Strömstad

Strömstad lies at the mouth of the Strömsån on the rocky coast of northern Bohuslän. A settlement called Strömmen grew here by the sixteenth century. Its harbour and its proximity to the Norwegian border shaped the town that followed, as merchants, fishermen and soldiers all found reasons to gather on this coast.

After Bohuslän passed to Sweden in 1658, the crown sought a trading centre in the north of the province. Strömstad became a market town in 1667 and a town by 1672. During the wars of Charles XII it served as his headquarters for operations against Norway, and in 1717 Danish naval forces under Tordenskjold attacked it twice. Later in the eighteenth century the great herring fishery brought new prosperity to the small port.