Provinces: Kristianstads Ian, Malmohus Ian.
Skanes Turistrid,
J Stora Sodergatan 8c,
S-22223 Lund: tel. (0 46) 12 43 50.
Skne (Scania) is Sweden’s southernmost region, lying between the Kattegat, the Oresund and the Baltic. Its 500 km (300 mile) long coastline is fringed with sandy beaches and wooded dunes, with stretches of rocky coast in the NW. Northern Skane is a region of granite and gneiss, forests and gently rolling countryside. The fertile plain of Skane is the granary of Sweden.
The farmhouses of Skane, built on an elongated rectangular plan, are designed to provide protection from the strong winds that blow over the plain. The grass covered field walls (anothercharacteristic feature of the region) have frequently had to give way to the requirements of modern traffic. Another traditional feature of the landscape, Dutch windmills, once so common, have now all but disappeared.
The large Iron Age chambered tombs in Skane are a reminder that this area was settled at an early period in human development. During the Bronze Age, there were roads across the mud flats to Denmark; this, combined with the mild climate, led to an increase in the number of settlements. The population continued to grow during the Iron age, and many Vikings set out from Skcine on their long sea voyages to Britain and France.
Since Sk3ne was under Danish rule until the middle of the 17th c. many Danish bishops, kings, nobles and merchants left their mark on its architecture. This Danish
influence can be seen, for example, in Glimmingehus Castle and Kristianstad. Under the treaty of Roskilde (1658) Sk3ne became part of Sweden.
Toward the end of the Middle Ages, Skane had established a stable and healthy economy, based on agriculture, the herring fisheries, coal-mining and the supplies of clay which gave rise to its brickmaking industry.
The traditional costumes of Skane , with their rich adornment of silver, recall the prosperity of the region in the 1 6th c„ when its inhabitants began to wear finer clothing and jewelry. The style of that period has largely survived in the various local costumes and in furniture decoration.
