Helsingborg Town Hall
Helsingborgs Rådhus

Helsingborg Town Hall was built in 1892–1897 according to drawings by architect Alfred Hellerström, who won a national competition for the building’s design. The town hall replaced an older building on the same site and was centrally located at Stortorget, where it marks the connection between the city’s medieval core and the harbor area. The building was designed in the neo-Gothic style with strong brick facades, pointed arched windows, ridged gables and a 65-meter-high bell tower, which has served as the city’s visual landmark together with Kärnan since its construction.

The construction was built of red stone with sandstone details, and the composition of the facade draws on both North German and Danish medieval traditions, emphasizing Helsingborg’s historical connection to the Øresund region. The main portal is flanked by sculptures by sculptor Alfred Nyström, symbolizing justice, law and trade. The interior contains state rooms with vaulted ceilings, wood paneling and murals depicting Helsingborg’s development as a trading and maritime centre.

The stained glass mosaics in Helsingborg Town Hall form a central part of the building’s artistic decoration and were created in connection with the construction of the town hall. They were designed by Gottfrid Larsson and Svante Nilsson based on a design by architect Alfred Hellerström, who wanted the interior to convey Helsingborg’s historical and civic identity. The mosaics were made in Malmö and installed in the large pointed windows in the town hall and the stairwell. They consist of coloured and leaded glass with motifs depicting Helsingborg’s development from a medieval port town to a modern market town.

The main motifs show symbols for trade, seafaring, industry and justice, and they are accompanied by allegorical figures representing work, law and knowledge. The windows of the council chamber also display the city’s old seal and coat of arms, while smaller panels depict motifs from Kärnan, St. Mary’s Church and the harbour. The composition follows the decorative principles of the Gothic Revival, with the vertical lead frames emphasising the architectural rhythm of the windows. Today, they stand as one of the most complete examples of late-historical glass art in Sweden and an integral part of Helsingborg City Hall’s overall character.

Terrace Steps
Terrasstrapporna

The Terrasstrapporna were built in 1903 as a monumental staircase connecting Stortorget and the park around Kärnan. The project was designed by architect Alfred Hellerström, who was also behind Helsingborg City Hall, and it was part of the great industrial exhibition in 1903, where the city marketed itself as a modern industrial trading city. The stairs were constructed in granite with balustrades, terraces and viewing platforms, creating an axis directly up towards Kärnan and the surrounding parks.

The facility was designed according to Baroque and Classicist models, where symmetry and level shifts are used to create a representative urban space. Each terrace has a view of the city and the harbor, and the facility was equipped with lighting, fountains and stonework done by local craftsmen. The terrace stairs, together with the nearby pavilions and viewpoints, were a symbol of the new Helsingborg. Today, the stairs are a cultural and historical landmark and an important link between the medieval city center and the higher-lying parks.

Kärnan

Kärnan is the last surviving part of the medieval castle in Helsingborg, which was built in the first half of the 14th century. The tower served as a defensive tower and symbol of royal power in the then Danish kingdom’s control of the Øresund. The current building is a stone house 35 meters high with walls that measure over four meters thick at the bottom. Originally, the tower was surrounded by a ring wall, and there was a fort and moats that extended down to the sea.

After the Swedish takeover of Skåne in 1658, the castle lost its strategic importance, and most of the surrounding buildings were demolished in the late 17th century. Only Kärnan remained as a distinctive ruin and the tower was restored in the 1890s according to drawings by Oscar Trapp and Helgo Zettervall. The restoration recreated the outer walls and added a new stair tower, making the building accessible to visitors.

Kärnan stands today as one of the best preserved medieval castle towers in the Nordic countries, and it is a landmark of Helsingborg. The tower is open to the public and functions as a museum and viewpoint, from which there is a clear view of the Øresund and to Helsingør on the other side of the strait. You can also take a walk in the green park that surrounds Kärnan.

St. Mary’s Church
Sankta Maria kyrka

Sankta Maria kyrka is Helsingborg’s oldest preserved building and the most important church in the city’s medieval core. It was begun in the late 13th century and completed around 1400 as a basilica in the style of North German brick Gothic. The church’s construction coincided with Helsingborg’s emergence as a Danish trading town and port, and the building was placed centrally in the then city center close to the sea. The plan follows the classic Gothic pattern with a nave, a lower choir with a five-sided end and tall windows, which were originally equipped with stained glass mosaics.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the church was given several side chapels and a tower extension, and after the Reformation, the furnishings were changed in line with the Lutheran form of worship. The current interior is characterized by later furnishings, such as the altarpiece from 1615, which was made by Jacob Kremberg, and a pulpit from the 1620s decorated with evangelist symbols. In the 19th century, the church underwent extensive restoration led by architect Helgo Zettervall, who reconstructed parts of the masonry in the old church.

Sankta Maria kyrka continues to have status as Helsingborg’s main church and is used for both parish and cathedral functions. The building represents one of the best-preserved examples of Scanian brick Gothic and illustrates the city’s historical connection to the Danish cultural area. Its tall tower and red brickwork form a central element in Helsingborg’s skyline.

North Harbour
Norra Hamnen

Norra Hamnen is Helsingborg’s modern port and residential area and is one of Sweden’s most striking examples of urban transformation of a former industrial port. The area was originally developed in the second half of the 19th century as an extension of the existing commercial port and housed shipyards, warehouses and port industry for over 100 years. In the 1990s, the area was redeveloped through a municipal development program, where the port’s functions were shifted and the former industrial area was transformed into a district for housing, offices and cultural institutions.

The new Norra Hamnen was officially inaugurated in 1999, and the master plan was prepared by White Arkitekter. The architecture is characterized by modern Scandinavian functionalism with glass and concrete facades, flat roofs and open ground floors towards the harbor promenade. A central element of the plan is the Dunkers Kulturhus, which forms a link between the city center and the harbor area, while the harbor basin is used for recreational purposes with a marina, walkways and viewing platforms.

Today, Norra Hamnen is an example of urban coastal planning, where former industrial areas and railway terrain are integrated into the city’s public space. The area contains housing, several restaurants and commercial premises, as well as a harbor promenade of over 700 meters. The development of Norra Hamnen has had a great impact on Helsingborg’s urban identity and marks a new closeness to the water.

Dunker’s House of Culture
Dunkers Kulturhus

Dunkers Kulturhus was inaugurated in 2002 as Helsingborg’s modern cultural center and was designed by the Danish architect Kim Utzon. The building is located at Norra Hamnen on an area that previously housed part of the industry in the port and warehouses. The project was part of a larger urban renewal plan, where the goal was to connect the city center with the waterfront and create a new public space. The house was built in white concrete and glass, and the sharp geometric form consciously refers to architectural clarity.

The Kulturhuset houses a museum, art hall, concert hall, library and teaching rooms and functions as Helsingborg’s interdisciplinary cultural institution. The permanent exhibition conveys the city’s history from the Middle Ages to the present day, while the art hall shows changing contemporary exhibitions. Next to the Kulturhuset is another cultural institution in the form of Helsingborg City Theatre.

Dunkers Kulturhus is named after the industrialist and philanthropist Henry Dunker, who lived from 1870–1962. He used his fortune from the rubber company Tretorn to finance cultural institutions and social causes in Helsingborg.

Ramlösa Well Park
Ramlösa Brunnspark

Ramlösa Brunnspark was founded in 1707 around the natural mineral water spring, which had been known for its healing properties since the 17th century. The facility was developed into a health resort, where patients came to drink and bathe in the water. Brunnsparken was expanded throughout the 18th and 19th centuries with pavilions, houses and promenades, and the place became one of Sweden’s most famous recreational places.

The oldest surviving buildings in the park date from the late 18th century, but the current appearance is characterized by extensions from the mid-19th century, when the architect Peter Boisen rebuilt the area in Empire and Swiss style. The large Brunnspaviljong was built in the 1880s as a gathering place for concerts and social events, and terraces and walkways were laid out around it in a landscaped style. In the early 1900s, the area was electrified and modernized, but retained its function as a health resort until the middle of the century.

After 1950, the health resort was gradually discontinued, and the area passed into municipal ownership. Today, Ramlösa Brunnspark functions as a public park and cultural environment with preserved buildings, an information center and exhibitions about the history of culture. The spring still exists and forms the basis for the industrial bottling of Ramlösa mineral water, which is today one of Sweden’s oldest registered trademarks.