SWEDEN  |  Scania, Sweden Travel Guide
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A Brief History of Lund

A Brief History of Lund

Lund, founded in 1020, is the oldest city in Scania and was actually the biggest city in Scandinavia for a while in the 12th century. At that time, the church had tremendous power and, since Lund was where the archbishop lived, the city became the heart of Denmark. It was also during the 12th century that a wall, over two miles long and eight feet high, was built to keep enemies out. Today you can still see remains of the wall when walking around in the city center. While Malmö was prospering during the Middle Ages, Lund was struggling. Floods, diseases, fires and uprisings dominated this era. Some uprisings came from the powerful and highly influential bishops trying to take away all power of the king.

Eventually, however, the church would lose its power altogether in 1536 during the Reformation in Denmark. As a result, most churches in Lund were torn down. In 1658, things went from bad to worse as Lund became Swedish in the Peace Treaty in Roskilde. Battles were fought between the Danes and the Swedes, with many casualties, and in 1678 the Danes decided that, since they were not going to keep the city, they might as well burn it down. About half the houses in Lund were burned to the ground and the city had now reached rock bottom.

But just like Malmö, Lund would once again flourish and it was the introduction of the railway system that made it happen here as well, with industrialization and the resulting increase in population. Lund was no more than a village in the mid-19th century; today it is the third-biggest city in Scania, with 100,000 people.

One good thing came out of the peace treaty in 1658 and that was the founding of the university a few years later.

Last updated March 31, 2012
Posted in   Sweden  |  Scania
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