Malmoe

The earliest written mention of Malmö as a city dates from 1275. It is thought to have been founded shortly before that date, as a fortified quay or ferry berth of the Danish Archbishop of Lund, 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the north-east. Its original name was Malmhaug (with alternative spellings), meaning "Gravel pile" or "Ore Hill". In the 15th century, Malmö became one of Denmark's largest and most visited cities, reaching a population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants. It became the most important city around the Öresund, with the German Hanseatic League frequenting it as a marketplace, and was notable for its flourishing herring fishery. In 1437, King Erik of Pomerania (King of Denmark from 1396 to 1439) granted the city's arms: argent with a griffin gules, based on Eric's arms from Pomerania. …

Malmö is located at 13°00' east and 55°35' north, near the southwestern tip of Sweden, in Skåne County. The city is part of the transnational Öresund Region and, since 2000, has been linked by the Öresund Bridge across the Öresund to Copenhagen, Denmark. The bridge opened on 1 July 2000, and measures 8 kilometres (5 miles) (the whole link totalling 16 km), with pylons reaching 204.5 metres (670.9 feet) vertically. Apart from the Helsingborg-Helsingør ferry links further north, most ferry connections have been discontinued. Malmö, like the rest of southern Sweden, has an oceanic climate (Cfb). Despite its northern location, the climate is mild compared to other locations at similar latitudes, mainly because of the influence of the Gulf Stream and also its westerly position on the Eurasian landmass. …

A striking depiction of Malmö (in the 1930s) was made by Bo Widerberg in his debut film Kvarteret Korpen (transl. '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. In 2017, the film Medan Vi Lever (transl. 'While We Live') was awarded the prize for best film by an African living abroad at the Africa Movie Academy Awards. It was filmed in Malmö and Gambia, and deals with identity, integration and everyday racism. The cities of Malmö and Copenhagen are, with the Öresund Bridge, the main locations in the television series The Bridge (Bron, Danish: Broen). …

In 2022, Malmö’s gross regional product (GRP) amounted to 240.2 billion Swedish krona (SEK). This represents a 54.7% increase in real terms since 2016, well above the growth rates for both Scania (36.2%) and Sweden (33.2%). GRP per capita was 671,991 SEK, higher than the regional and national averages. As of 2023, the city's largest employment sectors are business services (35,710 employees) healthcare and social services (28,956) and motor vehicle services (26,029). Other large sectors include education, information and communications, and public administration. The economy of Malmö was traditionally based on shipbuilding and manufacturing, with the Kockums shipyard as its largest employer. A recession between 1973 and 1975 brought prolonged stagnation, leading to high unemployment and population decline, while Kockums shipyard's closure in 1986 further deepened the crisis. …

Malmö Airport, also known as Sturup Airport, is located approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) east of central Malmö in Svedala Municipality. It primarily serves domestic routes, charter flights, and low-cost carriers. For international travel, Copenhagen Airport is more commonly used and is accessible from Malmö Central Station by train in approximately 20 minutes. Malmö is served by seven railway stations, the main one being Malmö Central Station. Via the City Tunnel, Malmö Central is connected to Triangeln and Hyllie stations, where all regional and local trains also stop. From Hyllie, the line links to the Öresund line and the Öresund Bridge, connecting Malmö to Copenhagen. The remaining stations Svågertorp, Persborg, Rosengård and Östervärn are located on the city's outskirts and are exclusively served by local trains. …

Malmö has a young population by Swedish standards, with almost half of the population under the age of 35 (48.2%). After 1971, Malmö had 265,000 inhabitants, but the population then dropped to 229,000 by 1985. It then began to rise again, and had passed the previous record by the 1 January 2003 census, when it had 265,481 inhabitants. The total population of the urban area was 280,415 in December 2010. On 27 April 2011, the population of Malmö reached the 300,000 mark. In 2017 the total population of the city was 316,588 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 338,230. In 2016 Malmö served as a primary entry point for the majority of migrants heading to Sweden. Malmö is a diverse city with inhabitants from 179 different nationalities. In 2019, approximately 55.5%, up from 17% in 1986, of the population of Malmö municipality (190,849 residents) had at least one parent born abroad. …