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Lund: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Foundations And Early History —
Lund.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Archaeologists date the founding of Lund to around 990, when Scania was part of Denmark. The area was then part of the kingdom of Denmark. Until the 1980s, the city was thought to have been founded around 1020 by either Sweyn I Forkbeard or his son Canute the Great of Denmark. However, recent archaeological discoveries suggest that the first settlement dated to possibly the relocation of settlers at Uppåkra. The Uppåkra settlement dates back to the first century B.C. and its remains are at the present site of the village of Uppåkra. King Sweyn I Forkbeard moved Lund to its present location, a distance of some two kilometers. The new location of Lund, on a hill and across a ford, gave the new site considerable defensive advantages in comparison with Uppåkra, situated on the highest point of a large plain.
Ecclesiastical Dominance And War
From 1103 it was the seat of the Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lund, and the towering Lund Cathedral, built between 1103 and 1145, still stands at the centre of the town. In 1104 it became an archbishopric. Lund's ecclesiastical province comprised Scandinavia and even Garðar on Greenland. The diocese of nearby Dalby was absorbed in 1066. Lund Cathedral was similarly founded in or shortly after 1103. In 1152, the Norwegian archdiocese of Nidaros was founded as a separate province of the church, independent of Lund. In 1164 Sweden also acquired an archbishop of its own, although he was nominally subordinate to the archbishop of Lund. It is still, as the diocese of Lund, a diocese in the Church of Sweden. Lund was ceded to Sweden in 1658 as part of the terms of the Treaty of Roskilde. It was, however, recaptured by Denmark in 1676 during the early phases of the Scanian War. The exceptionally bloody Battle of Lund was fought just north of the city in 1676, and ended in a decisive Swedish victory; Swedish control of Scania was again confirmed in the Peace of Lund later that year.
University And Modern Growth
Scandinavia's first university, the Academy of Lund was founded in the 1400s. It was suppressed during the Danish Reformation in 1537. The present Lund University was established in 1666. Today, Lund University is one of northern Europe's largest, with eight faculties, 41,000 students and over 2,000 separate courses. Over the second half of the 20th century the population of Lund more than doubled, driven in large part by the growth of the university and high tech industries. For example, Tetra Pak, the food packaging and processing company, was founded in Lund in 1951. Suburbs were added to the outer edges of the city: Klostergården, Norra Fäladen and Linero in the 1960s, Norra Nöbbelöv in the 1970s, Gunnesbo in the 1980s and Värpinge in the 1990s. In 1943, during the Second World War, Lund was accidentally bombed by a British aircraft. No deaths were reported, though some people were injured by glass fragments.
High Tech Economy And Research
Lund is a regional centre for high tech companies, several of which are based in the north-east of the city. Companies with offices in Lund include Sony Mobile Communications, Ericsson, Arm Holdings, and Microsoft. The Swedish telecommunications company Doro has its head office in Lund. Gambro, one of key companies in the development of the artificial kidney, was founded in Lund in 1964 and retains a significant presence in the city. Alfa Laval, the international manufacturer of heat exchangers and separators, have a factory in Lund, and Tetra Pak have their headquarters and part of production in town. Network video camera maker Axis Communications was founded in Lund in 1984 and maintains its headquarters in the city as an independently operated subsidiary of Canon. A science park, Ideon Science Park, was founded in 1983 as a collaboration between Lund University, Lund Municipality and Wihlborgs Fastigheter AB. It hosts about 350 companies, employing 2,700 people. Many of these are high tech companies that have ties to the university. The 2010s have seen the development of two major research facilities in Lund, both in collaboration with the university. MAX IV is the world's most brilliant synchrotron light source and a Swedish national facility. It was inaugurated on the 21st of June 2016. The European Spallation Source (ESS) is a pulsed neutron source under construction on a site just north of MAX IV.
Cultural Identity And Student Life
The culture in Lund is characterised by the university education and research, and the large student population, including 28% international students and student traditions, such as a student theatre group since 1886. A substantial part of the student night-life is located at student fraternities called 'Nations'. Numerous prominent figures from the literary world lived and worked in Lund, often in association with the university and theatre. Prominent examples include Esias Tegnér, writer, poet and bishop, and August Strindberg, playwright, novelist and poet. The spex are a form of student theatre particular to Nordic universities, with a strong tradition in Lund. They are parodistic musical plays, often setting well-known music to new lyrics and mixing up the historical and the present in unconventional intrigues. Comedians Hans Alfredson and Anders Jansson started their careers in the Lund spex. Lundakarnevalen has been held every four years since the mid-nineteenth century; anecdotal accounts reference its beginnings to a wedding in 1849. Arranged by the students of the university, from the 1950s onwards the event has grown in size and intensity (with some 5,500 volunteers 2010), but it remains an amateur event.
Urban Planning And Infrastructure
The central part of Lund largely retains its medieval street layout. A few buildings from the Middle Ages remain, including Lund Cathedral, Liberiet, St. Peter's Priory, the restaurant Stäket and Krognoshuset. Many of today's buildings in the centre were constructed in the late 1800s, including Katedralskolan, the Grand Hotel and the main building and library of Lund University. Lund has been praised for its cycling infrastructure. There are 4,800 bike parking spaces in the town, including a multi-storey facility at the railway station, over 30 kilometers of cyclepaths and cycle lanes, and 43% of journeys within the city take place by bicycle. The Lund Tramway opened to the public on the 13th of December 2020. Plans were approved in 2015 to initiate a 6 kilometer tram network to provide faster and higher-capacity commuter transport in central Lund. The 15-minute tram ride connects Lund Central Station with the hospital, Lund University, Ideon Science Park, the new district of Brunnshög, the MAX IV synchrotron light source, and the European Spallation Source.
Archaeologists date the founding of Lund to around 990 when Scania was part of Denmark. King Sweyn I Forkbeard moved the settlement to its present location from Uppåkra, a distance of some two kilometers.
What is the history of the Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lund in Sweden?
From 1103 it was the seat of the Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lund and became an archbishopric in 1104. The diocese of nearby Dalby was absorbed in 1066 and the ecclesiastical province comprised Scandinavia and even Garðar on Greenland until the Norwegian archdiocese of Nidaros was founded as a separate province in 1152.
How many students attend Lund University today and what are its main characteristics?
Today Lund University has 41,000 students across eight faculties offering over 2,000 separate courses. It is one of northern Europe's largest universities with 28% international students and student traditions such as a student theatre group since 1886.
When did the Battle of Lund take place and what were the results for Swedish control of Scania?
The exceptionally bloody Battle of Lund was fought just north of the city in 1676 during the early phases of the Scanian War. It ended in a decisive Swedish victory and confirmed Swedish control of Scania again in the Peace of Lund later that year after Denmark recaptured the city in 1676.
What major research facilities exist in Lund and when were they inaugurated or established?
MAX IV is the world's most brilliant synchrotron light source and a Swedish national facility inaugurated on the 21st of June 2016. The European Spallation Source (ESS) is a pulsed neutron source under construction on a site just north of MAX IV.