HELSINGBORG

helsingborg, a seaport of sweden in the district (_lan_) of malmohus, 35 m. n. by e. of copenhagen by rail and water. pop. (1900), 24,670. it is beautifully situated at the narrowest part of oresund, or the sound, here only 3 m. wide, opposite helsingor (elsinore) in denmark. above the town the brick tower of a former castle crowns a hill, commanding a fine view over the sound. on the outskirts are the oresund park, gardens containing iodide and bromide springs, and frequented sea-baths. on the coast to the north is the royal _chateau_ of sofiero; to the south, the small spa of ramlosa. a system of electric trams is maintained. north and east of helsingborg lies the only coalfield in sweden, extending into the lofty kullen peninsula, which forms the northern part of the east shore of the sound. potter's clay is also found. helsingborg ranks among the first manufacturing towns of sweden, having copper works, using ore from sulitelma in norway, india-rubber works and breweries. the artificial harbour has a depth of 24 ft., and there are extensive docks. the chief exports are timber, butter and iron. the town is the headquarters of the first army division. the original site of the town is marked by the tower of the old fortress, which is first mentioned in 1135. in the 14th century it was several times besieged. from 1370 along with other towns in the province of skane, it was united for fifteen years with the hanseatic league. the fortress was destroyed by fire in 1418, and about 1425 eric xiii. built another near the sea, and caused the town to be transported thither, bestowing upon it important privileges. until 1658 it belonged to denmark, and it was again occupied by the danes in 1676 and 1677. in 1684 its fortifications were dismantled. it was taken by frederick iv. of denmark in november 1709, but on the 28th of february 1710 the danes were defeated in the neighbourhood, and the town came finally into the possession of sweden, though in 1711 it was again bombarded by the danes. a tablet on the quay commemorates the landing of bernadotte after his election as successor to the throne in 1810. helsingfors (finnish _helsinki_), a seaport and the capital of finland and of the province of nyland, centre of the administrative, scientific, educational and industrial life of finland. the fine harbour is divided into two parts by a promontory, and is protected at its entrance by a group of small islands, on one of which stands the fortress of sveaborg. a third harbour is situated on the west side of the promontory, and all three have granite quays. the city, which in 1810 had only 4065 inhabitants, abo the then capital having 10,224, has increased with great rapidity, having 22,228 inhabitants in 1860, 61,530 in 1890 and 111,654 in 1904. it is the centre of an active shipping trade with the baltic ports and with england, and of a railway system connecting it with all parts of the grand duchy and with st petersburg. helsingfors is handsome and well laid out with wide streets, parks, gardens and monuments. the principal square contains the cathedral of st nicholas, the senate house and the university, all striking buildings of considerable architectural distinction. in the centre is the statue of the tsar alexander ii., who is looked upon as the protector of the liberties of finland, the monument being annually decorated with wreaths and garlands. the university has a teaching staff of 141 with (1906) 1921 students, of whom 328 were women. the university is well provided with museums and laboratories and has a library of over 250,000 volumes. other public institutions are the athenaeum, with picture gallery, a swedish theatre and opera house, a finnish theatre, the archives, the senate house, the nobles' house (_riddarhuset_) and the house of the estates, the german (lutheran) church and the russian church. some of the scientific societies of helsingfors have a wide repute, such as the academy of sciences, the geographical, historical, finno-ugrian, biblical, medical, law, arts and forestry societies, as also societies for the spread of popular education and of arts and crafts. there are a polytechnic, ten high schools, navigation and trade schools, institutes for the blind and the mentally deficient, and numerous elementary schools. the general standard of education is high, the publication of books, reviews and newspapers being very active. the language of culture is swedish, but owing to recent manufacturing developments the majority of the population is finnish-speaking. helsingfors displays great manufacturing and commercial activity, the imports being coal, machinery, sugar, grain and clothing. the manufactures of the city consist largely of tobacco, beer and spirits, carpets, machinery and sugar.