King Sweyn I Forkbeard moved Lund to its present location, a distance of some five kilometres (3.1 miles).
The new location of Lund, on a hill and across a ford, gave the new site considerable defensive advantages in comparison with Uppåkra, situated on the highest point of a large plain.
[22] Over the second half of the 20th century the population of Lund more than doubled, driven in large part by the growth of the university and high tech industries.
[24] Lund is located in Sweden's largest agricultural district, in the south-west of Scania, less than ten kilometres (6.2 miles) from the sandy shore of the Öresund Strait.
Its location on the south-facing slope of the Romeleåsen horst leads to the city rising from the low-lying Höje River in the south to 86 metres (282 feet) above mean sea level in the north.
A few buildings from the Middle Ages remain, including Lund Cathedral, Liberiet, St. Peter's Priory, the restaurant Stäket and Krognoshuset.
Smaller city squares in Lund include Domkyrkoplatsen, Petriplatsen, Västra stationstorget, Sockertorget and Knut den Stores Torg.
The park contains planted gardens, a small lake, a children's playground and bandstands, as well as the public swimming center Högevallsbadet and the former buildings of Lund Observatory.
The climate is relatively mild compared to other locations at similar latitudes, or even somewhat further south, mainly because of its proximity to the sea.
The municipality is responsible for the city of Lund, nearby settlements including Dalby, Södra Sandby and Veberöd, and the surrounding countryside.
[33] Since October 2018[update] the mayor and chairman of the executive committee (kommunstyrelsens ordförande) has been Philip Sandberg of the Liberals.
Its traditional centre is in Lundagård park but stretches out towards the north east of the city where the large engineering faculty is located.
[45] Numerous prominent figures from the literary world lived and worked in Lund, often in association with the university and theatre.
[citation needed] The spex are a form of student theatre particular to Nordic universities, with a strong tradition in Lund.
Founded in 1892 by Georg Karlin, it consists of more than 30 buildings, as well as collections exhibiting Scanian art, crafts, local archaeology and history.
[54] The Lund carnival has been held every four years since the mid-nineteenth century: traditional accounts say it originated at a wedding in 1849 (the four-year intervals place the party in 2002, 2006, 2010, etc.).
Midway between a music and stage fair, a city festival, and an outpouring of satire, parody and general madness.
Artists associated with Lund include DJ and record producer Axwell, rock musician Kal P. Dal, rapper Timbuktu, indie pop group The Radio Dept., and singer and songwriter Amanda Jenssen.
[citation needed] Lund hosted matches from the 2011 Handball World Championship in the Sparbanken Skåne Arena.
Local traffic is served by the Pågatåg electric multiple units, which provide stopping services within Scania.
[60] There are 4,800 bike parking spaces in the town, including a multi-storey facility at the railway station, over 260 km (162 mi) of cyclepaths and cycle lanes, and 43% of journeys within the city take place by bicycle.
[citation needed] Since 2019, the bus network in Lund has been licensed to the company Vy Buss, overseen by Skånetrafiken.
[64] A survey carried out on behalf of Region Skåne in 2015 found that 11% of Lund residents used the bus network regularly.
Plans were approved in 2015 to initiate a 6 km (3.7 mi) tram network to provide faster and higher-capacity commuter transport in central Lund.
Long-term plans to extend this network to the suburban towns of Bjärred (via Öresundsvägen), Dalby, Staffanstorp and Södra Sandby have been shelved.
The E22 was the first motorway in Sweden, and was originally built around the edge of the town; however following the expansion of the suburbs out to the east in the latter half of the 20th century it now passes through the city.
Companies with offices in Lund include Sony Mobile Communications, Ericsson, Arm Holdings, and Microsoft.
Gambro, one of the key companies in the development of the artificial kidney, was founded in Lund in 1964 and retains a significant presence in the city.
[68] Alfa Laval, the international manufacturer of heat exchangers and separators, have a factory in Lund, and Tetra Pak have their headquarters and part of production in town.
Network video camera maker Axis Communications was founded in Lund in 1984 and maintains its headquarters in the city as an independently operated subsidiary of Canon.