Åmål facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Åmål
Central Åmål
Åmål Location in Västra Götaland Show map of Västra Götaland Åmål Location in Sweden Show map of Sweden
Country	Sweden
Province	Dalsland
County	Västra Götaland County
Municipality	Åmål Municipality
Area
• Total	7.54 km2 (2.91 sq mi)
Population  (31 December 2010)
• Total	9,065
• Density	1,203/km2 (3,120/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Climate	Dfb

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

In 2005 Åmål received second prize in the international competition The International Awards for Liveable Communities (also known as the LivCom Awards). 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.

Sports

The following sports clubs are located in Åmål:

• IF Viken
• IFK Åmål

Notable people

• Anders Fryxell (1795 in Edsleskog – 1881) historian and writer.
• Amy Segerstedt (1835 in Åmål – 1928) teacher, folk teacher, and philanthropist
• Rut Berglund, (1897 in Åmål – 1984) an operatic mezzo-soprano and contralto
• Karl Gustav Jöreskog (born 1935 in Åmål) statistician.
• Egzon Binaku (born 1995 in Åmål) a footballer who plays for IFK Norrköping.

See also

In Spanish: Åmål para niños