Editing Uddevalla (section)

== History ==
[[File:Suecia 3-116 ; Uddevalla.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Uddevalla around 1700, from the [[Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna]]]]
Uddevalla originally belonged to [[Norway]] and received its [[town privileges]] in 1498. It’s probable that the town was founded some time before that, but we have no proof about that. The Norwegians originally named the city “Oddevald”, which later became “Oddevold”. <ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2016-12-19 |title=Uddevalla {{!}} WestBiz |url=https://westbiz.se/uddevalla/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |language=sv-SE}}</ref>

Due to the town’s former proximity to [[Denmark]] and Sweden, as well as its strategic position, there were many [[War|wars]] in and around Oddevold. Oddevold has changed nationalities a total of seven times throughout its history. In 1658, Oddevold (and the rest of [[Bohuslän]]) was handed to Sweden as part of the [[Treaty of Roskilde]]. Norway invaded the city a year later before it was handed back as part of the [[Treaty of Copenhagen (1660)|Treaty of Copenhagen]] 1660. That was the last time Oddevold changed nationality and it was soon thereafter renamed to Uddevalla. The old name remains today in the form of [[IK Oddevold]], the local [[Association football|football]] team.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bohuslän blir svenskt 1658 |url=https://www.bohuslansmuseum.se/kunskapsbanken_bohuslans_historia/bohuslan-blir-svenskt-1658/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=Bohuslans Museum |language=sv-SE}}</ref>

=== City fires ===
Uddevalla has been burned to the ground a total of six times. The first five times were attempts to claim the city by the different [[Scandinavia|Scandinavian]] nations. After the fifth fire in 1690, the town was rebuilt and became larger than it ever was. Uddevalla was the 5th largest city in Sweden when the sixth great fire started in 1806. The small fire which started in a [[barn]] spread quickly and burnt down the entire city. Only a few houses located in the city outskirts remained intact, and the city had to be rebuilt. It is because of this fire that central Uddevalla has a [[Grid plan|grid-like structure]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Branden i Uddevalla 1806 |url=https://www.bohuslansmuseum.se/kunskapsbanken_bohuslans_historia/branden-i-uddevalla-1806/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=Bohuslans Museum |language=sv-SE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Uddevalla Släktforskare – Uddevalla 1807 – Föreningen Uddevalla Släktforskare bildades 1983 och är en ideell förening som är öppen för alla som är intresserade av släkt- och hembygdsforskning. |url=https://uaslektforskare.se/uddevalla1807/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |language=sv-SE}}</ref>

=== Industries ===
When the [[Industrial Revolution|industrial revolution]] reached Sweden, Uddevalla had fully recovered from the fire. Uddevalla's first major industry was a [[cotton mill]] named [[Kampenhof AB]]. It was built in 1857 and had 10 000 machines driven by a [[steam engine]]. A few years later in 1875, Adolf P. Zachau built a match factory called Uddevalla Tändsticksfabrik. The match factory, along with their trademark “Svalan” (translated: “The [[Swallow]]”), eventually became successful all over the world. Despite this, it was closed down in 1938. Kampenhof AB remained until 1954, when it too was closed down. The cotton mill however, stood untouched until 1982 when it was [[demolished]]. In its place today is Kampenhof Resecentrum, the main [[bus station]] of Uddevalla.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UDDEVALLA TÄNDSTICKSFABRIK |url=https://thoresmatches.se/tandsticksfabriker/uddevalla_tandsticksfabrik.htm |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=thoresmatches.se}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kampenhofs bomullsspinneri och väveri |url=https://digitaltmuseum.se/011014290707/kampenhofs-bomullsspinneri-och-vaveri |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=digitaltmuseum.se |language=en}}</ref>

Uddevallavarvet was at its time the biggest employer in all of Bohuslän with approximately 4 000 workers at its peak. It was founded in 1946 by Gustav B. Thordén, who bought two [[Kaiser Shipyards|kaiser shipyards]], one from [[Portland, Maine|Portland]], [[Maine]] and one from [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]], [[Rhode Island]], and transported them across the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]]. When Uddevallavarvet was closed down in 1986 they had built 221 [[Oil tanker|supertankers]]. Their biggest ship was the [[T/T Nanny]] which, with a length of 364 meters and a width of 79 meters, is the biggest [[ship]] ever built in Sweden. <ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Varvet och Vi |url=https://digitaltmuseum.se/021107069772/varvet-och-vi |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=digitaltmuseum.se |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kolar |first=Linn |date=2025-03-14 |title="Jätteladyn" – en svensk industriell triumf |url=https://www.dagensps.se/foretag/uddevallavarvet-och-tt-nanny-en-svensk-industriell-triumf/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=Dagens PS |language=sv-SE}}</ref>