Trollhättan — History


Trollhättan (Swedish pronunciation: [trɔlhɛtan]) is a city and the seat of Trollhättan Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 46,457 inhabitants in 2010.[1] It is located 75 km north of Sweden’s second-largest city, Gothenburg.

Trollhättan was founded on the river Göta älv, at the Trollhättan Falls. The site was first mentioned in literature from 1413. For centuries, Trollhättan was an obstacle for boats travelling the river, until a lock system was completed in the 19th century. It has since been updated several times, and the present locks were finished in 1916.

In the late 19th century, hydropower was developed in Trollhättan. The Swedish energy corporation Vattenfall («waterfall») took its name from the falls in Trollhättan. Today the city has two operational hydropower stations, Olidan and Håjum. The hydropower has helped the city in its industrial revolution.

Trollhättan wasn’t granted city rights (which today have no legal effect) in 1816 at which time it had about 15,000 inhabitants, now grown to 54,000.

The name Trollhättan is translated as «Troll’s bonnet». The latter part «hätta» could also mean mountain top.

Other former names of the site are Eiðar and Stora Edet; the latter lives on in the name of the south-bordering municipality of Lilla Edet.

It also has a number of industrial facilities, headed by GKN Aerospace (previously known as Volvo Aero) and its contractual suppliers. As with parallel locations elsewhere in Europe, much of its production has moved from heavy industry to professional services and the creation of intellectual property. As of 2011 Trollhättan hosts a film production complex known as Trollywood; movies shot there include Show Me Love (Fucking Åmål), Dancer in the Dark and Dogville. The movie studio Film i Väst centered here produces about half of the Swedish feature-length films.

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