Stones played the Klubb Bongo, and in recent years stars like Morrissey, Nick Cave, B.B. King and Pat Metheny have made repeated visits.

The Cardigans made their start 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 Design inaugurated in its place.

Museums

On 26 December 2009, Moderna Museet ("the modern museum") opened its first outpost in the old Rooseum building in Malmö. 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 och Robert Rauschenberg The Malmö Konsthall is one of the largest exhibition halls in Europe for contemporary art, opened in 1975.

Architecture

St Peter's church in Malmö

Art Nouveau Malmö synagogue

Malmö's oldest building is St Peter's Church. 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.

Another old building is Tunneln, 300 metres (1,000 ft) to the west of St Peter's church, which also dates back to around 1300.

The oldest parts of Malmö were built between 1300-1600 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 Art Nouveau buildings, among those is the Malmö synagogue. Malmö was relatively late to be influenced by modern ideas of functionalist 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.^{[citation needed]}

Recent years have seen a more cosmopolitan architecture. Västra Hamnen (The Western Harbour), like most of the harbour 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. The exhibition had two main objectives: develop self-sufficient housing units in terms of energy and greatly diminish phosphorus emissions. Among the new buildings 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.

Other sights

The beach Ribersborg, by locals usually called Ribban, south-west of the harbour 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". It is the site of Ribersborgs open-air bath, opened in the 1890s.

The long boardwalk at The Western Harbour, Scaniaparken and Daniaparken, has become a new favourite summer hang-out for the people of Malmö and is a popular place for bathing. The harbour is particularly popular with Malmö's vibrant student community and has been the scene of several impromptu outdoor parties and gatherings^{[citation needed]}.

Events

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

BUFF, the International Children and Young People's Film Festival in Malmö, takes place every year in March.

In 1914 the Baltic Exhibition was held in Malmö which consisted of exhibitions about industry, art and crafts from Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Russia.

In 1992 Malmö was the host of the Eurovision Song Contest 1992 after Carola won it the previous year, 1991 in Rome, Italy. Malmö hosted again in 2013 at the newer Malmö Arena, after Swedish singer Loreen's victory at Eurovision Song Contest 2012, in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Nordic Games Conference takes place in Malmö every April/May. The event consists of conference itself, recruitment expo and game expo and attracts hundreds of gamedev professionals every year.

Malmö hosts many other different types of contests and special events in Entré, inside the city centre. These include the events such as the Swedish version of Oktoberfest, modelling catwalk contests showing the latest fashion to jackets and coats, to lingerie and garments.

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

Media

Sydsvenska Dagbladet, founded in 1870, is Malmö's largest daily newspaper, and also one of its larger employers (see section Economy). It has an average circulation of 130,000. Its main competitor is the regional daily Skånska Dagbladet, which has a circulation of 34,000. 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 media group's Swedish magazine operations. A number of local and regional radio and TV broadcasters are based in the Greater Malmö area.

Sports

Swedbank Stadion, The home of Malmö FF

Malmö Arena, the home of Malmö Redhawks

Malmö Stadion, The former home of Malmö FF

Sports in southern Sweden is dominated by Association football. Over the years the city's best football team has been Malmö FF who play in the top level Allsvenskan. They had their most successful periods in the 1970s and 1980s, when they won the league several times. In 1979, they advanced to the final of the European Cup defeating AS Monaco, Dynamo Kiew, Wisla Krakow and Austria Vienna but lost in the final at the Munich Olympic Stadium against Nottingham Forest by a single goal just before half time scored by Trevor Francis. To date, they are the only Swedish soccer club to have reached the final of the competition. Malmö FF is the club where Zlatan Ibrahimović began his professional football career. A second football team, IFK Malmö played in Sweden's top flight for about 20 years and the club's quarterfinal in the European Cup is the club's greatest achievement in its history. Today, the club resides in the sixth tier of the Swedish league system. Examples of other Malmö based clubs are IF Limhamn Bunkeflo and FC Rosengård. Both in Division 1 South, the third tier. Held in Sweden, Malmö was one of the four cities to host the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and hosted the final.

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 have found themselves residing outside of the top flight. Malmö also has teams that play first division handball HK Malmö, baseball, American football and Australian football. Of these last mentioned sports only handball attracts a fair amount of attendance. Gaelic football has also been introduced to Malmö, with the new Malmö G.A.A. club winning the Scandinavian Championships in their inaugural year, 2009, and were again in the running for 2011.

Among non-team sports badminton and athletics are the most popular together with east Asian martial arts and boxing. Basketball is also fairly a big sport in the city, including the clubs Malbas and SF Srbija among others.

Women are permitted by the city council to swim topless in public swimming pools. Everyone must wear bathing attire, but covering of the breasts is not mandatory. "We don’t decide what men should do with their torso, why then do women have to listen to the men. Moreover, many men have larger breasts than women", remarked a council spokesman.

Malmö will host the 2014 IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Tournament starting Dec 26 2013 to Jan 5 2014.

Hate crimes and anti-Semitism

See also: Antisemitism in Sweden

According to the Malmö police, anti-Semitic hate crimes in the city range from racist remarks (a crime according to Swedish penal law) to violent assault.^{[citation needed]} Locals claim the majority of these crimes are committed by Muslims, although former mayor Ilmar Reepalu disagrees. In 2010, the Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a warning to Jews travelling to Malmö. During the first half of 2011 there was the same number of anti-Semitic crimes reported as were reported for the whole of 2010. Because of a rise in racist hate crimes, Jews have begun leaving Malmö either for Swedish cities where they can feel safer or they have emigrated to Israel and other countries.

In 2010, the international media reported on increasing levels of anti-Semitic hate-crime in Malmö. The reports cited desecrations, the burning of a chapel and worshippers being taunted with 'Hitler' chants. In 2009 the Malmö police received reports of 79 anti-Semitic incidents, double the number of the previous year (2008). For example, on January 13, 2009 Molotov cocktails were thrown inside and outside the funeral chapel at the old Jewish cemetery in the city of Malmö, as what seems as an anti-Semitic act. It was the third time the chapel has been attacked in the few weeks before this incident. On September 28, 2012, an explosion occurred at Malmö Jewish community building, again as what seems to be an anti-Semitic act. Fredrik Sieradzki, spokesman for the Malmö Jewish community, estimated that the already small Jewish population is shrinking by 5% a year. “Malmö is a place to move away from,” he said, citing anti-Semitism as the primary reason.

In an article published in The Forward in October 2010, Judith Popinski, and 86-year-old Holocaust survivor, stated that she is no longer invited to schools that have a large Muslim presence to tell her story of surviving the Holocaust. Popinski, who found refuge in Malmö in 1945, stated that, until recently, she told her story in Malmö schools as part of their Holocaust studies program, but that now, many schools no longer ask Holocaust survivors to tell their stories, because Muslim students treat them with such disrespect, either ignoring the speakers or walking out of the class. She further stated that "Malmö reminds me of the anti-Semitism I felt as a child in Poland before the war. “I am not safe as a Jew in Sweden anymore.”

According to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention in 2012 66 anti-Jewish hate crimes were reported in Malmö compared with just 31 in Stockholm, Thirty-five have already been reported in Malmö so far this year. This figure shows an increase in anti-Semitic incidents over the last years with total of 44 reports over 2010 and 2011 combined.

In the Malmö shootings, a man fired at foreign-looking people in the city until his arrest in November 2010.

See also

• Bulltofta Airport
• Chronicle of the Expulsion of the Grayfriars#Chapter 4 Concerning the Friary in Malmø
• Governors of Malmö
• List of people connected to Malmö
• Ports of the Baltic Sea

References

• Facts & Figures about Malmö, 2005 PDF – in English. From the municipal webpage, PDF format.
• "Malmö stad — Statistik". Malmö.se. Retrieved 2010‑02‑05.  (Swedish)

Notes

Further reading

• "Malmö", Norway, Sweden, and Denmark (8th ed.), Leipsic: Karl Baedeker, 1903 

External links

• Official municipal site (Swedish)
• Malmö City Council - Official Municipal website (English)
• Malmotown.com - The official visitors site of Malmö
• Mitt Malmö - Malmö city guide with local news, weather forecast, cinemas, TV-guide and current events. (Swedish)
• Malmöfestivalen (English)
• The City Tunnel (English)
• Article Malmö from Nordisk familjebok (1912) (Swedish)
• Satellite image from Google Maps
• "Sweden sticks to multiculturalism" BBC article
• Moderna Museet Malmö
• IF Malmö Redhawks
• Malmö FF
• Malmö AI
• Images from Malmö