Historisk stadsvandring

Join us on a historical city walk in central Halmstad.

NOTE - The walk is unmarked.

Halmstad's three hearts Everyone has a heart, but Halmstad has three! There are several theories about how Halmstad got its crowned hearts that are visible in the city coat of arms. One of these is that they date back to the 13th century when the Danish king Valdemar Sejr and his children and grandchildren ruled in our area. These kings all had crowned hearts in their seals. When the Danish king Christian IV was to give Halmstad a coat of arms 300 years later, it was natural to use the crowned hearts as a symbol, as they had previously symbolized Halland in the Danish royal shield.

The name Halmstad There are also many theories about how the name Halmstad originated. The name is documented as early as the 13th century. One theory is that it comes from the fact that the town originated at a ford on the Nissan. This is because stad may be a Swedishized form of the Danish sted, which means place (or possibly ford). Straw is usually seen as synonymous with grass or seaweed. It could also be an old name for a man who simply had a place in Halmstad.

Another not-so-credible tale is that the inhabitants here defended the town against the Danes by supplying straw baskets with tar. The people of Halmstad sprinkled the tar on their opponents at the city wall that ran around the town.