Halmstad  is a port, university, industrial and recreational city at the mouth of the Nissan River in Halland in south-western Sweden. The river empties into the Kattegatt. Halmstad traces its history to the early Middle Ages, sometime around 1000-1100. The name Halmstad is first mentioned in the jordebog of Valdemar II of Denmark in 1231 as a King's mansion. The oldest known charter is from 1307.