Västervik
Encyclopedia
Västervik is a city
and the seat of Västervik Municipality
, Kalmar County
, Sweden
with 20,694 inhabitants in 2005.
. In 1433 Eric of Pomerania
decided to give it a charter and move it to its current strategically important location, close to the castle of Stegeholm. In the ensuing centuries
Västervik suffered attacks from hostile armies. It was more or less completely destroyed five times between 1450 and 1677. Despite this, king Gustav Vasa established a ship industry here in the 16th century, from which ships sailed to Germany
and the Baltic countries
, and from the 17th century they sailed to Portugal
too. In the 18th century a long period of peace
allowed the ship industry to expand, increasing the ship routes down to the Mediterranean Sea
.
festival in Västervik, at the ruins of the Stegeholm castle.
The city still bases much of its industry on its harbour, and on the industries that were established as a result of it in the late 19th century. Recently, however, Västervik has suffered the closure of certain factories, notably Electrolux, with associated job losses. Being a summer town popular with yachtspeople, campers, daytrippers, and returning former residents, Västervik experiences an annual revival in July. Just outside Västervik, there is the static inverter of HVDC Gotland
and Fårhultsmasten, a 335 m tall guyed mast used for FM/TV-transmission, which shares with three other masts the title of Sweden's tallest structure.
, Finland
. The name just means "western bay", so there could be more minor localities by that name.
City status in Sweden
Stad is a Swedish term which nominally means town but can also encompass the English word "city". Since 1971 stad has had no administrative or legal significance in Sweden and there exists no commonly accepted definition of the term.-History :...
and the seat of Västervik Municipality
Västervik Municipality
Västervik Municipality is a municipality in Kalmar County, south-eastern Sweden, with its seat in the city of Västervik....
, Kalmar County
Kalmar County
Kalmar County is a county or län in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg, Jönköping, Blekinge and Östergötland. To the east in the Baltic Sea is the island Gotland....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
with 20,694 inhabitants in 2005.
History
Västervik was first mentioned in 1275. The town was then located at the current location of GamlebyGamleby
Gamleby is the second largest locality situated in Västervik Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 2,805 inhabitants in 2005. It is situated about 20 km north-west of Västervik....
. In 1433 Eric of Pomerania
Eric of Pomerania
Eric of Pomerania KG was King Eric III of Norway Norwegian Eirik, King Eric VII of Denmark , and as Eric King of Sweden...
decided to give it a charter and move it to its current strategically important location, close to the castle of Stegeholm. In the ensuing centuries
Century
A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...
Västervik suffered attacks from hostile armies. It was more or less completely destroyed five times between 1450 and 1677. Despite this, king Gustav Vasa established a ship industry here in the 16th century, from which ships sailed to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the Baltic countries
Baltic countries
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
, and from the 17th century they sailed to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
too. In the 18th century a long period of peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
allowed the ship industry to expand, increasing the ship routes down to the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
.
Today
Every year since 1966 there is a folk musicFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
festival in Västervik, at the ruins of the Stegeholm castle.
The city still bases much of its industry on its harbour, and on the industries that were established as a result of it in the late 19th century. Recently, however, Västervik has suffered the closure of certain factories, notably Electrolux, with associated job losses. Being a summer town popular with yachtspeople, campers, daytrippers, and returning former residents, Västervik experiences an annual revival in July. Just outside Västervik, there is the static inverter of HVDC Gotland
HVDC Gotland
The HVDC Gotland, on the Swedish east coast, was the first fully commercial static plant for high voltage direct current transmission in the world. The first HVDC Gotland link went into service in 1954. It could transfer 20 megawatts over a 98-kilometer-long submarine cable between Västervik on...
and Fårhultsmasten, a 335 m tall guyed mast used for FM/TV-transmission, which shares with three other masts the title of Sweden's tallest structure.
Other uses
Västervik is also the name of a small village 8 km north of VaasaVaasa
Vaasa is a city on the west coast of Finland. It received its charter in 1606, during the reign of Charles IX of Sweden and is named after the Royal House of Vasa...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. The name just means "western bay", so there could be more minor localities by that name.
Notable natives
- Ellen KeyEllen KeyEllen Karolina Sofia Key was a Swedish difference feminist writer on many subjects in the fields of family life, ethics and education and was an important figure in the Modern Breakthrough movement...
(1846-1926), author and feminist - Gottfrid Emanuel LundbergGodfrey LundbergGodfrey Emanuel Lundberg was an accomplished engraver during the early part of the 20th century. He is most noted for his hand engraving of the Lord's Prayer on the tiny head of a gold pin that was displayed at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco and won a gold medal in engraving...
(1879-1933), Swedish-American engraver - Björn UlvaeusBjörn UlvaeusBjörn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
, one of the four members of the pop groupPop musicPop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
ABBAABBAABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog... - Alice BabsAlice BabsAlice Babs is a singer and actor from Kalmar in Sweden. While she has worked in a wide number of genres - e.g. Swedish folklore, Elizabethan songs and opera - she is best known internationally as a jazz singer...
, singer - Gösta Bernard, writer and singer
- John F. CarlsonJohn F. CarlsonJohn F. Carlson was a Swedish-born American Impressionist artist.-Background:John Fabian Carlson was born in Kolsebo in Västervik Municipality, Kalmar County, in Småland, Sweden. The Carlson family immigrated to the United States in 1884, making their home in Buffalo, New York...
, Swedish-born American Impressionist artist - Stefan EdbergStefan EdbergStefan Bengt Edberg is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Sweden. A major proponent of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, he won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam men's doubles titles. He also won one season ending championship title the Masters Grand Prix...
, tennis player - Ulf GrenanderUlf GrenanderUlf Grenander is a statistician and a professor of applied mathematics at Brown University.His early research was in probability theory, stochastic processes, time series analysis, and statistical theory...
, statistician, probabilist, and computer scientist. - Stefan Karlsson, jazz pianist
- Gösta BernhardGösta BernhardGösta Bernhard was a Swedish actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in 35 films between 1936 and 1975...
, actor and film director - Magnus HärenstamMagnus HärenstamJohan Herbert Magnus Härenstam is a Swedish television host, actor and comedian. Härenstam hosted the Swedish version of the game-show Jeopardy! for 14 years before being replaced by Adam Alsing...
, comedian, actor and tv host