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HELSINGBORG |
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At HELSINGBORG only a narrow sound separates Sweden from Denmark;
indeed, Helsingborg was Danish for most of the Middle Ages, with a
castle controlling the southern regions of what is now Sweden. The
town's enormously important strategic position meant that it bore the
brunt of repeated attacks and rebellions, the Swedes conquering the town
on six separate occasions, only to lose it back to the Danes each time.
Finally, in 1710, a terrible battle saw off the Danes for the last time,
and the battered town lay dormant for almost two hundred years,
depopulated and abandoned. Only in the nineteenth century, when the
harbour was expanded and the railway constructed, did Helsingborg find
new prosperity. Today, the dramatically redeveloped harbour area has
breathed new life into this likeable, relaxed town which is well worth a
day's stay for its bars, cafés and cosily buzzing atmosphere.
Directly south of the the North Harbour café-bars, the strikingly
designed Henry Dunker Cultural House , named after the city's foremost
industrialist benefactor, aims to provide a full vision of the city's
history in context and also houses a theatre and concert hall (ask at
the tourist office). East from Hamntorget and the harbours, the massive,
neo-Gothic Rådhus marks the bottom of Stortorget , the long thin square
sloping up to the lower battlements of what's left of Helsingborg's
castle, the kärnan or keep (daily: April, May & Sept 9am-4pm; June-Aug
10am-7pm; Oct-March 10am-2pm; 15kr), a fourteenth-century brick tower,
the only survivor from the original fortress. The views from the top are
worth the entrance fee although you don't miss much from the lower
(free) battlements. Off Stortorget, Norra Storgatan contains
Helsingborg's oldest buildings, attractive seventeenth- and
eighteenth-century merchants' houses with quiet courtyards.
Apart from the Sundbussarna passenger ferry to Helsingør, which pulls up
across an arm of the docks, all ferries , trains and buses arrive at
Knutpunkten, the harbourside central terminal . It's just a couple of
minutes' walk from here up Stortorget towards Kärnen to the tourist
office at Södra Storgatan 1 (June-Aug Mon-Fri 9am-8pm, Sat & Sun
9am-5pm; Sept-May Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 10am-2pm; tel 042/10 43 50,
www.visit.helsingborg.se ), which has free city maps and books private
rooms at 125kr per person (plus 75kr fee). Otherwise, the cheapest of
the central hotels is Linnea , Prästgatan 4 (tel 042/21 46 60;
£15-20/$24-32), which drops prices in summer and at weekends. The Villa
Thalassa youth hostel (tel 042/21 03 84; £10-15/$16-24; bus #7, or #44
after 7pm) is 4km north along Drottninggatan. For camping , try the
waterfront site at Kustgatan Råå, 5km southeast; bus #1A or #1B from
outside the Rådhus.
You shouldn't have any difficulty finding somewhere to eat. Lovely
daytime cafés include the classic Fahlmans on Stortorget - try their
apple meringue pie - and the charismatic Ebba's Fik , Bruksgatan 20,
which is all decked out with authentic 1950s memorabilia. There are
plenty of harbour-front bars, though the best laid-back style café is
the gay-run K & Co , Nedre Långwinkelsgatan 9, for great muffins, cakes
and ciabattas. The cheapest restaurant is the unglamorous Graffitti on
the first floor at Knutpunkten.
There are several good clubs , including Sweden's biggest jazz club,
Jazz Klubben, Nedre Långvinkelsgatan 22 (Wed, Fri & Sat), and the noisy,
popular Tivoli club, Hamntorget 11, where you can get down to the very
latest sounds for a 60kr entrance.
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