Stenshuvud is a hill in the southeastern corner 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 ...

, in the province of

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

, close to

Kivik Kivik () is a locality in Simrishamn Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 960 inhabitants in 2010. It is in a part of Scania (Skåne) called Österlen. Kivik is known for its annual market, usually taking place on the third Monday through Wedn ...

Simrishamn Municipality Simrishamn Municipality ( sv, Simrishamns kommun) is a municipality in Skåne County in southern Sweden. Its seat is located in the city Simrishamn. The creation of the present municipality took place during the last of the two nationwide munici ...

. Since 1986, it is one of the

National parks of Sweden National parks of Sweden are managed by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ( sv, Naturvårdsverket) and owned by the state. The goal of the national park service is to create a system of protected areas that represent all the disti ...

. The park covers an area of about . The hill is high and faces 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 ...

. Since the surrounding landscape is relatively flat, it can be seen from a great distance and has traditionally been used as a landmark for seafarers. Many visitors trek up the hill to enjoy the view which is very good in clear weather. Most of the area is covered with broadleaf forest, especially

European hornbeam ''Carpinus betulus'', the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family (botany), family Betulaceae, native species, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It require ...

. The park also contains heaths, meadows and swamps. Because of the mild climate and varied habitats, many different animal and plant species can be encountered in the park. The park contains unusual Swedish wildlife such as the hazel dormouse, Eurasian golden oriole, European tree frog and

agile frog The agile frog (''Rana dalmatina'') is a European frog in the genus ''Rana'' of the true frog family, Ranidae. Description This species is fat and has long limbs and a pointy snout. Adult males are rarely larger than 6.5 cm, while females ...

. There are about 600

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

species, including several types of orchids and the very rare

barren strawberry Barren strawberry is a common name for several plants which may refer to: * ''Potentilla'', or in particular ''Potentilla sterilis'', native to Europe * ''Waldsteinia fragarioides ''Waldsteinia fragarioides'' ( syn. ''Dalibarda fragarioides'' ...

. Below the hill there is a popular beach for swimming. Close to the top are the remains of a ruin of a 5th- or 6th-century fortress. Stenshuvud coast

According to local

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

, the hill got its name ("Sten's head") from a giant living in the cave Giddastuan. At the north of the hill is the Hällevik

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

References

External links

*
Sweden's National Parks: Stenshuvud National Park
from the

Swedish Environmental Protection Agency The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency ( sv, Naturvårdsverket) is a government agency in Sweden responsible for proposing and implementing environmental policies. It was founded in 1967 and reports to the Swedish Ministry of the Environment ...

{{authority control National parks of Sweden Scania Protected areas established in 1986 1986 establishments in Sweden Geography of Skåne County Tourist attractions in Skåne County