Mölndal

Mölndal
Coat of arms
Location of Mölndal
Coordinates: 57°42′N 11°58′E / 57.7°N 11.967°E / 57.7; 11.967
Country	Sweden
Municipality	Mölndal Municipality
County	Västra Götaland County
Province	Västergötland
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
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 here.

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

Mölndal in 1870

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

Old industrial area, today a tourist attraction

Mölndal is best known for its high concentration of companies in the 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 Göteborg University and 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
• Dalen/Krokslätts FF

Famous people from Mölndal

• Mats Leven
• Annelie Pompe, world record holder in Variable weights freediving

References

Coordinates: 57°42′N 11°58′E / 57.7°N 11.967°E / 57.7; 11.967