Basic facts of Skåne
Skåne \skɔːnɛ\, or Scania in english, is the southernmost province of Sweden and the southern tip of Scandinavia.
The official language in Skåne is swedish, but most people speak english too.
The currency used is swedish krona (SEK).
The largest city is Malmö, the third largest city in Sweden with a population of 300,000.
It was founded about 1250 AD.
The Öresund bridge, which connects Skåne and Denmark, is a cable-stayed bridge which spans 7,845 m (25,738 ft). It leads into a tunnel which is 4 km (2,5 miles) km long on the danish side.
About 48% of the 11,035 km2 area is agricultural land and 35% is forest land.
The climate is warm temperate with four distinct seasons.
Summer temperatures vary between 20 and 30 degrees C (68-86 degrees F).
Skåne has a 668 km (415 miles) long coast line and 387 islands outside the coast.
In Sweden, everyone has "Right of public access". It means you can go almost anywhere you want and even camp for one night in nature! Read more about it here: Right of public access.
There are 3 national parks and 180 nature reserves in Skåne.
7% of the area is protected. Perfect for hiking!
Skåne has 34 official museums and 5 cultural institutions.
History of Skåne
The first historical writings that mention Skåne are from 811 AD, when it was a part of Denmark. Due to its central location, Skåne was an important part of the Kingdom of Denmark, with an important role in history. In the hard competition for the royal throne, the people of Skåne were usually on the side of the losers, frequently opposing the ruling kings. The exception was the Battle of Foteviken in 1134 AD, just south of where the city of Malmö lies today. The scanians (people from Skåne) supported Erik Emune, the scanian candidate for the royal throne, and won against king Niels. After the death of Erik Mune, however, they elected Oluf Haraldsen, who was defeated at the Battle of Glumstorp, just outside of Lund. The scanians were continually defeated in battle by the might of the jutes after that, for example when around one thousand rioting peasants were slaughtered in Dösjebro in 1181, or in the Battle of Lomma in 1183.
Skåne, being the neighbouring province to Sweden, was greatly affected by the many wars between Denmark and Sweden. It was not until the 14th century that Sweden succeded in taking Skåne under possession. Not by military force, however, but because of a financial crisis that forced Denmark to give Skåne as a deposit to the rich counts of Holstein. The counts were tremendously impopular, and the scanians were almost about to start a riot... again... so the counts decided to sell a big part of the province to king Magnus Eriksson of Sweden in 1332 and the rest in 1341. Valdemar Atterdag, the king of Denmark, was forced to accept by treaty in 1343 that Skåne wasn't a part of Denmark anymore. However, he retook Skåne in 1360, taking advantage of political instability in Sweden. In 1452, Karl Knutsson pillaged and burned most of the towns of Skåne in a destructive campaign against Denmark, except the city of Landskrona, whose population accepted Karl Knutsson as the lawful king.
The so-called Union Wars between Sweden and Denmark that had Skåne as the favourite battleground ended in 1524, after the famous swedish king Gustav Vasa gave up on swedish claims on Skåne. However, it didn't take long until wars started to tear up the scanian country-side again, in the rebellions of 1520-30 against Fredrik I which ended in defeats at Lund and Bunketofta, and the war between the old rivals Denmark and Sweden in 1643-45. In 1658, Skåne was finally conquered by Sweden and became a swedish province. However, trade between scanian and danish traders was banned and scanians were not allowed to study in the University of Copenhagen. As a result, a new university was established in Lund in 1668, and it is now one of the top universities in Sweden.
The situation of the scanian people, especially that of the farmers, improved by becoming a part of Sweden. Before, farmers were basically in the hands of the danish land-owning nobility, being forced to do different chores for them. Additionally, they were not represented in the parliament and didn't have access to even basic education. However, the scanian people were not eager to adapt to the new swedish rulers, and became even less compliant because of the frequent abuses by swedish soldiers stationed in Skåne. So when Denmark invaded Skåne in 1676, many scanians turned against their new country, joining hands with the "snapphanar" a word that was used for the scanian peasants, highwaymen and others who opposed the swedes, fighting a kind of guerilla warfare. Refusing to let go of Skåne, the swedes punished the scanians by oppressing them more than ever before, and removing their representation in the parliament in 1678.
The war, which never seemed to end, tore apart Skåne once again. However, when the "snapphanar" turned more into small group of bandits who troubled the local population more than the swedish army, most locals started to wish for a decisive swedish victory that would end the war. Peace came at last in 1679. However, the swedish leadership and king Karl XI were disappointed with the treason of the scanian people and plans were actually made to deport all scanians to the Baltic provinces! However, instead of deporting them, Sweden undertook a massive campaign to "swedify" Skåne in 1681-83. They regained represenation in the parliament, but all leading positions like priests and officials were handed to people from other parts of Sweden. Additionally, military recruitment of scanians was prohibited. When Skåne was invaded by the danes... again... in 1709, the scanian population was less rebellious than before. At the battle of Helsingborg in 1710, the swedish victory settled the matter of who would rule Skåne once and for all.
Except for the small riot in 1811, which was put down with excessive brutality in Klågerup, Skåne has been a peaceful and normal part of Sweden after 1719, when Skåne officially received the same privileges as other provinces.
Famous people from Skåne
Traditional food in Skåne
Coming soon...
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