it has gone from a garrison town to a developed commercial city, today attracting visitors in the summertime mainly from Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands.

The purpose of the town was to safeguard the eastern half of the Danish province of Scania against any future raids from Sweden in the north, but also as a symbol of the power of Christian himself.

The king also founded the town of Kristianopel in eastern Blekinge to serve a similar purpose.

Pylyp Orlyk was after 1709 chosen as a Hetman in exile by the cossacks and the Swedish king Charles XII.

This Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk was confirmed by Charles XII and it also names him as the protector of Ukraine.

Sweden's lowest point, at 2.41 meters below mean sea level, is located in Kristianstad.

The threat of flooding became substantial during late winter 2002, when the greater part of the public park Tivoliparken was under water.

[6] However, the wetlands around the city are starting to be regarded more as an asset, not least thanks to the creation of Kristianstads Vattenrike Biosphere Reserve.

Kristianstad has by now crossed a vital threshold, as the city and adjacent municipality, with a population of 80,000, in essence use no oil, natural gas or coal to warm homes and businesses, even throughout the extensive chilly winters.

[10] Absolut Vodka, owned by Pernod Ricard, is produced by the town of Åhus located within the municipality.

The Swedish Film industry (Svensk Filmindustri) commenced its activities in Kristianstad in the 1910s,[11] before moving to Stockholm in 1920.

[13] The city's coat of arms depicts two lions holding the King Christian IV's crowned insignia, the monogram C4.

The coat of arms was only slightly modified after the Swedish takeover following the 1658 Treaty of Roskilde in which the eastern third of Denmark was ceded to Sweden.

Also every summer there is a major beach handball tournament taking place in the seaside resort of Åhus in the municipality.