Hudiksvall () is a city and the seat of Hudiksvall Municipality, in Hälsingland, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 15,015 inhabitants in 2010. Hudiksvall is also known as Glada Hudik (), a term that originated in the 19th century as word spread of its friendly hospitality and its lively social life. The city is located along the E4, on the east coast of Sweden deep inside the bay Hudiksvallsfjärden, about 80 km south of Sundsvall and about 130 km north of Gävle. Hudiksvall is Sweden's 76th largest urban area and also the largest urban area in Hälsingland. Around Hudiksvall within the municipality lay the communities of Delsbo, Iggesund, Enånger, Njutånger, Näsviken and Sörforsa. History Hudiksvall was founded by King John III of Sweden in 1582. He had the inhabitants moved from the town Hudik, where his father Gustav Vasa had collected the trade- and craftsmen of Hälsingland in order to more easily collect taxes, to Hudiksvall by the shores of the bay. At the time, fishing and the trading of furs, skins, iron, copper and wood products were the main sources of income, and the city flourished. But the city lost its privileges for foreign trading in 1636, and its development was somewhat stalled for the next two centuries. It has been damaged by fires some 10 times, the most severe when it was burnt by the Russians during the Russian Pillage of 1719-1721 in 1721, whereafter only the church remained. The current street structure was applied in 1792 as part of the reconstruction necessitated by another fire. Climate Hudiksvall has a humid continental climate with a significant maritime influence. In the 1961-1990 reference period it was just above subarctic, but that border region has since moved somewhat further north. Considering how far north it is, the climate is comparatively mild, with warm summers and moderated winters with daytime highs often hovering around the freezing point. The town is the northernmost in Sweden to have January average highs above and is the coastal tipping point for regular average highs of in summer. By east coast standards, Hudiksvall has a relatively wet climate with an annual precipitation rate averaging sometimes resulting in heavy snowfall during winters. Sport The city has three exercise trails on either side of the town: in the West, at Fridhem, in the North, just above the gymnasium, and in the East at Björkberg, of which the East has hosted