Helsingborg's vision is to become both the most attractive town
in Sweden and to provide a comprehensive and good service throughout
the life of each inhabitant. High quality in harmony with nature
is the key concept. To reach this goal, Helsingborg strives
to provide a good platform for trade and industry while strengthening
its environmental profile and its identity as an attractive
cultural and tourist town.
Helsingborg has a population of close to 118,000 inhabitants
and is thereby Sweden's 9th biggest community. About 85,000
people reside in the town itself. For many years Helsingborg
was just a small town, but thanks to the railways and a new
harbour a strong expansion took place around the middle of
the 19th century. Helsingborg is situated at the narrowest
part of Øresund and the distance across the water to
Helsingør in Denmark is not more than 4km. Helsingborg
is a trading centre, the harbour is the second largest in
the country and the European highways E4 and E6 cross one
another just outside the town.
In Helsingborg there are more than fifty compulsory schools.
One of them is The International School of Helsingborg, where
all education is carried out in English. Many schools have
a unique profile. Some have chosen to generally devote extra
time to cultural or environmental questions while others have
established special classes for students who are interested
in the environment or music.
One fourth of the inhabitants of the town are living in their
own houses. Mariastaden is now being built - a completely
new section of the town containing both houses and flats.
Mariastaden and other new housing areas have been sited at
local train stations so that it will be easier to commute
to work and schools.
Another newly built and widely recognised residential complex
is Norra Hamnen, built on the site of an old commercial harbour,
right in the centre of the town. This is where the internationally
recognised housing fair, H99, was held.
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