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Söderhamn is situated at the mouth of the river Söderhamnsån into the Gulf of Bothnia. It is the centre of the municipality of the same name. The municipality has a population of about 25,800 (2009), the town of Söderhamn proper has a population of about 12,100 (2005).

Söderhamn was founded in 1620 when Söderhamns arms manufactures began its operations, and it is thus one of the many cities that were built in the 1620s. Before that, Söderhamn was a port where the fishing and trading was pursued, and where a castle, Faxehus, had been built in the Middle Ages. A large fire destroyed much of the city in 1675. After having been rebuilt, the town continued to grow, but in 1721 the town was burnt down by the Russians. After a reconstruction a two further large fires in 1835 and 1875, the town was finally rebuilt on a regular ground plan.

The town hall [left] was built after the large fire of 1876. After the fire of 1878, which again caused severe damages, it was restored.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B6derhamn, http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B6derhamn, http://projekt.soderhamn.se/kulturbyggnader/Engelska%20sidor/Engsodhis.html]