Åmål

Åmål (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈǒːmɔl])[2] is a locality and the seat of Åmål Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 9,065 inhabitants in 2010.[1] It is situated on the western shore of Vänern.

This article is about Sweden. For other uses, see Amal (disambiguation).
Åmål
Central Åmål
Åmål
Åmål
Coordinates: 59°03′N 12°42′E
CountrySweden
ProvinceDalsland
CountyVästra Götaland County
MunicipalityÅmål Municipality
Area
 • Total7.54 km2 (2.91 sq mi)
Population
 (31 December 2010)[1]
 • Total9,065
 • Density1,203/km2 (3,120/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ClimateDfb

In 2005 Åmål received second prize in the international competition The International Awards for Liveable Communities (also known as the LivCom Awards).[3] A blues festival has been held annually in Åmål since 1992.

History
An engraving of a somewhat idealised view of Åmal in Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna, from 1708.

Åmål was founded in the 17th century by Queen Christina, and became one of the now defunct Cities of Sweden on April 1, 1643, and the only city in the historical province of Dalsland. Its location close to the borders of the Denmark-Norway alliance made it vulnerable to attack and it accordingly suffered over the ensuing centuries: first in 1645, when it was almost completely demolished, again in 1676 and 1679; and the last time in 1788 when it was conquered by the Danes, who then held it for a short while.

The town suffered devastating fires in 1777, 1809, 1846 and 1901. After the last severe fire in 1901, whereby 1000 people became homeless, and one third of the city was burnt to the ground, it was rebuilt with wider streets and larger houses in a Jugend style of architecture. The area of wooden houses, the so-called Plantaget, south of the river, the Åmålsån, that runs through the town into the lake, was spared by the fire and today forms the "old town" area.

Show Me Love (Fucking Åmål)

The 1998 movie Fucking Åmål (known in the English-speaking world as Show Me Love), directed by Lukas Moodysson, is set in Åmål. The movie depicts the town as extremely boring and it was largely filmed in the nearby town of Trollhättan. The film created controversy in the town of Åmål. Local politicians campaigned to get the title of the film changed.[4] The local complaints had no effect on the content or release of the film and since the release of the film the town of Åmål has even tried to embrace the publicity generated. In the early 2000s the town founded the pop music festival "Fucking Åmål Festival".

Sports

The following sports clubs are located in Åmål:

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km2 2005 och 2010" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  2. Jöran Sahlgren; Gösta Bergman (1979). Svenska ortnamn med uttalsuppgifter (in Swedish). p. 29.
  3. LivCom Awards
  4. Gareth Griffiths, An Åmål State of Mind, in City + Cinema: Essays on the specificity of location in film, Datutop 29, 2007.
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