It’s Softhouse‘s main publication, and Scandinavia‘s leading magazine on Lean- and Agile Development. Each issue is filled with up-to-date information about Lean- and Agile methodologies, including interviews with the leading international experts in the Agile field.

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The latest issue includes the following articles:

• Lean & Agile and the matter of Architecture – Jim Coplien on the foundations and latest constructs of Lean software
• Replacing Architects with architects – Staffan Persson from Scania on new roles at the Rolls Royce of the European truck industry
• Thorough preparation creates an effective Team – Report from the Scrum frontline by Tina Lenshof
• Untangling Lean & Agile – Krister Kauppi straightens out a twisted pair
• Through my gaming glasses – Lean and Agile with a gamer’s perspective by Ola Sundin

Malmö was founded back in the 13th century. The town originally grew up on a long sandbank, on both sides of an old shore road. That shore road still exists today and is now Västergatan – Adelgatan – Östergatan. The shore was where the end of Norra Vallgatan is today. A permanent settlement quickly sprang up between these roads. The large gateway tower Österport was on the eastern edge of town, where Drottningtorget square is today.

Just before the old city gates you will find the unique neighbourhood of St Gertrud, now a successful, affluent area thanks to its proximity to the city gates and the main road to the great city of Lund. In fact St Gertrud has the finest examples in Malmö of what homes looked like over more than half a millennium.

The St Gertrud district has three large courtyard estates – Rasmus Kieldsons gård, Kuntzegården and Bagerska gården – with histories extending from the late Middle Ages to the present day. During the Middle Ages the three estates were divided into six rectangular plots which extended from Östergatan down to the shores of Öresund. It was only when the town started growing and had more roads that the plots could be joined together to create larger estates. Still today the narrow Kuntzegården is a beautiful example of a long, thin courtyard.

Kuntzegården was named after mayor Niels Kuntze who lived here during the 1530s. Kuntze’s house is one of Malmö’s best preserved 16th century buildings and is considered one of the city’s true gems. The building now houses the French Pâtisserie St Gertrud.

The Karl XII building can be found in the courtyard on the left, a beautiful two-storey half-timbered house. While King Karl XII did not live here, the house was built during his reign in the early 18th century. Today it is mainly used for conferences and the ground floor is home to the popular Pub Tant Gertrud.

Opposite this there are two half-timbered buildings from the early 19th century where Restaurant St Gertrud serves lunches and arranges functions, business meetings and more.

In the mid-19th century Malmö expanded dramatically as a commercial centre. The medieval guild system had been abolished and industries were rapidly emerging. The two-storey architecture was abandoned in favour of tall warehouse buildings. Today only five of these tall storehouses have been preserved in Malmö and two of them can be found at the bottom of the Kuntze’s courtyard out towards Norra Vallgatan road. Today the buildings house modern conference rooms, among other things, with a unique atmosphere.

The 1860s ushered in a new era of stone architecture, when a lot of brick and cement were used in construction. Many of the settings we now call old were built during this period. A beautiful three-storey stone building dating back to 1873 can be found in St Gertrud, squeezed in between Kuntzegården and Bagerska gården. Incidentally, the building was designed by Malmö’s first city architect, W. Klein.

In the 1960s the buildings in the St Gertrud neighbourhood, which were in very poor condition, were on the point of succumbing to the bulldozers that were levelling the ground for the modern Malmö. Instead, however, the City of Malmö decided to buy the neighbourhood and restore it to tip-top condition while showing the greatest respect for its history. The initiative was rewarded by Europa Nostra with an international Diploma of Merit, along with an environmental award from Swedish daily Expressen.