Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Skåne

Lund University (Lunds universitet) has roots going back to 1425, when a Franciscan studium generale was founded next to the Lund Cathedral, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Scandinavia. After Sweden won the province Scania from Denmark in the Treaty of Roskilde, the current university was founded in 1666 on the location of the old studium generale. The university is traditionally housed in the centre of Lund, with over hundred buildings scattered around town, but most of them are concentrated in the city centre. Lund University is ranked among the world’s top 100 universities; it has 42.000 students and more than 7.500 staff members.

The botanical garden of Lund University is dating back to the year of 1690 and in those days located on the present site of the university building. In 1746 a new garden was laid out, which was in operation for more than 110 years. In 1862 the botanical garden moved again, now to its current location in central Lund. Today the garden covers 8 hectares and shows 7.000 species of plants. Two hundred plants grown in greenhouses, customized to nine different climate zones. The garden runs a diversified operation within the areas of botany, gardening and ecology, not only for education and research, but also serves as a tranquil park or inspirational source of ideas for visitors.

The Helsingborg Town Hall (or City Hall) - "Rådhuset" in Swedish - was ceremoniously inaugurated on the 7 January 1897. The building was designed by the architect Alfred Hellerström. This landmark of Helsingborg is built in a neo-Gothic style with towers and pillars, lavishly decorated facades and a 65-m high bell tower. Nowadays it is still the workplace for politicians and the government administration.

Sofiero slott (Sofiero Castle) lies a few kilometers north of Helsingborg. This country mansion was built in 1864 for Crown Prince Oscar II and Crown Princess Sofia (of Nassau-Weilburg). It has long been used as a summer residence for the Swedish royal family. It was expanded to its current size between 1874 and 1876, after crown prince Oscar had been crowned king Oscar II of Sweden and Norway. The castle lies in a flowering oasis of 10.000 plants, and 300 different varieties of rhododendron and various gardens; including an English and a Victorian garden. Until the year of 1973 Sofiero slott was the official summer residence of the royal family. King Gustaf VI Adolf donated the castle after his death to the city of Helsingborg. Nowadays the former palace can be visited and a part is used by a cafe/restaurant.

Torekov is a small village at the tip of the Bjärehalvön peninsula. Originally it was a fishing village, but nowadays a well-known holiday destination due to its ideal location at the sea with some beautiful beaches.

Sankta Maria kyrka (St. Mary"s Church) was built in the 12th century - and enlarged a century later - in a style like the German brick Gothic; it is one of the oldest buildings of Åhus. The church was enlarged a century later and has been restored and rebuilt several times. The bell tower was added in late Middle Ages. The interior with the blue coloured pews is quite large and offers several treasures. The retable has beautiful carvings and offers after a restoration its original colours. The Renaissance style pulpit dates from the 1600s and is decorated with images of St. Paul and the four evangelists.

Kungagraven (King's Grave) is a grand Nordic Bronze Age double burial, about 3.500 years old. Thee mound has a diameter of 75 metres. The site has been used as a quarry and its stones carried off for other uses. The cists are adorned with petroglyphs carved into the stones. In 1748 two farmers discovered the 3.25 meter tomb constructed with ten slabs of stone. Several years passed before it was discovered that the slabs of stone in the tomb were adorned with petroglyphs. Between 1931–1933 a thorough excavation was undertaken and the remains of a Stone Age settlement were found under the massive cairn. The mound has been named Kungagraven due to its size, long before it was known to contain two burials. The restoration of the site was based on etchings from the 18th century and conjecture. A new chamber was constructed out of concrete and a tunnel extended into the cists. It is possible for visitors to enter the tomb and to see the engraved stones.

Sankt Nicolai kyrka (St. Nicholas’ Church) is dating back to the 12th century and was first mentioned in 1161. The nave was added during the next century. The church - named after Sankt Nicolaus, the patron saint of the sea men - was originally a chapel for fishermen and as the town expanded, has been built on substantially. It became its present size at the end of the Middle Ages. The exterior of the church was changed in 1953 when the white plaster was knocked down and the original facade of quartzite appeared, something that gives the church its external character. The church is located in the centre of the city of Simrishamn, next to the Stortorget, the central square. The flowers are from a Crimson Hawthorn.

Glimmingehus is considered to be the best-preserved medieval castle in Sweden. The construction of the castle was started in 1499 (completed in 1505) knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand, who apparently terrorised the farmers of the region in the service of the king of Denmark. Sweden’s province of Skåne was part of Denmark at the time. The impressive castle is more of a ‘keep’. Glimmingehus contains many defensive arrangements of that era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, a moat and drawbridge. The castle is 30 meters long, 12 meters wide; the highest point comes to almost 26 meters. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters thick and the upper part 1.8 meters. Glimmingehus looks imposing, just a big stone box located on the vast fields of Österlen. Nowadays the castle is a museum; on site there are also a restaurant with medieval dishes, a shop and a coffee house.

Ales Stenar (Ale's Stones) is located at Kåsehuvud abobe the little harbour of the old fishing village of Kåseberga (ten kilometres southeast of Ystad). Ales Stenar is Sweden's largest preserved stone ship. The megalithic monumen consists of 59 boulders in the form of a 67 metres long and 19 metres wide ship. Mystery, myth and legend surround this monument of 59 stones. Not even the experts know why they are known as Ales Stenar. What is for certain is that this is a stone ship 67 metres long and 19 metres wide and it is a grave, most probably from the late Nordic Iron Age, about 1400 years ago. The monument was first restored in 1919 when the monoliths were returned to their original position and again in 1956. Whether the stones were a gathering place for sun cult worshippers, or used to determine the winter and summer solstices is a mystery that still remains unsolved.

Lilla Västergatan: one of the most photographed streets in the old part of Ystad. In the background the tower of the S:ta Maria Kyrka (13th century).

The southern province of Skåne (Scania) offers wonderful Marvinsholm Slott. The estate already was mentioned as Bosöe, Borsöe and Bordsyö in the beginning of the 12th century. The present renaissance castle was built in 1644 - 1648 by the Danish noble Otto Marsvin, who renamed it after himself. Originally the castle was built on beech wood poles in a small lake and is still surrounded by a moat. The building forms a square in four floors and is provided with remarkable towers. Late 18th and mid 19th century there were major renovations and restorations to the castle. Marsvinsholm is privately owned and closed to the public; however, one can visit the (sculpture) park all year round. The red coloured castle is considered to be one of the five most beautiful castles of Sweden. It is located a couple of km’s west of the city of Ystad.

The area around the little harbour of Smygehuk has been inhabited for a long time. The small fishing hamlet has existed here since the 17th century. The harbour, built in the 1920's, was originally a limestone quarry. The small 'falu red' houses are huts where fishermen keep their nets. Nearbij the harbour one can find a coign af vantage that marks Sweden's southernmost point. Smygehuk's lighthouse (see note in the main picture), built in 1883, ia a 17 m high cast iron tower.

In 1988 traces of a fortress complex were found at the highest point of the city of Trelleborg. It turned out this wall belonged to a wooden ring fortress from the Viking Age. The fortress was built in the 980’s - most probably on orders from Harald Bluetooth, by that time king of Denmark. The Trelleborgen as it exists nowadays is a reconstruction from 1995, based on the archaeological finds, crafts traditions and educated guesses. The reconstructed quarter of the fortress lies in the middle of the city. The complex offers also a Vikingmuseum, a souvenir shop and a café.