Oskarshamn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oskarshamn is a coastal city and the seat of Oskarshamn Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 17,258 inhabitants in 2010.[1]
History
The location of Oskarshamn was known as Döderhultsvik since the Medieval
age. In 1645, the city of Kalmar, to the south, made a request to the
Royal Government on holding commerce in the bay there, which was
granted, giving it merchancy rights as a köping.
There followed 200 years of merchancies in the town, during which it
was governed and dependent on Kalmar; while the surrounding towns and
municipalities made frequent requests to grant it a charter,
consequently turned down each of the attempts made in the years: 1786,
1798, 1800, 1815, 1818, 1823, 1825, 1830 and 1838. In 1843 it got some
independence, with a local council, but the council itself was occupied
by citizens of Kalmar. In 1854, the King Oscar I of Sweden
promised to grant it a charter as soon as it had fulfilled certain
demands, including building a prison and a council hall, among other
things. When they had accomplished the feats, the charter was granted,
and the city became one of the Cities of Sweden
starting 1856, on May 1. This status has today no legal significance,
but Oskarshamn is now the seat of the much larger Oskarshamn
Municipality, without being a political entity of its own.
Recent history
Industrialisation began with the inauguration of the railway line to
Nässjö. From then on, industries as well as the harbour began to expand.
The biggest private employer for a long time was the Oskarshamn Shipyard,
which at its height had almost 1500 employees. But in the 1970s, the
Swedish shipbuilding industry suffered a large financial crisis and many
shipyards closed down. In Oskarshamn, the shipyard went through a large
downsizing which left many people unemployed.
However, at around the same time, two major industries were established in Oskarshamn. In 1966, Scania AB bought the truck
cab factory, which had been building truck cabs since 1948, and started
expanding. The Scania factory is today one of the biggest employers in
Kalmar county with almost 2000 employees. Liljeholmens Stearinfabriks AB, established in Oskarshamn in 1970, is the world’s largest candle manufacturer, specialized in stearin candles.
There are three BWR units in a nuclear power plant near Oskarshamn. There is also a laboratory for research concerning long-time storage of spent nuclear fuel. The Aspo Hard Rock Laboratory is open to the public to visit.
Sights
In the port of Oskarshamn there are tourist boats which take visitors to the island and national park Blå Jungfrun. There are also boats that cruise the coastal waters closer to Oskarshamn. Within the municipality there is the Oskarshamn archipelago which consists of over 5 000 islands and small islets.
In the harbor area there are restaurants, pubs and cafés. There are
also viewpoints over the harbor. On the south side of the port there is a
72 meters long wooden bench called Långa soffan. It was built in
1867 and it is believed to be the longest of its kind in Europe. From
the bench there is a panorama view over the harbor and the quite lively
shipping activity going on there.
Another panorama-view of Oskarshamn and the sea outside is obtained
from the top of the town’s northern water-tower which is open to the
public.
The older part of Oskarshamn is preserved fairly well. In one
particular part of town there are older wooden houses originating from
the 19th century. The area is called Besväret and Fnyket.
Fredriksbergs Herrgård is a manor-house
built in 1784 situated just outside the city center of Oskarshamn. It
is open for the public to visit and houses a restaurant, café and a
small museum.[2]
Culture
Oskarshamn was the home of the famous woodcarver Axel Petersson Döderhultarn. His studio as well as the Döderhultarn Museum, containing more than 200 of his carvings are located here. There is also a maritime museum in Oskarshamn.
At the release of The Simpsons film, Swedish newspaper Sydsvenska Dagbladet concluded that Oskarshamn is the Swedish equivalent to Springfield, the Simpsons' hometown.[3]
Each summer there is a music festival located to the harbor area. The festival, named Latitud 57, is taking place simultaneously as the annual Oskarshamn Offshore Race which is a popular competition for powerboats. The world championship in Offshore was held here 2011.
Transport
The rail traffic is today limited to freight trains to and from the
harbour; the passenger trains have been replaced by buses. There is also
a ferry line between the town and Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland. Oskarshamn also has its own airport, situated some 11 km to the north of the city centre.
Sport
IK Oskarshamn is the name of the local ice hockey team. Between 5th to 10th of July 2011, Oskarshamn will host the world championship in offshore powerboat racing.[4]
References
- ^ a b c "Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km2 2005 och 2010" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ^ http://www.smaland-oland.se/en/worth-seeing/fredriksbergs-herrgard
- ^ http://sydsvenskan.se/sverige/article253293.ece
- ^ http://www.oskarshamnsmotorbatklubb.s
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| In the field's behind our Apartment |
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| The view from the balcony |
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| The center of the town's fountain |
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| Our car |
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| The arena |
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| We usually make a fire every night when it's cold |
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| Edy enjoying the view |
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| The ski hills |
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| All the clouds on top of the ski hill |
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| The main street |
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| Another mountain view |
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| Our apartment complex |
Asiago
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the settlement in the Province of Vicenza, Italy. For the cheese of the same name, see
Asiago cheese.
(
Cimbrian:
Slege,
German:
Schlägen) is the name of both a minor township (population roughly 6,500) and the surrounding plateau region (the
Altopiano di Asiago or
Altopiano dei Sette Comuni,
Asiago plateau) in the
Province of Vicenza in the
Veneto region of Northeastern
Italy. It is near the border between the
Veneto and
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol regions in the foothills of the
Alps, and about equidistant (100 km) from the major cities of
Trento to the west and
Vicenza to the south.
Alpine-War 1915-1918 Monument in Asiago.
Although probably best known internationally as the origin of
Asiago cheese, Asiago was also the site of a
major battle between Austrian and Italian forces on the
Alpine Front of
World War I. It is a major ski resort destination as well as the site of the
Astrophysical Observatory of Asiago, operated by the
University of Padua.
[edit] Culture
Until the middle of the nineteenth century many of the people of Asiago spoke
Cimbrian, an ancient
German dialect.
Asiago is the birthplace of author
Mario Rigoni Stern, and features prominently in his stories. It is also described in
Emilio Lussu's
A Year on the Altopiano.
The city is home to
Asiago Hockey AS, a professional
ice hockey team currently playing in the country's top division,
Serie A1.
- Aldo Stella (b. 1943), ski mountaineer and cross-country skier, calls Asiago his hometown.
[edit] References
- ^ All demographics and other statistics from the Italian statistical institute (Istat)
[edit] External links
