page_title: History of Falkenberg
section_title: Modern period (-1860)
hierarchical_section_title: History of Falkenberg / Modern period (-1860)
caption_attribution_description: Svenska: Tullbron, Falkenberg, Sverige.
context_page_description: The history of Falkenberg is, to a smaller or larger extent, known since the late 13th century, when the town starts to appear in written sources. The town might have taken over the position as a local power center from a location in Stafsinge. It was then Danish, and would remain so up till 1645, with some minor interruptions.
  From the 14th century and on to the Northern Seven Years' War a second town, Ny-Falkenberg was located close to the town. The fort from which the fiefdom had been run was destroyed by Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson's troops in 1434, and would not be rebuilt, hence marking the end of the fiefdom. The town gained its market rights in 1558.
  Better infrastructure in the latter part of the 19th century, meant that the town break a long period of stagnation and see some substantial growth. The industralisation process started at the late 19th/early 20th century. In the 20th century the town has continued to growth, both in terms of population and size. For the first time it has come to include areas on the southern strand of river Ätran.
context_section_description: Falkenberg was, together with the rest of the county, ceded to Sweden in the mid 17th century. By then, it had been heavily affected by the many wars which since the 13th century had ravaged the county. Christer Bonde, president of the Swedish National Board of Trade described it as a "minor stain", after his tour of inspection in the conquered territories. He was not alone. Several other notes from this time mentions the town in similar, unfavourable, words. The town had then, and would for quite some time, about 200 people, mainly working with farming. Farming and fishing continued to be the major trade in the town into the mid 19th century.
  The Swedish state had an intention to limit the number of towns with the right to trade internationally (Sw. stapelstäder). Hence, the town lost these rights in 1660, had them returned in 1679 (during the Scanian War), and finally lost them again in 1724. A long battle with the state about the rights ensued. It would take until 1866 before the town regained the rights.
  In 1660 the down suffered a major fire, in which 16 of the houses was lost. It was followed by several fires in the first half of the 18th century (1706, 1708, 1718, 1725, 1732 and 1743). As a result of all these fires, thatched roofs were forbidden. They were often replaced with brick roofs. The last major fire took place in 1841.
  A register of the townspeople's occupations in 1737 reveals two bakers,  a  glassmaker, a gold smith, a gloves maker, a hat maker, a wheel maker,  a copper smith, a potter, a mason, a painter, , three shoemakers, two tailors, a butcher, three smiths,  four lumbermen,  a weaver, four inn owners, twelve seamen and fishers and twelve workers. From the 18th century and onwards more and more potteries were built, the most well known Törngrens krukmakeri.
  Salmon fishing has in all likelihood been carried out in river Ätran since ancient times. It is mentioned from the 16th century and onwards. Hallandia antiqua et hodierna describes it as the best in Halland. The good fishing-waters draw many Englishmen to the town in the 19th. This early tourism is described in Days in Falkenberg - A Record of Sport in Sweden, a book written in 1884 by A. M. Wilkinsson, a lawyer from London. Among those fishing were Sir Hyde Parker and a son to Thomas Babington Macaulay. At the end of the 19th century the town gained about one fifth of its revenue from the fishing. Nowadays the revenue from the fishing is estimated to be of the order of five million SEK.
  The Falkenberg Bridge was built in the mid 18th century. The current town hall (Falkenbergs town hall) was built in 1826, although earlier town halls had existed at the same spot.
  It was suggested in the early 1860s that the town should have a town council. Up until then the decisions had been made at assemblies, where all those attending and with a right to vote could do so. After some early opposition the town council was introduced in 1865.
caption: Falkenberg Bridge, a toll bridge, built in the 18th century.
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