Sankt Hans backar is a park and recreational area on a hill located in

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

Skåne Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne C ...

, in the southernmost part of Sweden. The top of the hill reaches above sea level. The hill is mainly artificial but the area has served as a park and recreational area for the inhabitants of Lund for centuries. The present hill was originally a common where people from Lund could let their livestock graze. The area was also used as a park where people celebrated Midsummer's Eve around the formerly sacred Saint Hans (Saint John's Well) that was situated on the eastern slopes of the hills. The well has disappeared or been covered over and all attempts to retrieve it have been vain. In 1947 Lund Council turned the common into a waste disposal area. It remained in use until 1954. The modern recreational area was constructed in the 1970s, giving the area its current form. Pollution remained an issue – the Valkärra stream, which flows through the park, was contaminated by leaking water, leading to fish mutations – and the municipality financed a new decontamination project, starting in 2013, to protect water bodies in the area. The park is the largest

urban green space In land-use planning, urban green space is open-space areas reserved for parks and other "green spaces", including plant life, water features -also referred to as blue spaces- and other kinds of natural environment. Most urban open spaces are ...

in Lund, surrounded by residential areas. It is a popular vantage point, offering a view of the town and its surroundings towards Öresund. Lundakarnevalen use the place to organize social events. There is an annual hill running competition, Sankt Hans Extreme, in the hills. An amphitheatre is planned to be constructed in the hills. The area is used by surrounding schools and preschools as an outdoor classroom. Image:St Hans backar bäck.jpg, ''Vallkärra'' stream Image:St Hans backar, koloniområde.jpg, Allotment gardens Image:St Hans backar, utsikt över Norra Fäladen.jpg, View over the Annehem, northward Image:St Hans backar, utsikt över Nöbbelöv.jpg, The view over the Norra Nöbbelöv, westward

References

{{coord, 55, 43, 22, N, 13, 11, 33, E, region:SE_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki, display=title Lund Tourist attractions in Lund Geography of Skåne County Geography of the Øresund Region