Värnamo — historically known as Wernamo — is a town in Jönköping County in the south of Sweden. It is situated on the river Lagan just north of the lake Vidöstern. It is the seat of Värnamo Municipality and has 19,741 inhabitants as of 31 December 2019. The name comes from old Swedish värn and mo.
History
Värnamo traces its history back to a village in the medieval age; the first written mention of it stems from the 13th century. It came into existence as a village to the eastern side of a fordable place over the Lagan, a river that for large parts is difficult to travel by. As there are also smaller streams to the south and west of this location, it was considered something of a safeguard, leading to its name being amalgamated from the two Swedish words värn, which means safeguard, and mo which is a geographical location reference describing the kind of land on which the town is situated. The word mo actually means that the soil consists of fine sand, sometimes making the land surrounding the river bog or barren. Värnamo came to be the centre of Östbo Härad, an archaic form of judicial district, and thus a seat of trade and commerce. When Värnamo became a köping in 1659 it was given formal rights to host markets, falling under the jurisdiction of the city ofJönköping. The town of Värnamo was insignificant for a long time, but with the Swedish population growth and industrialization in the 19th century it expanded, becoming an independent köping in 1859. Dense forests and industrial water power spurned the furniture industry and forges run by water power. The Swedish railroad nets spurred to enhance its industrial life, leading to a population increasing from 1,141 people in 1910 to 3,664 in 1920, and making it significant enough to get the title of a city on November 1, 1920, whereby it became one of the now only historical Cities of Sweden. The chosen city arms depicts the traditional location by the Lagan.
Apladalen
Apladalen is a nature park and an open-air museum located in the center of Värnamo. It has some preserved buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries, a handicraft shop, a café and a large playground. There are also live animals, such as sheep, goats, rabbits and hens. In Apladalen you can also find a statue of the lovers Per and Kersi, a fictional couple who met at the market in Värnamo and fell in love.
There are three newspapers in Värnamo: Värnamo Nu, Finnveden nu and Värnamo nyheter. Värnamo Nu is an online-only newspaper that was founded in 2010. It is owned by Birgitta and Per Bunnstad, the latter who is the legally responsible publisher. Finnveden Nu, founded 2003, is a free newspaper that is distributed every Friday. An online version is also available. Värnamo Nyheter is an online and print paid newspaper distributed every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It was founded by Karl Witus Johansson in 1930. Finnveden Nu and Värnamo Nyheter are owned by Hall Media which is in turn owned by Bonnier News Local and Amedia. Sveriges Television broadcasts local TV news and publishes online news articles for Jönköping County, which includes Värnamo. Until 2014, local TV news for Jönköping County was also covered by TV4. Local radio news are covered by Radio Sweden as part of its coverage on Jönköping County. There is also a community radio association, created in 1982, which since 1985 broadcasts music, the assemblies of Värnamo municipal council, news on Israel and Christian worship.
