Värnamo
Encyclopedia
Värnamo is a locality
and the seat of Värnamo Municipality
, Jönköping County
, Sweden
, with 18,696 inhabitants in 2010.
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, 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.
, who is well known for his furniture designs. A permanent exhibition of a selection of his work can be found at the Bruno Mathsson Center, located next to the beautiful park "Apladalen" ("Apple valley"). The famous football player Jonas Thern
also grew up in the city and currently resides there.
Urban areas in Sweden
Urban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort. The official term in English, used by Statistics Sweden, is, however, locality. There are 1,940 localities in Sweden . They could be compared with census-designated places in the United States.A tätort in Sweden has a minimum of...
and the seat of Värnamo Municipality
Värnamo Municipality
Värnamo Municipality is a municipality in Jönköping County in southern Sweden, where the town Värnamo is seat.The municipality was created in 1971, when the City of Värnamo was amalgamated with the surrounding rural municipalities to form an entity of unitary type...
, Jönköping County
Jönköping County
Jönköping County is a county or län in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The capital is Jönköping.- Provinces :...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, with 18,696 inhabitants in 2010.
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
Köping
This article deals with the Swedish denomination for a market town. For the city, see Köping, Sweden. For the municipality, see Köping Municipality....
in 1659 it was given formal rights to host markets, falling under the jurisdiction of the city of Jönköping
Jönköping
-Notable people:*Lillian Asplund, RMS Titanic survivor*John Bauer, illustrator, painter*Amy Diamond, singer*Agnetha Fältskog, ABBA*Carl Henrik Fredriksson, editor-in-chief and co-founder of Eurozine*Anders Gustafsson, kayaker, Olympian...
.
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, 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.Famous people
One of Varnamo's celebrities is Bruno MathssonBruno Mathsson
Bruno Mathsson was a Swedish furniture designer and architect with ideas colored by functionalism/modernism, as well as old Swedish crafts tradition. Being the son of a carpenter in the town of Värnamo in the South of Sweden, it was fairly obvious what work the young Bruno would choose...
, who is well known for his furniture designs. A permanent exhibition of a selection of his work can be found at the Bruno Mathsson Center, located next to the beautiful park "Apladalen" ("Apple valley"). The famous football player Jonas Thern
Jonas Thern
Jonas Magnus Thern is a Swedish association football manager and former professional player who played as a midfielder.- Early career :...
also grew up in the city and currently resides there.