Landskrona
Landskrona is a municipality in southern Sweden, in the county of Skåne. The municipality covers an area of 140.3 km². The total population of 37,728 makes a population density of 269 inhabitants/km². Most of the inhabitants live in the town Landskrona.The town Landskrona was founded at the location of Scania's best natural harbour, as a means of King Eric of Pomerania's anti-Hanseatic policy, intended to compete with Danish towns under Hanseatic control. A monastry of the Carmelites was founded in 1410, English merchants were granted a royal privilege charter in 1412, and the town itself was chartered in 1413. Landskrona was burned by the Hanseatic League in 1428.
The town supported the deposed king Christian II of Denmark (1525), and opposed the Reformation in Denmark (1535), and in both cases found itself among the defeated. The Reformist King Christian III of Denmark abstained however from retaliation, and founded instead a castle to protect the harbour. The castle, build where the monastry was situated until the Reformation, was ready in 1560.
After Terra Scania was ceded to Sweden in 1658, the good harbour and the strong fort were reasons for plans to make Landskrona the commercial center of the acquired territory with extraordinary privileges for foreign trade. The castle was enforced by bastions, the area inside the moats extended to 400x400 meters, the castle considered the strongest and most modern in Scandinavia, but was lost to the Danes after a comparably short siege July 8-August 2 1676. The commandant colonel Hieronymus Lindeberg is consequently sentenced to death for high treason.
The further plans were however, for various reasons, not realized. The continued Swedish-Danish wars motivated Karlskrona, located at a safer distance from Denmark, replacing Landskrona as a naval base, the fortifications were discontinued, and Malmö remained the most important commercial town - despite Malmö lacking a harbour until late in the 18th century.
The fortifications at Landskrona were much expanded 1747-1788, but condemned in 1822, whereafter the garrison was abolished in 1869.
The walls and moats of the fortifications are today a beautiful recreational area, commonly known under the name Landskrona citadel.
Municipalities of Skåne:
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Bjuv | Bromölla | Burlöv | Båstad | Eslöv | Helsingborg | Hässleholm | Höganäs
Hörby | Höör | Klippan | Kristianstad | Kävlinge | Landskrona | Lomma | Lund | Malmö
Osby | Perstorp | Simrishamn | Sjöbo | Skurup | Staffanstorp | Svalöv | Svedala | Tomelilla
Trelleborg | Vellinge | Ystad | Åstorp | Ängelholm | Örkelljunga | Östra Göinge
