May 22 in Swedish History

..well, at least in the history of Scania or Skane, the southernmost region in Sweden. 

• 

  Kristian IV of Denmark founded the town of Kristianstad in Skåne on May 22 in 1614. The city was to remain Danish for another 44 years. Painting by: Pieter Isaacsz.

• May 22 in Swedish History
  1614: The Danish king Kristian IV (1577-1648) establishes a new town in the northeastern part of Scania (Skåne), and the town receives the name Kristianstad (Kristian’s town) after him. The plan was to let Kristianstad replace the nearby town of Vä, which the Swedes had set on fire during the recent Kalmar War (1611-1613). Not until the year 1622 however, is Kristianstad granted a town charter.

• 

  Kristianstad, today a city with around 36,000 inhabitants. Photo: Måns Sjödahl.

• The city now has a population of around 36,000 and to this day commemorates King Christian IV in the city's coat of arms which depicts two lions holding the crowned insignia, the monogram C4. It is Sweden's New Orleans in that part of the city is actually below sea level and needs protection from the Baltic through a system of levees and water pumps. For more info, see http://turism.kristianstad.se/en

• 

  Kristianstad's old city gate. Photo: Måns Sjödahl.

•