Mölndal
| Mölndal | ||
|---|---|---|
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Mölndal | ||
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  Location of Mölndal | ||
| Coordinates: 57°42′N 11°58′E / 57.700°N 11.967°ECoordinates: 57°42′N 11°58′E / 57.700°N 11.967°E | ||
| Country | Sweden | |
| Municipality | Mölndal Municipality | |
| County | Västra Götaland County | |
| Province | Västergötland | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Climate | Cfb | |
| Website | www.molndal.se | |
Mölndal is a part of the Gothenburg urban area on the west-coast of Sweden, and constitutes the administrative centre of Mölndal Municipality. About 40,000 of the municipality's 60,000 inhabitants live in Mölndal proper.
Geography
Mölndal is located on the western main line railway between Gothenburg and Malmö and the European highways E6/E20 run through the area from north to south. Mölndal is served by the Gothenburg tramway system.
History
The name of the city derives from two words; Möln, which is a short form for Möllor, an old word for mills, and the word dal, which is the Swedish word for valley. Mölndal is the "Valley of mills". The narrow but high and long waterfalls in Kvarnbyn gave the necessary power to all the watermills that together with the windmills on the hills gave birth to the early industrialisation of Mölndal.
Industry
Mölndal is best known for its high concentration of companies in life sciences. AstraZeneca has one of its global research centres here with more than 3,100 employees. Several other companies in areas of research such as pharmaceuticals, biomedicine, and biotechnology are also located here. The proximity to the University of Gothenburg and to Chalmers University of Technology - with their technology parks - has supported development of other sectors, such as microwave technology and information technology. Two national research institutes, IFP SICOMP AB and IVF Industrial Research and Development Corporation, are also located in Mölndal.
Sports
The following sports clubs are located in Mölndal:
- Fässbergs IF
- Balltorps FF
- IF Mölndal Hockey
- Jitex BK
- Dalen/Krokslätts FF
- Kvarnby Basket
European Cooperation
- Mölndal is a member city of Eurotowns network[1]
Famous people from Mölndal
- Nils-Bertil Dahlander, Swedish jazz drummer, born 13 May 1928 in Mölndal; died 6 June 2011 in Mesquite, Nevada, USA.
*Mats Levén, recognized metal singer
- Annelie Pompe, world record holder in Variable weights freediving
- Anders Frisk, football (soccer) referee
- Claes Malmberg, actor and stand-up comedian
- Oscar Dronjak, guitarist and founder of the Swedish heavy metal band HammerFall.
