Värnamo
Värnamo (
Värnamo Wernamo (historic) | |
---|---|
Town | |
the former district court | |
Etymology: from old Swedish värn (sconce) and mo (sandy flat land) | |
Motto(s): Marknadsstaden ("Market town") | |
Värnamo Värnamo Värnamo | |
Coordinates: 57°11′N 14°02′E | |
Country | Sweden |
Province | Småland |
County | Jönköping County |
Municipality | Värnamo Municipality |
Lydköping | 1620 |
Friköping | 1860 |
Charter | 1920 |
Government | |
• Type | Municipal council |
• Body | Värnamo Municipality |
• Mayor | Hans-Göran Johansson (Centre Party) |
Area | |
• Land | 11.94 km2 (4.61 sq mi) |
Population (31 December 2019)[3] | |
• Total | 19,741 |
• Rank | 64th |
Demonym(s) | Värnamobo |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes[4] | List
|
Area code(s) | 0370 |
Website | varnamo |
History
Värnamo traces its history back to a village in the medieval age; the first written mention of it stems from the 13th century. It came into existence as a village to the eastern side of a fordable place over the Lagan, a river that for large parts is difficult to travel by. As there are also smaller streams to the south and west of this location, it was considered something of a safeguard, leading to its name being amalgamated from the two Swedish words värn, which means safeguard, and mo which is a geographical location reference describing the kind of land on which the town is situated. The word mo actually means that the soil consists of fine sand, sometimes making the land surrounding the river bog or barren.
Värnamo came to be the centre of Östbo Härad, an archaic form of judicial district, and thus a seat of trade and commerce. When Värnamo became a köping in 1659 it was given formal rights to host markets, falling under the jurisdiction of the city of Jönköping.
The town of Värnamo was insignificant for a long time, but with the Swedish population growth and industrialization in the 19th century it expanded, becoming an independent köping in 1859. Dense forests and industrial water power spurned the furniture industry and forges run by water power. The Swedish railroad nets spurred to enhance its industrial life, leading to a population increasing from 1,141 people in 1910 to 3,664 in 1920,[7] and making it significant enough to get the title of a city on November 1, 1920, whereby it became one of the now only historical Cities of Sweden. The chosen city arms depicts the traditional location by the Lagan.
Apladalen
Apladalen is a nature park and an open-air museum located in the center of Värnamo. It has some preserved buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries, a handicraft shop, a café and a large playground. There are also live animals, such as sheep, goats, rabbits and hens. In Apladalen you can also find a statue of the lovers Per and Kersi, a fictional couple who met at the market in Värnamo and fell in love.
Sports
The town is home to IFK Värnamo who currently play in the Superettan, the second tier of Swedish football.
Media
There are three newspapers in Värnamo: Värnamo Nu, Finnveden nu and Värnamo nyheter.[8]
Värnamo Nu is an online-only newspaper that was founded in 2010. It is owned by Birgitta and Per Bunnstad, the latter who is the legally responsible publisher.[9][10]
Finnveden Nu, founded 2003, is a free newspaper that is distributed every Friday. An online version is also available[11][12].
Värnamo Nyheter is an online and print paid newspaper distributed every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It was founded by Karl Witus Johansson in 1930.[13][14]
Finnveden Nu and Värnamo Nyheter are owned by Hall Media which is in turn owned by Bonnier News Local and Amedia.[15][16]
Sveriges Television broadcasts local TV news and publishes online news articles for Jönköping County, which includes Värnamo.[17] Until 2014, local TV news for Jönköping County was also covered by TV4.[18]
Local radio news are covered by Radio Sweden as part of its coverage on Jönköping County.[19] There is also a community radio association, created in 1982, which since 1985 broadcasts music, the assemblies of Värnamo municipal council, news on Israel and Christian worship.[20][21]
Notable people
A
- Ellen Allgurin - tennis player
- Johan Andersson - footballer
B
- Ulla Billquist - schlager singer
C
- Pär Cederqvist - footballer
- Martin Claesson - footballer
- Viktor Claesson - footballer
E
- Josef Elvby - footballer
- Tobias Englund - footballer
G
H
- Carl-Axel Heiknert - actor
- Niklas Hult - footballer
I
J
- Per Johansson - footballer
- Sven Johansson - sport shooter
- Ville Jansson - tennis player
- Hans-Göran Johansson - mayor of Värnamo Municipality and father of Annie Lööf
L
- Alexander Lundh - motorcycle racer
- Björn Lekman - speed skater
- Annie Lööf - leader of the Centre Party
M
- Bruno Mathsson - furniture designer
N
- Patrik Näslund - ice hockey player
- Jesper Nelin - biathlete
O
- Mats Odell - politician
- Sven Ohlsson - wrestler
- Hanna Ouchterlony - officer of the Salvation Army
R
- Felix Rosenqvist - racing driver
- Elize Ryd - singer-songwriter and member of the band Amaranthe
S
- Stig Sjölin - Olympic boxer
- Michael Svensson - footballer
- Allan Svensson - actor
- Eva-Britt Svensson - politician
- Loret Sadiku - footballer
T
- Mattias Tedenby - ice hockey player
- Jonas Thern - football manager and former professional player
- Simon Thern - footballer
References
- "Kommunens organisation". Värnamo Kommun (in Swedish). Värnamo Kommun. 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
- "Folkmängd och landareal i tätorter efter region, tabellinnehåll och vart 5:e år". SCB (in Swedish). SCB. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- "Folkmängd och landareal i tätorter efter region, tabellinnehåll och vart 5:e år". SCB (in Swedish). SCB. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- "Sök postnummer och adress". PostNord (in Swedish). Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- "Folkmängd och landareal i tätorter efter region, tabellinnehåll och vart 5:e år". SCB (in Swedish). SCB. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- Hellquist, Elof (1922). Svensk etymologisk ordbok (in Swedish). Lund: C. W. K. Gleerups förlag. p. 1175.
Värnamo, fsv. bl. a. Värnamo 1237; av värn (med en biform värn = isl. yprn) o. mö; syftande på en mö med skansar el. förhuggningar. Jfr nsv. Varnby Sdml., fsv, Farna- o. Vwrnaby, med ungefär samma betydelseinnehåll som fsv. Borghby; se förf. Ortn. på -by s. 26 o. jfr Södervärn i Malmö.
- 2: Nordisk Familjebok
- "Svenska webbtidningar". National Library of Sweden (in Swedish). 29 June 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "Om". Skillingaryd.nu Vaggeryd.nu (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "Finnveden Information Aktiebolag". Proff (in Swedish). Proff AB. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "Om Nu-tidningarna". Nutidningarna (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "Finnveden Nu" (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "Om vn.se". Värnamo Nyheter (in Swedish).
- Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1948). "J". Vem är Vem? – Götalandsdelen utom Skåne (in Swedish). Stockholm: Vem är Vem Bokförlag. p. 497. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
Johansson, Karl Witus [...] start. Värnamo Nyheter 30
- Nikolic, Herman (25 February 2020). "Mediejättar köper Värnamo Nyheter och Hall Media". Värnamo Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "Bonnier samlar lokaltidningar i nytt affärsområde". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). 15 April 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "Organisation". SVT (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "TV4 lägger ner lokala nyhetsstationerna". Kvällsposten (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "Om P4 Jönköping". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "Värnamo Närradio". www.varnamonarradio.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "Föreningen Shalom i Värnamo" (in Swedish). Shalom. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
External links
- Tourist information - official tourist information
- Visit Värnamo - official tourist information
- Värnamo.se - official visitors' guide (in Swedish)
- Värnamo kommun - homepage for the municipality of Värnamo (in Swedish)