| Summary
| | The period 1900-1940 is where the industrial society and the rules of the parliamentary system set in.
The development of a new transport and communication technology created new possibilities for co-operation in the Sound region. |
The period 1900-1940 is where the industrial society and the rules of the parliamentary system set in.
The development of a new transport and communication technology created new possibilities for co-operation in the Sound region and the rapidly growing industrial workers´ class demanded influence through hard industrial conflicts. In the inter-war period an important result of these power struggles were Social Democratic prime ministers and mayors in Denmark as well as Sweden.
In the beginning of the century it was believed that the countries around the Baltic, i.e. Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Russia belonged together naturally. Numerous attempts were made to manifest this. For example through a number of joint industrial and cultural exhibitions in the Sound region, in which the countries presented their progresses in the areas.
However, at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 these endeavours collapsed, because Germany and Russia were on different sides.
Sweden and Denmark pursued a policy of neutrality throughout the war, but was pressurized by both England and Germany. It was particularly the access to the Baltic, through the Danish straits, which was important and both countries were forced by Germany to mine the waters to prevent England from getting to the Baltic.
In the inter-war period, (1918 – 1940) new and more efficient means of communication across the Sound were developed. The capacity and number of the ferries was increased and with the invention of the aeroplane, Swedish as well as Danish plane pioneers were able to fly across the Sound.
The co-operation between Elsinore and Helsingborg was strengthened during the worldwide financial crisis in the 1930´s by the fact that the Swedish magnate, Dunker, opened one of his rubber factories, Tretorn, in Elsinore. With its about 1000 workers it became, next to the Elsinore Shipyard, the town´s largest place of work.
With its many industrial workers Elsinore became a strong Social Democratic bastion in Denmark, where the Social Democratic mayor from 1919, Peder Christensen, for many years was at the head of some sort of Social Democratic “municipal-socialism”. This involved, among other things, an extensive municipal funded building activity and the establishment of a number of co-operative enterprises.
The explosive industrial and cultural development can be seen, especially in Helsingborg, in the architecture of the town. A walk through the town shows examples of historicism, entire residential neighbourhoods in the Art Nouveau style and the functionalism of the 1930´s in the public buildings.
In Elsinore too there are examples of this, but here they have chosen to protect the town structure and architecture of the 18th century. |