Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne
(, ), is the southernmost of the historical
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
(''landskap'') of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of
Götaland
Götaland (; also '' Geatland'', '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, wit ...
, the province is roughly conterminous with
Skåne County
Skåne County ( sv, Skåne län, link=no ), sometimes referred to as Scania County in English, is the most southern county, or , of Sweden, basically corresponding to the traditional province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronobe ...
, created in 1997. Like the other former provinces of Sweden, Scania still features in colloquial speech and in cultural references, and can therefore not be regarded as an archaic concept. Within Scania there are 33
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
that are autonomous within the
Skåne Regional Council
Region Scania is the Regional councils of Sweden, regional council of Scania County in Sweden. Scania County was formed on January 1, 1999, by the amalgamation of the county councils of Malmöhus County and Kristianstad County and some of the tasks ...
. Scania's largest
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
,
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
, is the third-largest city in Sweden, as well as the fifth-largest in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
.
To the north, Scania borders the former provinces of
Halland
Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömsebro ...
and
Småland
Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...
, to the northeast
Blekinge
Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second ...
, to the east and south the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
, and to the west
Öresund. Since 2000, a road and railway bridge, the
Öresund Bridge, bridges the
Sound
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
and connects Scania with Denmark. Scania forms part of the transnational
Øresund Region
The Øresund Region ( da, Øresundsregionen ; sv, Öresundsregionen ), also known as Greater Copenhagen for marketing purposes, is a metropolitan region that comprises eastern Denmark and Skåne in southern Sweden. Centred around the Øresund ...
.
From north to south Scania is around 130 km; it covers less than 3% of Sweden's total area. The population of over 1,320,000
represents 13% of the country's population. With 121 inh/km
2 Scania is the second-most
densely populated
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
province of Sweden.
Historically, Scania formed part of the kingdom of
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
until the signing of the
Treaty of Roskilde
The Treaty of Roskilde (concluded on 26 February ( OS), or 8 March 1658) ( NS) during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Karl X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde. After a devastating defeat, ...
in 1658. Denmark regained control of the province (1676–1679) during the
Scanian War
The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...
and again briefly in 1711 during the
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...
. Scania has been an undisputed part of Sweden since 1720.
Name
Endonym and exonyms
The
endonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
used in Swedish and other
North Germanic languages
The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also r ...
is ''Skåne'' (formerly spelled ''Skaane'' in
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
and
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
). The
Latinized form ''Scania'' is an
exonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
in English.
Sometimes the endonym Skåne is used in English text, such as in tourist information, even sometimes as ''Skane'' with the
diacritic
A diacritic (also diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent) is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek (, "distinguishing"), from (, "to distinguish"). The word ''diacriti ...
omitted. Scania (as also
Dalarna
Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales.
Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland
Värmland () also known a ...
) is one of the few Swedish provinces for which exonyms are widely used in many languages, such as
French ''Scanie'',
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
''Schonen'',
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
''Skania'',
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
''Escania'',
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
''Scania'', etc. For the province's modern administrative counterpart, ''Skåne län'', the endonym ''Skåne'' is used in English.
In the
Alfredian translation of
Orosius
Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), t ...
's and
Wulfstan's travel accounts, the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
form ''Sconeg'' appears.
[North, Richard (1997). ]
Heathen Gods in Old English Literature
''. Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
: 1997, , p. 192. Frankish sources mention a place called ''Sconaowe'';
Æthelweard, an Anglo-Saxon historian, wrote about ''Scani''; and in
Beowulf
''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...
's fictional account, the names ''Scedenige'' and ''Scedeland'' appear as names for what is a Danish land.
Etymology
The names ''Scania'' and ''
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
'' are considered to have the same etymology. The southernmost tip of what is today Sweden was called Scania by the Romans and thought to be an island. The actual etymology of the word remains dubious and has long been a matter of debate among scholars. The name is possibly derived from the Germanic root ''*Skaðin-awjã'', which appears in
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
as . According to some scholars, the Germanic stem can be reconstructed as *''Skaðan-'' meaning "danger" or "damage" (English ''scathing'', German ''Schaden'', Swedish ''skada'').
[Helle, Knut (2003). "Introduction". ''The Cambridge History of Scandinavia.'' Ed. E. I. Kouri et al. Cambridge University Press, 2003. .] Skanör in Scania, with its long
Falsterbo
Falsterbo (, outdatedly ) is a town located at the south-western tip of Sweden in Vellinge Municipality in Skåne. Falsterbo is situated in the southern part of the Falsterbo peninsula. It is part of Skanör med Falsterbo, one of Sweden's histor ...
reef, has the same stem (''skan'') combined with -''ör'', which means "sandbanks".
Administration
![old provinces scania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Old_provinces_scania.png)
Between 1719 and 1996, the province was subdivided in two administrative
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
(''län''),
Kristianstad County
Kristianstad County ( sv, Kristianstads län) was a county of Sweden from 1719 to 31 December 1996 when it was merged with Malmöhus County to form Skåne County.
The seat of residence for the Governor was in Kristianstad.
See also
* List of gov ...
and
Malmöhus County
Malmöhus County ( sv, Malmöhus län) was a county of Sweden 1719–1996. On 1 January 1997 it was merged with Kristianstad County to form Skåne County. It had been named after Malmöhus, a castle in Malmö, which was also where the governor ori ...
, each under a governor (''landshövding'') appointed by the central
government of Sweden
The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Konungariket Sveriges regering) is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority.
The Government consists of the Prime Ministerappointed and dismissed by the Speaker of the ...
.
When the first
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
acts took effect in 1863, each county also got an elected
county council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.
Ireland
The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
(''landsting''). The counties were further divided into municipalities.
The local government reform of 1952 reduced the number of municipalities, and a second subdivision reform, carried out between 1968 and 1974, established today's 33
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
( sv, kommuner) in Scania. The municipalities have municipal governments, similar to
city commissions, and are further divided into parishes (''församlingar''). The parishes are primarily entities of the
Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...
, but they also serve as a divisioning measure for the Swedish
population registration and other statistical uses.
In 1999, the
county council areas were amalgamated, forming
Skåne Regional Council
Region Scania is the Regional councils of Sweden, regional council of Scania County in Sweden. Scania County was formed on January 1, 1999, by the amalgamation of the county councils of Malmöhus County and Kristianstad County and some of the tasks ...
(''Region Skåne''), responsible mainly for public healthcare,
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
and
regional planning
Regional planning deals with the efficient placement of land-use activities, infrastructure, and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town. Regional planning is related to urban planning as it relates land ...
and culture.
Heraldry
![Suecia 3-103 ; Scaniae Insigne Ducatus 1712](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Suecia_3-103_%3B_Scaniae_Insigne_Ducatus_1712.jpg)
During the Danish era, the province had no
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
. In Sweden, however, every province had been represented by
heraldic
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...
arms since 1560. When
Charles X Gustav of Sweden
Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...
suddenly died in 1660 a coat of arms had to be created for the newly acquired province, as each province was to be represented by its arms at his royal funeral. After an initiative from Baron
Gustaf Bonde, the
Lord High Treasurer of Sweden The Lord High Treasurer (Swedish: ''Riksskattmästare'') was a highly prominent member of the Swedish Privy Council between 1602 and 1684, excluding periods when the office was out of use. The Lord High Treasurer was head of the ''Kammarkollegium'' ...
, the coat of arms of the City of Malmö was used as a base for the new provincial arms. The Malmö coat of arms had been granted in 1437, during the
Kalmar Union
The Kalmar Union (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under ...
, by
Eric of Pomerania
Eric of Pomerania (1381 or 1382 – 24 September 1459) was the ruler of the Kalmar Union from 1396 until 1439, succeeding his grandaunt, Queen Margaret I. He is known as Eric III as King of Norway (1389–1442), Eric VII as King of Denmark (1396 ...
and contains a
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
n
griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
's head. To distinguish it from the city's coat of arms the
tinctures
A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemis ...
were changed and the official
blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
for the provincial arms is, in English: ''
Or, a griffin's head
erased gules
In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple).
In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...
, crowned
azure and armed azure, when it should be armed.''
The province was divided in two administrative
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
1719–1996. Coats of arms were created for these entities, also using the griffin motif. The new Skåne County, operative from 1 January 1997, got a coat of arms that is the same as the province's, but with reversed tinctures. When the county arms is shown with a Swedish royal crown, it represents the County Administrative Board, which is the regional presence of central government authority. In 1999 the two
county councils
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.
Ireland
The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
() were amalgamated forming
Region Skåne
Region Scania is the regional council of Scania County in Sweden. Scania County was formed on January 1, 1999, by the amalgamation of the county councils of Malmöhus County and Kristianstad County and some of the tasks handled by Malmö Municipa ...
. It is the only one of its kind using a heraldic coat of arms. It is also the same as the province's and the county's, but with a golden griffin's head on a ''blue'' shield. The 33
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
within the county also have coats of arms.
The ''Scania Griffin'' has become a well-known symbol for the province and is also used by commercial enterprises. It is, for instance, included in the
logotype
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...
s of the automotive manufacturer
Scania AB
Scania AB is a major Swedish manufacturer headquartered in Södertälje, focusing on commercial vehicles—specifically heavy lorries, trucks and buses. It also manufactures diesel engines for heavy vehicles as well as marine and general indus ...
and the
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
Malmö Aviation
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popu ...
.
Coat of arms
History
![Current treaty Sweden-Denmark 3July1720](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Current_treaty_Sweden-Denmark_3July1720.jpg)
Scania was first mentioned in written texts in the 9th century. It came under Danish king
Harald Bluetooth
Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson ( non, Haraldr Blátǫnn Gormsson; da, Harald Blåtand Gormsen, died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway.
He was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 95 ...
in the middle of the 10th century. It was then a region that included
Blekinge
Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second ...
and
Halland
Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömsebro ...
, situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula and formed the eastern part of the kingdom of Denmark. This geographical position made it the
focal point of the frequent
Dano-Swedish wars
Dano-Swedish War may refer to one of multiple wars which took place between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Kingdom of Denmark (from 1450 in personal union with the Kingdom of Norway) up to 1814:
List of wars Legendary wars between Denmark a ...
for hundreds of years.
By the
Treaty of Roskilde
The Treaty of Roskilde (concluded on 26 February ( OS), or 8 March 1658) ( NS) during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Karl X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde. After a devastating defeat, ...
in 1658, all Danish lands east of
Øresund
Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...
were ceded to the Swedish Crown. First placed under a
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
, the province was eventually
integrated into the kingdom of Sweden. The last Danish attempt to regain its lost provinces failed after the 1710
Battle of Helsingborg
The Battle of Helsingborg was the last major engagement of the Great Northern War to take place on Swedish soil, and resulted in a decisive victory of a Swedish force of 14,000 men under the command of Magnus Stenbock against a Danish force of ...
.
In 1719, the province was subdivided in two
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
and administered in the same way as the rest of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. Scania has since that year been fully integrated in the Swedish nation. In the following summer, July 1720, the last peace treaty between Sweden and Denmark was signed.
On 28 November 2017 it was ruled that the Scanian flag would become the official flag of Scania.
Politics
During Sweden's financial crisis in the early and mid-1990s, Scania,
Västra Götaland and
Norrbotten
Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland.
Administration
The traditional provinces of Swede ...
were among the hardest hit in the country, with high unemployment rates as a result.
[McCallion, Malin Stegmann (2004)]
The Europeanisation of Swedish Regional Government
. ''Policy Networks in Sub National Governance: Understanding Power Relations''. Paper 8, Workshop 25, European Consortium of Political Research. 2004 Joint Sessions of Workshops, Uppsala, Sweden. In response to the crisis, the County Governors were given a task by the government in September 1996 to co-ordinate various measures in the counties to increase economic growth and employment by bringing in regional actors.
The first proposal for regional autonomy and a regional parliament had been introduced by the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
's local districts in Scania and
Västra Götaland already in 1993. When Sweden joined the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
two years later, the concept "
Regions of Europe
Europe, the westernmost portion of Eurasia—is often divided into regions and subregions based on geographical, cultural or historical factors. Since there is no universal agreement on Europe's regional composition, the placement of individual ...
" came in focus and a more regionalist-friendly approach was adopted in national politics.
These factors contributed to the subsequent transformation of Skåne County into one of the first "trial regions" in Sweden in 1999, established as the country's first "regional experiment".
[Peterson, Martin (2003)]
"The Regions and Regionalism: Regionalism in Sweden"
. ''CoR Report Sweden''. The Interdisciplinary Centre for Comparative Research in the Social Sciences, EUROPUB Case Study (WP2).
The relatively strong regional identity in Scania is often referred to in order to explain the general support in the province for the
decentralization
Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group.
Conce ...
efforts introduced by the Swedish government. On the basis of large scale interview investigations about
Region Skåne
Region Scania is the regional council of Scania County in Sweden. Scania County was formed on January 1, 1999, by the amalgamation of the county councils of Malmöhus County and Kristianstad County and some of the tasks handled by Malmö Municipa ...
in Scania, scholars have found that the prevailing trend among the inhabitants of Scania is to "
ook
Ook, OoK or OOK may refer to:
* Ook Chung (born 1963), Korean-Canadian writer from Quebec
* On-off keying, in radio technology
* Toksook Bay Airport (IATA code OOK), in Alaska
* Ook!, an esoteric programming language based on Brainfuck
* Ook, th ...
upon their region with more positive eyes and a firm reliance that it would deliver the goods in terms of increased democracy and constructive results out of economic planning".
Transportation
![Train Service within Scania 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Train_Service_within_Scania_2018.jpg)
Electrified dual track railroad exists from the border with
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
at the
Øresund Bridge
The Öresund or Øresund Bridge ( da, Øresundsbroen ; sv, Öresundsbron ; hybrid name: ) is a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the longest in Europe with both roadway and rai ...
to
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
and onwards to
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 ...
. The latter part is currently being upgraded to four tracks and expected to enter service in 2023.
[Four tracks Malmö-Lund – Trafikverket](_blank)
In Lund, the tracks split into two directions.
[Sveriges järnvägsnät - Trafikverket](_blank)
. Trafikverket.se (31 March 2015). Retrieved on 24 June 2015. The dual tracks going towards
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
end at
Helsingborg
Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...
, while the other branch continues beyond the provincial border to neighbouring
Småland
Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...
, close to
Killeberg
Killeberg () is a locality situated in Osby Municipality, Scania County, Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of Swe ...
.
[; chose "linjekarta för tåg (PDF)"] This latter dual track continues to mid-Sweden.
There are also a few single track railroads connecting cities like
Trelleborg
Trelleborg () is a town in Skåne County, Sweden, with 43,359 inhabitants as of December 31, 2015. It is the southernmost town in Sweden located some west from the southernmost point of Sweden and the Scandinavian peninsula. It is one of the mo ...
,
Ystad
Ystad (; older da, Ysted) is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and ...
and Kristianstad.
Just as five Scanian stations are served partly (
Hässleholm
Hässleholm (older da, Hasselholm) is a locality and the seat of Hässleholm Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 18,500 inhabitants in 2010.
Overview
Hässleholm was gradually developed from 1860 in connection with the construction of the ...
and
Osby
Osby () is a locality and the seat of Osby Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 7,157 inhabitants in 2010.
Swedish ice hockey goaltender Magnus Åkerlund was born in Osby.
The toy manufacturer BRIO was based in Osby, but moved to Malmö in ...
) or entirely (
Ballingslöv
Ballingslöv is a locality situated in Hässleholm Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom ...
,
Hästveda
Hästveda is a locality situated in Hässleholm Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 1,623 inhabitants in 2010.
The etymology of Hästveda indicates that the name originally signified a wood, or forest where horses were kept.
Hästveda Chur ...
and
Killeberg
Killeberg () is a locality situated in Osby Municipality, Scania County, Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of Swe ...
) by Småland local trains, the Scanian
Pågatåg trains serve
Markaryd
Markaryd () is a locality and the seat of Markaryd Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden with 3,966 inhabitants in 2010.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Markaryd is twinned with:
* Bytów, Poland
Poland, officia ...
in Småland.
There are basically three ticket systems:
Skånetrafiken
Skånetrafiken is the regional public transit district in Skåne län, in the south of Sweden.
Skånetrafiken was founded in 1999 when the two counties Kristianstads län and Malmöhus län were merged into one region, causing the two respe ...
tickets can be purchased for all regional traffic including to Denmark, while the Danish
Rejsekort
Rejsekort (Official translation: '' TRAVEL CARD'') is an electronic ticket system for public transport in Denmark. The system is a collaborative work between DSB, HUR, Ørestadsselskabet, and various regional bus companies, and work on it start ...
system can only be used at stations served by
Øresundståg
Øresundståg (, ) is a passenger train network operated by Skånetrafiken and Transdev in the transnational Øresund Region of Denmark and Sweden. The name is a hybrid of the Danish ''Øresundstog'' and the Swedish ''Öresundståg'', both meani ...
and equipped with special card readers. Additionally, Swedish national SJ-tickets are available for longer trips to the north.
The
E6 motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
is the main artery through the western part of Scania all the way from
Trelleborg
Trelleborg () is a town in Skåne County, Sweden, with 43,359 inhabitants as of December 31, 2015. It is the southernmost town in Sweden located some west from the southernmost point of Sweden and the Scandinavian peninsula. It is one of the mo ...
to the provincial border towards neighbouring
Halland
Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömsebro ...
. It continues along the Swedish west coast to Gothenburg and most of the way to the
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
border. There are also several other motorways, especially around
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
. Since 2000, the economic focus of the region has changed, with the opening of a road link across the Øresund Bridge to
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
.
The car ferry service between
Helsingborg
Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...
and
Helsingør
Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...
has 70 departures in each direction daily .
There are three minor airports in
Sturup,
Ängelholm
Ängelholm is a locality and the seat of Ängelholm Municipality in Skåne, Sweden with 39,612 inhabitants in 2010.
History
The old settlement ''Rynestad'' was mentioned around the year 1600.
The city was founded in 1516 as Engelholm by King Chri ...
and
Kristianstad
Kristianstad (, ; older spelling from Danish language, Danish ''Christianstad'') is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 40,145 inhabitants in 2016. During the last 15 years, it has ...
. The nearby
Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup ( da, Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup, ; ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. It is the second largest airport in the Nordic coun ...
, which is the largest international airport in the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
, also serves the province.
Geography and environmental factors
![Willows and flowering rapefield](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Willows_and_flowering_rapefield.jpg)
Unlike some regions of Sweden, the Scanian landscape is generally not
mountainous
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
, though a few examples of uncovered cliffs can be found at
Hovs Hallar
Hovs Hallar () is a nature reserve on the northern tip of the Bjäre Peninsula in the county of Skåne, Sweden. It is located approximately northeast of the coastal town of Torekov. The reserve is an area of geological interest and its impr ...
, at
Kullaberg
Kullaberg () is a peninsula and nature reserve of land protruding into the Kattegat in Höganäs Municipality near the town of Mölle in southwest Sweden. The site in the province of Skåne is an area of considerable biodiversity supporting a num ...
, and on the island
Hallands Väderö. With the exception of the lake-rich and densely forested northern parts (
Göinge), the rolling hills in the north-west (the
Bjäre and
Kulla Kulla may refer to:
*Kulla (god), god of builders in the Mesopotamian mythology. He is responsible for the creation of bricks and restoration of temples.
*Kulla (goddess), an alternate name of Ukulla, a goddess regarded as the wife of the Mesopot ...
peninsulas) and the beech-wood-clad areas extending from the slopes of the horsts, a sizeable portion of Scania's terrain consists of
plain
In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...
s. Its low profile and open landscape distinguish Scania from most other geographical regions of Sweden which consist mainly of waterway-rich, cool, mixed
coniferous forest
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All exta ...
s,
boreal taiga and
alpine tundra
Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated alpine climate, harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alp ...
. The province has several lakes but there are relatively few compared to
Småland
Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...
, the province directly to the north. Stretching from the north-western to the south-eastern parts of Scania is a belt of
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
forests following the
Linderödsåsen
The Linderödsåsen is a ridge, geologically a '' horst,'' in the province of Skåne in southernmost Sweden. It lies at the edge of the Baltic shield, in the Tornquist Zone, and continues with the Hallandsås in north western direction towards t ...
ridge and previously marking the border between Malmöhus County and Kristianstad County. The much denser
fir forests — typical of the greater part of Sweden — are only found in the north-eastern
Göinge parts of Scania along the border with the forest-dominated province of
Småland
Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...
. While the landscape typically has a slightly sloping profile, in some places, such as north of Malmö, the terrain is almost completely flat.
The narrow lakes with a long north to south extent, which are very common further north, are lacking in Scania. The largest lake,
Ivösjön in the north-east, has similarities with the lakes further north, but has a different shape. All other lakes tend to be round, oval or of more complex shape and also lack any specific cardinal direction.
Ringsjön
Ringsjön is a lake situated in the middle of Skåne County, Sweden. At , it is the second largest lake in the county. The western and eastern parts of the lake, called Västra Ringsjön and Östra Ringsjön respectively, are separated by a headla ...
, in the middle of the province, is the largest of such lakes.
In the winter, some smaller lakes east of Lund often attract young
Eurasian sea eagles (''Haliaeetus albicilla'').
![Southern peak of Ven (Hven) island](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Southern_peak_of_Ven_%28Hven%29_island.JPG)
Where the sea meets higher parts of the sloping landscape, cliffs emerge. Such cliffs are white if the soil has a high content of chalk. Good examples of such coastlines exist at the southern side of
Ven
Ven may refer to:
Places
* Ven, Heeze-Leende, a hamlet in the Netherlands
* Ven (Sweden), an island
* Ven, Tajikistan, a town
* VEN or Venezuela
Other uses
* von Economo neurons, also called ''spindle neurons''
* '' Vên'', an EP by Eluveiti ...
, between the towns of Helsingborg and
Landskrona
Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...
, and in parts of the south and south-east coasts. In other Swedish provinces, steep coastlines usually reveal
primary rock Primary rock is an early term in geology that refers to crystalline rock formed first in geologic time, containing no organic remains, such as granite, gneiss and schist as well as igneous and magmatic formations from all ages. Webster's Revise ...
instead.
The two major plains,
Söderslätt
Söderslätt ("South Plain") is a Swedish agricultural district, known for its very high quality soil. It is located in the south-west of Scania, at the southernmost peak of the Scandinavian peninsula. It isn't an administrative area but is usuall ...
in the south-west and
Österlen
Österlen () ( da, Østerlen) is a region in the southeast of the Swedish province of Scania (Skåne). Historically, the region was shared between the counties of Kristianstad and Malmöhus for a small part in the southwest, until Skåne County w ...
in the south-east, consist of highly fertile agricultural land. The yield per unit area is higher than in any other region in Sweden. The Scanian plains are an important resource for Sweden since 25–95% of the total production of various types of cereals come from the region. Almost all Swedish
sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...
comes from Scania; the plant needs a long
vegetation period. The same applies also to
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
,
pea
The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...
and
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
(grown for its oil), although these plants are less imperative in comparison with sugar beets. The soil is among the most fertile in the world.
The
Kullaberg
Kullaberg () is a peninsula and nature reserve of land protruding into the Kattegat in Höganäs Municipality near the town of Mölle in southwest Sweden. The site in the province of Skåne is an area of considerable biodiversity supporting a num ...
Nature Preserve in northwest Scania is home to several
rare species including spring vetchling, ''
Lathyrus sphaericus''.
Geology and geomorphology
The gross relief of Scania reflects more the preglacial development than the
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
and deposits caused by the
Quaternary glacier
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million year ...
s.
[ In Swedish the word ''ås'' commonly refers to ]esker
An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an ''asar'', ''osar'', or ''serpent kame'', is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North Amer ...
s, but major landmarks in Scania, such as Söderåsen
Söderåsen is a northwest–southwest elongated bedrock ridge in Scania in southern Sweden. On Söderåsen is Scania's highest point at above sea level. It is intersected by several fissure valleys. The ridge extends from Röstånga in the ...
, are horsts formed by tectonic inversion
In structural geology inversion or basin inversion relates to the relative uplift of a sedimentary basin or similar structure as a result of crustal shortening. This normally excludes uplift developed in the footwalls of later extensional fau ...
along the Sorgenfrei-Tornquist Zone
The Trans-European Suture Zone (TESZ), also known as the Tornquist Zone, is the crustal boundary between the Precambrian East European Craton and the Phanerozoic orogens of South-Western Europe. The zone runs from the North Sea to the Black Sea. ...
in the late Cretaceous. The Scanian horsts run in a north-west to south-east direction, marking the southwest border of Fennoscandia.[Karna Lidmar-Bergström, Lidmar-Bergström, Karna and Jens-Ove Näslund (2005). "Uplands and Lowlands in Southern Sweden". In ''The Physical Geography of Fennoscandia''. Ed. Matti Seppälä. Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 255–261. .] Tectonic activity of the Sorgenfrei-Tornquist Zone during the break-up of Pangaea in the Jurassic and Cretaceous epochs led to the formation of hundreds of small Central Skåne Volcanic Province, volcanoes in central Scania. Remnants of the volcanoes are still visible today. Parallel with volcanism a sub-Mesozoic hilly peneplains, hilly peneplain formed in northeastern Scania due to weathering and erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
of basement (geology), basement rocks. The kaolinite formed by this weathering can be observed at Ivö Lake, Ivö Klack.[ In the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous a sea level rise led to the complete drowning of Scania. Subsequently, marine sediments buried old surfaces relict (geology), preserving the rocky shores and hilly terrain of the day.][
In the Paleogene period southern Sweden was at a lower position relative to sea level but was likely still above it as it was covered by sediments.][ Rivers flowing over the South Småland peneplain flowed also across Scania which was at the time covered by thick sediments.][ As the relative sea level sank and much of Scania lost its sedimentary cover Antecedent drainage stream, antecedent rivers begun to river incision, incise the Söderåsen horst forming valleys.][ During deglaciation these valleys likely evacuated large amounts of melt-water.][ The Terrain, relief of Scania's south-western landscape was formed by the accumulation of thick Quaternary sediments during the Quaternary glaciations.]
Vegetation and vegetation zones
The vast majority of Scania belongs to the European hardwood vegetation zone, a considerable part of which is now agricultural rather than the original forest. This zone covers Europe west of Poland and north of the Alps, and includes the British Isles, northern and central France and the countries and regions to the south and southeast of the North Sea up to Denmark. A smaller north-eastern part of Scania is part of the pinewood vegetation zone, in which spruce grows naturally. Within the larger part, pine may grow together with birch on sandy soil. The most common tree is beech. Other common trees are willow, oak, ash (tree), ash, alder and elm (which until the 1970s formed a few forests but now is heavily infected by the Dutch elm disease, elm disease). Also rather southern trees like walnut tree, chestnut and hornbeam can be found. In parks horse chestnut, lime (tree), lime and maple are commonly planted as well. Common fruit trees planted in commercial orchards and private gardens include several varieties of apple, pear, cherry and plum; strawberry, strawberries are commercially cultivated in many locations across the province. Examples of wild berries grown in domesticated form are blackberry, raspberry, cloudberry (in the north-east), blueberry, Fragaria, wild strawberry and loganberry.
National parks
Three of the 29 National parks of Sweden are situated in Scania.
* Dalby Söderskog National Park, Dalby Söderskog
* Stenshuvud National Park, Stenshuvud
* Söderåsen National Park, Söderåsen
Extremes
* Southernmost point: Smygehuk, Trelleborg Municipality, (55° 20' N) (also the southernmost point of Sweden)
* Northernmost point: Gränsholmen, Osby Municipality
* Westernmost point: Kulla udd, Höganäs Municipality
* Easternmost point: Nyhult, Bromölla Municipality
* Highest point: Highest peak of Söderåsen
Söderåsen is a northwest–southwest elongated bedrock ridge in Scania in southern Sweden. On Söderåsen is Scania's highest point at above sea level. It is intersected by several fissure valleys. The ridge extends from Röstånga in the ...
, 212 metres
* Lowest spot: Kristianstad, −2.7 metres (also the lowest spot in all of Sweden)
* Largest lake: Ivö Lake, Ivösjön, 55 km2
* Largest island: Ven
Ven may refer to:
Places
* Ven, Heeze-Leende, a hamlet in the Netherlands
* Ven (Sweden), an island
* Ven, Tajikistan, a town
* VEN or Venezuela
Other uses
* von Economo neurons, also called ''spindle neurons''
* '' Vên'', an EP by Eluveiti ...
, 7.5 km2
Population
Scania is divided into 33 municipalities with population and land surface as the table below shows. There is a large population difference between the western Scania, that is located by, or close to Øresund sea compared to the middle and eastern parts of the province.
* A small part of Båstad municipality is located within the neighbouring province of Halland
Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömsebro ...
, this includes the village Östra Karup and some area around it, around 500 people live in Båstad municipality, but beyond the historical boundaries of the Scanian province.
* The western part of Scania (yellow on the map and close to the Øresund sea) covers 3201.3 km2 of land, and had (in April 2013) 925,982 inhabitants, almost 290 inhabitants/km2
* The other municipalities cover 7281.3 km2of land, and had at the same time only 341,009 inhabitants or 47 inhabitants/km2
* The same figures for the entire province are 10482.6 km2, 1,266,991 inhabitants and 121 inhabitants/km2
These figures can be compared with around to 21 inhabitants per km2 for entire Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
.
Population around Øresund
Western Scania has a high population density, not only by Scandinavian standards but also by average European standards, at close to 300 inhabitants per square kilometre. But the Denmark, Danish Copenhagen, Copenhagen region at north-east Zealand, on the other side of Øresund Sea, is even more densely populated. The north-east part of Zealand (or the Danish Region Hovedstaden without the Baltic Sea, Baltic island of Bornholm) has a population density of 878 inhabitants/km2, most of Copenhagen, Greater Copenhagen included.
By adding the population of western Scania to the same of Copenhagen, Metropolitan area of Copenhagen, then close to 3 million people live around the Øresund sea, within a maximum distance from Øresund of 25 to 30 kilometres, at a land surface of approx. 6100 km2 (approx 460 inhabitants/km2). This is in many ways a better measurement of describing the area around Øresund than what the far wider Øresund Region
The Øresund Region ( da, Øresundsregionen ; sv, Öresundsregionen ), also known as Greater Copenhagen for marketing purposes, is a metropolitan region that comprises eastern Denmark and Skåne in southern Sweden. Centred around the Øresund ...
constitutes, as the latter includes also eastern Scania (whose beaches are Baltic Sea ones and is far less populated) as well as all Denmark east of the Great Belt.
Regardless of counting a smaller area with higher population density or a larger one, the Øresund Strait is located in the largest metropolitan area in Nordic countries, Scandinavia with Finland.
Cities
In 1658, the following ten places in Scania were chartered and held town rights: Lund (since approximately 990), Helsingborg (1085), Falsterbo (approximately 1200), Ystad
Ystad (; older da, Ysted) is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and ...
(approximately 1200), Skanör (approximately 1200), Malmö (approximately 1250), Simrishamn (approximately 1300), Landskrona (1413), and Kristianstad (1622). Others had existed earlier, but lost their privileges. Ängelholm got new privileges in 1767, and in 1754, Skanör med Falsterbo, Falsterbo and Skanör were merged. The concept of municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
was introduced in Sweden in 1863, making each of the towns a Stad (Sweden), city municipality of its own. In the 19th and 20th centuries, four more municipalities were granted city status, Trelleborg (1867), Eslöv (1911), Hässleholm
Hässleholm (older da, Hasselholm) is a locality and the seat of Hässleholm Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 18,500 inhabitants in 2010.
Overview
Hässleholm was gradually developed from 1860 in connection with the construction of the ...
(1914) and Höganäs (1936). The system of city status was abolished in 1971.
Over 90% of Scania's population live in urban areas of Sweden, urban areas. In 2000, the Øresund Bridge
The Öresund or Øresund Bridge ( da, Øresundsbroen ; sv, Öresundsbron ; hybrid name: ) is a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the longest in Europe with both roadway and rai ...
– the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe – linked Malmö and Copenhagen, making Scania's population part of a 3.6 million total population in the Øresund Region. In 2005, the region had 9,200 commuters crossing the bridge daily, the vast majority of them from Malmö to Copenhagen.
The following urban areas of Sweden, localities had more than 10,000 inhabitants (year 2010).
# Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
, 280,415*
# Helsingborg
Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...
, 97,122
# 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 ...
, 82,800
# Kristianstad
Kristianstad (, ; older spelling from Danish language, Danish ''Christianstad'') is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 40,145 inhabitants in 2016. During the last 15 years, it has ...
, 35,711
# Landskrona
Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...
, 30,499
# Trelleborg
Trelleborg () is a town in Skåne County, Sweden, with 43,359 inhabitants as of December 31, 2015. It is the southernmost town in Sweden located some west from the southernmost point of Sweden and the Scandinavian peninsula. It is one of the mo ...
, 28,290
# Ängelholm
Ängelholm is a locality and the seat of Ängelholm Municipality in Skåne, Sweden with 39,612 inhabitants in 2010.
History
The old settlement ''Rynestad'' was mentioned around the year 1600.
The city was founded in 1516 as Engelholm by King Chri ...
, 23,240
# Hässleholm
Hässleholm (older da, Hasselholm) is a locality and the seat of Hässleholm Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 18,500 inhabitants in 2010.
Overview
Hässleholm was gradually developed from 1860 in connection with the construction of the ...
, 18,500
# Ystad
Ystad (; older da, Ysted) is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and ...
, 18,350
# Eslöv, 17,748
# Staffanstorp, 14,808
# Höganäs, 14,107
# Kävlinge & Furulund, 13,200
Population development
It has been estimated that around 1570, Scania had about 110,000 inhabitants. But before the Black Death, plague in the middle of the 14th century the population of all Danish territory east of Øresund (Scania, Island of Bornholm, Blekinge and Halland) may have exceeded 250,000.
The figures here are from two different sources.
*2015 data.
Hundreds
Scania was formerly divided into 23 Hundreds of Sweden, hundreds.
Climate and seasons
Scania has the mildest climate in Sweden, but there are some local differences.
The table shows average temperatures in degrees Celsius at ten Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) weather stations in Scania and three stations further north for comparison issues. Average temperature in this case means the average of the temperature taken throughout both day and night unlike the more usual daily maximum or minimum average. This is done for specific measured periods of thirty years. The last period began at 1 January 1961 and ended at 31 December 1990. The current such period started at 1 January 1991 and will end by 31 December 2020. At that time it will be possible to with a high degree of mathematical certainty to measure possible climate changes, by comparing two separate periods of 30 years with each other.
All three of the northern locations are at low altitude and fairly close to the Baltic Sea.
Compared with locations further north, the Scanian climate differs primary by being far less cold during the winter and in having longer springs and autumns. While the July temperatures doesn't differ much (see table above).
The highest temperature ever recorded in the province is (Ängelholm
Ängelholm is a locality and the seat of Ängelholm Municipality in Skåne, Sweden with 39,612 inhabitants in 2010.
History
The old settlement ''Rynestad'' was mentioned around the year 1600.
The city was founded in 1516 as Engelholm by King Chri ...
, 30 July 1947) and the lowest ever recorded is (Stehag, 26 January 1942) Temperatures below are relatively rare even at night, while summer temperatures above occurs once in a while every summer. Precipitation is spread fairly evenly, both across the province and during the year.
Slightly more precipitation falls during July and August than during the other months.
Winter
A typical winter, with average temperatures around the freezing point during January and February, means that a period of mild weather (often windy or/and rainy) is followed by a colder period (when precipitation falls as snow)—and then the mild weather returns etc., rather than a stable temperature close to zero degrees. During the colder periods, the temperature often is below freezing point also during daytime while during the milder periods temperatures below freezing point are unusual even at night. During the ''mild periods'' temperatures slightly below freezing point only occur if the night is both calm and free of clouds. If the same circumstances occur during a ''cold period,'' the nights can get very cold though. All together this adds up to a 24 hrs/day "winter average" of around 0 degrees In the north-eastern corner (and at the top of the ridges) the winter is in general notably colder though, and a snow cover may last for weeks.
Spring
March is locally known as the first month of the spring. The colder periods are fewer and sunny days may even feel pleasant. During April and early May temperature rises rather fast. Though spring (especially in the sense "first heat") arrives later compared to northernmost Germany and Poland. This is particularly notable in the south-eastern corner. This is explained by the open coastline and low temperatures in the Baltic sea. Øresund is both narrow and shallow, and gets warmer faster. The most common Scanian tree, the beech, usually comes into leaf during the last days of April or the first days of May, but is often delayed by 10–14 days in the south-east, due to the Baltic Sea chill factor.
Summer
Unlike the other seasons, summer is not warmer in Scania compared to many other Swedish provinces. As in winter, the weather usually changes between periods that either are sunny and fairly hot (up to 30 degrees, even higher away from the coastlines), and periods of unstable cloudy and cooler weather. The time between sunset and sunrise during June and earliest July is less than 7 hours, and both the dawn and the dusk are rather long as well. However, there are still a few hours of real night. Further north in Sweden there is no real night, as dusk turns into dawn. (In northernmost Sweden, the sun does not set at all for around two months.)
Autumn
The autumn in Scania is a slow process, compared with more northern parts of Sweden (but a faster one, when comparing with any part of the British Isles). During the first half of September, temperatures usually are not so much affected, but the sunset is obviously earlier compared with in June. Temperatures drop in steps. Every new period with sunny weather becomes a bit cooler than the last one. By the end of October the defoliation process becomes evident. But not until late November have all the trees lost their leaves. The period when storms and even hurricanes becomes most likely to occur is between November and February. Most hurricanes come from the Atlantic Ocean and don't involve snow or temperatures below freezing point. Late Scanian autumn is in general benefited from the surrounding waters (the opposite effect early spring).
Culture
Scania's long-running and sometimes intense trade relations with other communities along the coast of the European continent through history have made the culture of Scania distinct from other geographical regions of Sweden. Its open landscape, often described as a colourful patchwork quilt of wheat and rapeseed fields, and the relatively mild climate at the southern tip of the Scandinavian Peninsula, have inspired many Swedish artists and authors to compare it to European regions like Provence in southern France and Zeeland in the Netherlands. Among the many authors who have described the "foreign" continental elements of the Scanian landscape, diet and customs are August Strindberg and Carl Linnaeus. In 1893 August Strindberg wrote about Scania: "In beautiful, large wave lines, the fields undulate down toward the lake; a small deciduous forest limits the coastline, which is given the inviting look of the Riviera, where people shall walk in the sun, protected from the north wind. [...] The Swede leaves the plains with a certain sense of comfort, because its beauty is foreign to him." In another chapter he states: "The Swedes have a history that is not the history of the South Scandinavians. It must be just as foreign as House of Vasa, Vasa’s history is to the Scanian."
In Ystad, singer-songwriter Michael Saxell's popular Scanian anthem ''Om himlen och Österlen'' (Of Heaven and Österlen), the flat, rolling hill landscape is described as appearing to be a little closer to heaven and the big, unending sky.
Scania's historical connection to Denmark, the vast fertile plain
In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...
s, the deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
forests and the relatively mild climate make the province culturally and physically distinct from the National emblem, emblematic Swedish cultural landscape of Taiga, forests and small hamlet (place), hamlets.
Architecture
Traditional Scanian architecture is shaped by the limited availability of wood; it incorporates different applications of the building technique called half-timbering. In the cities, the infill of the façades consisted of bricks, whereas the country-side half-timbered houses had infill made of clay and straw. Unlike many other Scanian towns, the town of Ystad
Ystad (; older da, Ysted) is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and ...
has managed to preserve a rather large core of its half-timbered architecture in the city center—over 300 half-timbered houses still exist today. Many of the houses in Ystad were built in the renaissance style that was common in the entire Øresund Region, and which has also been preserved in Elsinore (Helsingør). Among Ystad's half-timbered houses is the oldest such building in Scandinavia, ''Pilgrändshuset'' from 1480.
In Göinge, located in the northern part of Scania, the architecture was not shaped by a scarcity of wood, and the pre-17th-century farms consisted of graying, recumbent timber buildings around a small grass and cobblestone courtyard. Only a small number of the original Göinge farms remain today. During two campaigns, the first in 1612 by Gustav II Adolf and the second by Charles XI in the 1680s, entire districts were levelled by fire. In Örkened Parish, in what is now eastern Osby Municipality, the buildings were destroyed to punish the different villages for their protection of members of the Snapphane movement in the late 17th century. An original, 17th century Göinge farm, ''Sporrakulla Farm'', has been preserved in a forest called Kullaskogen, a nature reserve close to Glimåkra in Östra Göinge. According to the local legend, the farmer saved the farm in the first raid of 1612 by setting a forest fire in front of it, making the Swedish troops believe that the farm had already been plundered and set ablaze.
A number of Scanian towns flourished during the Viking Age. The city of Lund is believed to have been founded by the Viking-king Sweyn Forkbeard. Scanian craftsmen and traders were prospering during this era and Denmark's first and largest Mint (facility), mint was established in Lund. The first Scanian coins have been dated to 870 AD.[Hauberg, P. (1900). ''Myntforhold og Udmyntninger i Danmark indtil 1146''. D. Kgl. Danske Vidensk. Selsk. Skr., 6. Række, historisk og filosofisk Afd. V. I.]
Chapter III: Danmarks Mynthistorie indtil 1146
, an
published online by Gladsaxe Gymnasium. (In Danish). Retrieved 10 January 2007. The archaeological excavations performed in the city indicate that the oldest known stave church in Scania was built by Sweyn Forkbeard in Lund in 990.[City of Lund]
Touchdowns in the History of Lund
. Official site for the City of Lund. Retrieved 10 January 2006. In 1103, Lund was made the archbishopric for all of Scandinavia.
Many of the old churches in today's Scanian landscape stem from the medieval age, although many church renovations, extensions and destruction of older buildings took place in the 16th and 19th century. From those that have kept features of the authentic style, it is still possible to see how the medieval, Romanesque architecture, Romanesque or Renaissance architecture#Scandinavia, Renaissance churches of Danish Scania looked like. Many Scanian churches have distinctive crow-stepped gables and sturdy church porches, usually made of stone.
The first version of Lund Cathedral was built in 1050, in sandstone from Höör, on the initiative of Canute the Holy.[Terra Scaniae]
Lunds Domkyrka
. (In Swedish). Retrieved 11 January 2007. The oldest parts of today's cathedral are from 1085, but the actual cathedral was constructed during the first part of the 12th century with the help of stone cutters and sculptors from the River Rhine, Rhine valley and Italy, and was ready for use in 1123. It was consecrated in 1145 and for the next 400 years, Lund became the ecclesiastical power center for Scandinavia and one of the most important cities in Denmark. The cathedral was altered in the 16th century by architect Adam van Düren and later by Carl Georg Brunius and Helgo Zetterwall.
Scania also has churches built in the gothic architecture, gothic style, such as Sankt Petri Church, Malmö, Saint Petri Church in Malmö, dating from the early 14th century. Similar buildings can be found in all Hanseatic League, Hansa cities around the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
(such as Helsingborg and Rostock). The parishes in the countryside did not have the means for such extravagant buildings. Possibly the most notable countryside church is the ancient and untouched stone church in Dalby, Skåne, Sweden, Dalby. It is the oldest stone church in Sweden, built around the same time as Lund cathedral. After the Lund Cathedral was built, many of the involved workers travelled around the province and used their acquired skills to make baptism fonts, paintings and decorations, and naturally architectural constructions.
Scania has 240 palaces and country estates—more than any other province in Sweden. Many of them received their current shape during the 16th century, when new or remodelled castles started to appear in greater numbers, often erected by the reuse of stones and material from the original 11th–15th-century castles and abbeys found at the estates. Between 1840 and 1900, the landed nobility in Scania built and rebuilt many of the castles again, often by modernizing previous buildings at the same location in a style that became typical for Scania. The style is a mixture of different architectural influences of the era, but frequently refers back to the style of the 16th-century castles of the Reformation era, a time when the large estates of the Catholic Church were made Crown property and the abbeys bartered or sold to members of the aristocracy by the Danish king. For many of the 19th century remodels, Danish architects were called in. According to some scholars, the driving force behind the use of historical Scanian architecture, as interpreted by 19th century Danish architects using Renaissance architecture#Netherlands, Dutch Renaissance style, was a wish to refer back to an earlier era when the aristocracy had special privileges and political power in relation to the Danish king.
Language, literature, and art
Scanian dialects have various local native idioms and speech patterns, and realizes diphthongs and South Scandinavian Uvular trill, as opposed to the supradental /r/-sound characteristic of spoken Standard Swedish. They are very similar to the dialect of Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
spoken in Bornholm, Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
. The prosody (linguistics), prosody of the Scanian dialects has more in common with German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
and Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
(and sometimes also with English language, English, although to a lesser extent) than with the prosody of central Swedish dialects.
Famous Scanian authors include Victoria Benedictsson, (1850–1888) from Domme, Trelleborg Municipality, Trelleborg, who wrote about the inequality of women in the 19th century society, but who also authored regional stories about Scania, such as ''Från Skåne'' of 1884; Ola Hansson (1860–1925) from Hönsinge, Trelleborg; Vilhelm Ekelund (1880–1949) from Stehag, Eslöv; Fritiof Nilsson Piraten (1895–1972) from Vollsjö, Sjöbo; Hjalmar Gullberg (1898–1961) from Malmö; Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991) from Hagstad, Perstorp; Hans Alfredsson (1931–2017) and Jacques Werup (1945–2016), both from Malmö. Birgitta Trotzig (1929–2011) from Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
has written several historic novels set in Scania, such as ''The Exposed'' of 1957, which describes life in 17th century Scania with a primitive country priest as its main character and the 1961 novel ''A Tale from the Coast'', which recounts a legend about human suffering and is set in Scania in the 15th century. Gabriel Jönsson (1892–1984) from Ålabodarna, Landskrona.
A printing-house was established in the city of Malmö in 1528. It became instrumental in the propagation of new ideas and during the 16th century, Malmö became the center for the Danish reformation.
Scanian culture, as expressed through the medium of textile art, has received international attention during the last decade. The art form, often referred to as Scanian Marriage Weavings, flourished from 1750 for a period of 100 years, after which it slowly vanished. Consisting of small textile panels mainly created for wedding ceremonies, the art is strongly symbolic, often expressing ideas about fertility, longevity and a sense of hope and joy. The Scanian artists were female weavers working at home, who had learned to weave at a young age, often in order to have a marriage chest filled with beautiful tapestries as a dowry.
According to international collectors and art scholars, the Scanian patterns are of special interest for the striking similarities with Ancient Rome, Roman, Byzantine and Asian art. The designs are studied by art historians tracing how portable decorative goods served as transmitters of art concepts from culture to culture, influencing designs and patterns along the entire length of the ancient trade routes. The Scanian textiles show how goods traded along the Silk Road brought Coptic, Anatolian, and China, Chinese designs and symbols into the folk art of far away regions like Scania, where they were reinterpreted and integrated into the local culture. Some of the most ancient designs in Scanian textile art are pairs of birds facing a tree with a "great bird" above, often symbolized simply by its wings.[Hansen, Viveka (1997). ''Swedish Textile Art: Traditional Marriage Weavings from Skåne.'' Nour Foundation: 1997. .] Regionally derived iconography include mythological Scanian river horses in red ( sv, bäckahästar), with horns on their foreheads and misty clouds from their nostrils. The horse motif has been traced to patterns on 4th- and 5th-century Egyptian fabrics, but in Scanian art it is transformed to illustrate the Norse mythology, Norse river horse of Scanian folklore.[Lundström, Lena (2003). "Vattenväsen i väverskans händer". Curator's description of the exhibition "Aqvaväsen" at Trelleborgs Museum in ''Vårt Trelleborg'', 2:2003, pp. 20-21. Available online i]
pdf format
. (In Swedish).
Dukes
The title of duke was reintroduced in Sweden in 1772 and since this time, Swedish princes have been created dukes of various provinces, although the titles are purely nominal.
The Dukes of Scania have been:
* Charles XV of Sweden, Crown Prince Carl (from his birth in 1826 until he became king in 1859)
* Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf (from his birth in 1882 until he became king in 1950)
* Prince Oscar, Duke of Skåne, Prince Oscar 2016-
From his marriage, in 1905, King Gustaf VI Adolf had his summer residence at Sofiero Palace in Helsingborg. He and his family spent their summers there, and the cabinet meetings held there during the summer months forced the ministers to arrive by night train from Stockholm. He died at Helsingborg Hospital in 1973.
Sports
Association Football, Football has always been the most popular arena and team sport within the province, from attendances not least. Clubs are administered by Skånes Fotbollförbund.
Malmö FF has won Allsvenskan 23 times, Helsingborg IF 7 times and was one of the twelve clubs in the league's very first season, 1924/25. Also Landskrona BoIS was among the twelve original clubs, but has never won. These three clubs are historically the most famous football clubs in Scania. But also IFK Malmö, Stattena IF, Råå IF (the latter two clubs are both from Helsingborg) as well as Trelleborgs FF have participated.
Handball is also a relatively popular team sport, whilst Basketball never really has gained much interest.
Ice hockey was for a long time thought of as a sport of northern Sweden, but has nevertheless became a popular attendance sport too. Malmö Redhawks has even become Swedish Champions twice, but also Rögle BK (from Ängelholm) have participated at the highest level of Swedish ice hockey during quite a lot of seasons.
Rugby Union, Rugby is played in Scania by the Skåne Crusaders who play in the Sweden Rugby League.
The overwhelmingly largest sport related events in both Scanian as well as Swedish history, were however the motorcycle Saxtorp TT-races during the 1930s, which most of the years gathered crowds of 150.000 or more.
Tennis is associated with Båstad during the Swedish Open.
Golf is the most popular sport to exercise after a certain age, at least. Scania has a large amount of golf courses, of which Barsebäck Golf & Country Club is the most well-known. Most Golf courses are open also during the winter, but may sometimes close temporarily in cases of snowy periods.
See also
* 2008 Skåne County earthquake
* 460 Scania, an asteroid discovered in 1900
* "Sång till Skåne", a song about the province
* East Denmark
* Skåneland
Citations
General references
* Albertsson, Rolf (2007).
Half-timbered houses
. ''Malmö 1692 - a historical project''. Malmö City Culture Department and Museum of Foteviken. Retrieved 16 January 2007.
* Anderson, Carl Edlund (1999). ''Formation and Resolution of Ideological Contrast in the Early History of Scandinavia''. PhD dissertation, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic (Faculty of English), University of Cambridge, 1999.
* Björk, Gert and Henrik Persson. "Fram för ett öppet och utåtriktat Skåne". ''Sydsvenskan'', 20 May 2000. Reproduced by FSF. (In Swedish). Retrieved 3 April 2008.
* Bjurklint Rosenblad, Kajsa (2005). ''Scenografi för ett ståndsmässigt liv: adelns slottsbyggande i Skåne 1840-1900.'' Malmö: Sekel, 2005. .
* Bonney, Richard (1995). ''Economic Systems and State Finance''. Oxford University Press. .
* Craig, David J. (2003)
Boston University Bridge, 29 August 2003,• Vol. VII, No. 1. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
* Danish National Archives (2006)
(In Danish). Retrieved 20 October 2006.
* City of Lund (2006).
Touchdowns in the History of Lund
'. Retrieved 10 January 2006.
* Gårding, Eva (1974). "Talar skåningarna svenska". ''Svenskans beskrivning''. Ed. Christer Platzack. Lund: Institutionen för nordiska språk, 1973. (In Swedish)
* Germundsson, Tomas (2005). "Regional Cultural Heritage versus National Heritage in Scania’s Disputed National Landscape." ''International Journal of Heritage Studies'', Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2005. .
* Hansen, Viveka (1997). ''Swedish Textile Art: Traditional Marriage Weavings from Scania''. Nour Foundation: 1997. .
* Hauberg, P. (1900).'' Myntforhold og Udmyntninger i Danmark indtil 1146''. D. Kgl. Danske Vidensk. Selsk. Skr., 6. Række, historisk og filosofisk Afd. V. I.
an
Gladsaxe Gymnasium. (In Danish). Retrieved 10 January 2007.
* Haugen, Einar (1976). ''The Scandinavian Languages: An Introduction to Their History''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1976.
* Helle, Knut, ed. (2003). ''The Cambridge History of Scandinavia''. Cambridge University Press, 2003. .
* Hogan, C.M. (2004). ''Kullaberg environmental analysis''. Lumina Technologies, Aberdeen Library Archives, Aberdeen, Scotland, 17 July 2004.
* Jespersen, Knud J. V. (2004) . ''A History of Denmark''. Palgrave Macmillan. .
* Keelan, Major Andrew and Wendy Keelan (2006)
The Khalili Family Trust. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
* Karna Lidmar-Bergström, Lidmar-Bergström, Karna and Jens-Ove Näslund (2005). "Uplands and Lowlands in Southern Sweden". ''The Physical Geography of Fennoscandia''. Ed. Matti Seppälä. Oxford University Press, 2005. .
* Lindquist, Herman (1995). ''Historien om Sverige – storhet och fall''. Norstedts Förlag, 2006. . (In Swedish).
* Linnaeus, Carl (1750). ''Skånska resa''. (In Swedish).
* Lund University School of Aviation (2005)
Ljungbyhed airport - ESTL
Retrieved 22 January 2007.
* Lundström, Lena (2003). "Vattenväsen i väverskans händer". ''Vårt Trelleborg'', 2:2003. (In Swedish).
* Malmö Public Library (2005)
Litteraturhistoria, Malmö
''Infotek Öresund'', 4 November 2005. (In Swedish).
* Nevéus, Clara and Bror Jacques de Wærn (1992). ''Ny svensk vapenbok''. Riksarkivet 1992. (In Swedish)
* Olin, Martin (2005)
"Royal Galleries in Denmark and Sweden around 1700"
''Kungliga rum – maktmanifestation och distribution''. Historikermöte 2005, Uppsala University. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
* Olwig, Kenneth R. (2005). "Introduction: The Nature of Cultural Heritage, and the Culture of Natural Heritage—Northern Perspectives on a Contested Patrimony". ''International Journal of Heritage Studies'', Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2005.
* Oresundstid (2008).
The Swedification of Scania
,
Renaissance Houses: Half-timbered houses
. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
* Österberg, Klas (2001)
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, 25 January 2001. Retrieved 4 November 2006.
* Østergård, Uffe (1997). "The Geopolitics of Nordic Identity – From Composite States to Nation States". ''The Cultural Construction of Norden''. Øystein Sørensen and Bo Stråth (eds.), Oslo: Scandinavian University Press 1997.
* Peter, Laurence (2006).
Bridge shapes new Nordic hub
. BBC News, 14 September 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2006.
* Region Skåne (2007)
Municipalities in Skåne
Democracy-Increased autonomyWhat is typical Skåne?
Retrieved 22 January 2007.
*
* SCB (2007)
"Skördar"
''Jordbruksstatistisk årsbok 2006''. Statiska Centralbyrån. (In Swedish). Retrieved 10 January 2007.
* Skåne Regional Council (1999). ''Newsletter''., No. 2, 1999.
* Stadin, Kekke (2005). "The Masculine Image of a Great Power: Representations of Swedish imperial power c. 1630–1690". ''Scandinavian Journal of History'', Vol. 30, No. 1. March 2005, pp. 61–82. .
* Stiftelsen för fritidsområden i Skåne (2006
Skåneleden: 6B
''Breanäsleden'' (In Swedish)
Information about the Skaneled Trails
The Foundation for Recreational Areas in Skåne and Region Skåne. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
* Strindberg, August (1893). "Skånska landskap med utvikningar". ''Prosabitar från 1890-talet''. Bonniers, Stockholm, 1917. (In Swedish).
* SAOB (2008)
In Swedish). Retrieved 2 April 2008.
* Sorens, Jason (2005). "The Cross-Sectional Determinants of Secessionism in Advanced Democracies". ''Comparative Political Studies'', Vol. 38, No. 3, 304-326 (2005). 2005 SAGE Publications.
* Språk- och Folkminnesinstitutet (2003). ''Svenskt Ortnamnslexikon''. Uppsala, 2003. (In Swedish)
* Tägil, Sven (2000). "Regions in Europe – a historical perspective". In ''Border Regions in Comparison''. Ed. Hans-Åke Persson. Studentlitteratur, Lund. .
* Terra Scaniae (2008)
''Skånes län efter 1658''
''Hårdare försvenskning''
"Kuppförsök mot svenskarna 1658"
"Lunds Domkyrka"
''1600-talet''
''Generalguvernörens uppgifter''
(In Swedish). Retrieved 2 April 2008.
* Upton, Anthony F. (1998). ''Charles XI and Swedish Absolutism, 1660–1697''. Cambridge University Press, 1998. .
* Vinge, Louise (ed.) ''Skånes litteraturhistoria'', Corona: Malmö, 1996–1997, Part I, , and Part II, . (In Swedish).
* Ystad Municipality (2007)
Welcome to Ystad
an
"Pedestrian street"
''A walk through the centuries''. Retrieved 16 January 2007.
External links
Official links
Region Skåne
– The County council
Scania's Public Recreational Areas
– Region Skåne's public forests and parks
Skåne
– Business Region Skåne's official website for culture, heritage and tourism
Länsstyrelsen
– County Administration Board
Skåneleden
– Public nature trails through Scania
Organizations
Oresund Region
– The regional body of the Oresund Region
– Museum in Kristianstad
Kommunförbundet Skåne
– A cooperation between Scania's 33 municipalities
Skånes hembygdsförbund
(in Swedish) – Heritage conservation organization
Terra Scaniae
– History project established for Scanian schools, financed with subsidies from Skåne Regional Council
Region Scania is the Regional councils of Sweden, regional council of Scania County in Sweden. Scania County was formed on January 1, 1999, by the amalgamation of the county councils of Malmöhus County and Kristianstad County and some of the tasks ...
.
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Scania,
Provinces of Sweden