Scania, also known by its native name ofSkåne[3] (Swedish:[ˈskôːnɛ]ⓘ), is the southernmost of the historicalprovinces (landskap) ofSweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region ofGötaland, the province is roughly conterminous withSkåne County, created in 1997. Like the other historical 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 33municipalities that are autonomous within theSkåne Regional Council. Scania's largestcity,Malmö, is the third-largest city in Sweden, as well as the fifth-largest inScandinavia.
To the north, Scania borders the historical provinces ofHalland andSmåland, to the northeastBlekinge, to the east and south theBaltic Sea, and to the westÖresund. Since 2000, a road and railway bridge, theÖresund Bridge,[4] bridges theSound and connects Scania with Denmark. Scania forms part of the transnationalØresund Region.[5]
From north to south Scania is around 130 km; it covers less than 3% of Sweden's total area.[6] The population is over 1,418,000.[7] It represents 13% of the country's population. With 121/km2 (310/sq mi), Scania is the second mostdensely populated province in Sweden.
Historically, Scania formed part of the kingdom ofDenmark until the signing of theTreaty of Roskilde in 1658, when all Danish lands east of Öresund were ceded to Sweden.[8] Denmark occupied parts of the province (1676–1679) during theScanian War and again briefly in 1711 during theGreat Northern War. In July 1720, a peace treaty between Sweden and Denmark again confirmed the status of Scania as part of Sweden.[9][10]
Theendonym used in Swedish and otherNorth Germanic languages isSkåne (formerly spelledSkaane inDanish andNorwegian). TheLatinized formScania is anexonym in English.[3] Sometimes the endonym Skåne is used in English text, such as in tourist information,[11] even sometimes asSkane with thediacritic omitted.[12][13] Scania is one of the few Swedish provinces (as alsoDalarna) for which exonyms are widely used in many languages, such asFrenchScanie,Dutch andGermanSchonen,PolishSkania,SpanishEscania,ItalianScania, etc. For the province's modern administrative counterpart,Skåne län, the endonymSkåne is used in English.[14]
In theAlfredian translation ofOrosius's andWulfstan's travel accounts, theOld English formSconeg appears.[15][16] Frankish sources mention a place calledSconaowe;Æthelweard, an Anglo-Saxon historian, wrote aboutScani;[17] and inBeowulf's fictional account, the namesScedenige andScedeland appear as names for what is a Danish land.[15]
The namesScania andScandinavia are considered to have the same etymology.[18][19][20][21] The southernmost tip of what today is 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 inOld Norse asSkáney[ˈskɑːnˌœy].[22] According to some scholars, the Germanic stem can be reconstructed as *Skaðan- meaning "danger" or "damage" (Englishscathing, GermanSchaden, Swedishskada).[23]Skanör in Scania, with its longFalsterbo reef, has the same stem (skan) combined with -ör, which means "sandbanks".
When the firstlocal government acts took effect in 1863, each county also got an electedcounty council (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 33municipalities[24] (Swedish:kommuner) in Scania. The municipalities have municipal governments, similar tocity commissions, and are further divided into parishes (församlingar). The parishes are primarily entities of theChurch of Sweden, but they also serve as a divisioning measure for the Swedishpopulation registration and other statistical uses.
During the Danish era, the province had nocoat of arms. In Sweden, however, every province had been represented byheraldic arms since 1560.[25] WhenCharles X Gustav of Sweden 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 BaronGustaf Bonde, theLord High Treasurer of Sweden, 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 theKalmar Union, byEric of Pomerania and contains aPomeraniangriffin's head. To distinguish it from the city's coat of arms thetinctures were changed and the officialblazon for the provincial arms is, in English:Or, a griffin's headerasedgules, crownedazure and armed azure, when it should be armed.
The province was divided in two administrativecounties 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 twocounty councils (landsting) were amalgamated formingRegion Skåne. 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 ablue shield.[26] The 33municipalities within the county also have coats of arms.
TheScania Griffin has become a well-known symbol for the province and is also used by commercial enterprises. It is, for instance, included in thelogotypes of the automotive manufacturerScania AB and theairlineMalmö Aviation.
Ale's Stones, astone ship (burial monument) from c. 500 AD on the coast at Kåseberga, around ten kilometres (6.2 miles) south east ofYstad.Gerhard von Buhrman's map of Scania, 1684Map of Scania, 1690Map of Denmark in the Middle Ages, Scania was together with the provincesBlekinge andHalland a part of DenmarkFront page of the 1720 peace treaty between Denmark and Sweden, Swedish version
Scania was first mentioned in written texts in the 9th century. It came under Danish kingHarald Bluetooth in the middle of the 10th century. Situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula, it formed the eastern part of the kingdom of Denmark. This geographical position made it thefocal point of the frequentDano-Swedish wars for hundreds of years.[citation needed]
In 1719, the province was subdivided in twocounties and administered in the same way as the rest ofSweden. In July 1720, a peace treaty between Sweden and Denmark again confirmed the status of Scania as part of Sweden.[27][28]
During Sweden's financial crisis in the early and mid-1990s, Scania,Västra Götaland andNorrbotten were among the hardest hit in the country, with high unemployment rates as a result.[29] 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.[29] The first proposal for regional autonomy and a regional parliament had been introduced by theSocial Democratic Party's local districts in Scania andVästra Götaland already in 1993. When Sweden joined theEuropean Union two years later, the concept "Regions of Europe" came in focus and a more regionalist-friendly approach was adopted in national politics.[30] 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".[30]
The relatively strong regional identity in Scania is often referred to in order to explain the general support in the province for thedecentralization efforts introduced by the Swedish government.[31] On the basis of large scale interview investigations aboutRegion Skåne in Scania, scholars have found that the prevailing trend among the inhabitants of Scania is to "[look] 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".[32]
On 28 November 2017,Region Scania ruled that the Scanian flag would become the official regional flag of Scania.[33][34]
The motorway through western Scania,E6, here at motorway service Glumslöv, is the artery of the western part of the province.All local, regional and inter-regional train services within Scania (2018). In all, 72 stations are served, during day times at least one train per hour and direction. Many stations (especially in the west) have far better service than so. The busiest part is between Hyllie (Malmö) and Lund.Öresund Bridge is a combined railway and motorway cable-stayed bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden.
Electrified dual track railroad exists from the border withDenmark at theØresund Bridge toMalmö and onwards toLund. The latter part has consisted of four tracks since October 2023.[35] In Lund, the tracks split into two directions.[36] The dual tracks going towardsGothenburg end atHelsingborg,[37] while the other branch continues beyond the provincial border to neighbouringSmåland, close toKilleberg.[38][36] This latter dual track continues to mid-Sweden.[36] There are also a few single track railroads connecting cities likeTrelleborg,Ystad and Kristianstad.[36] Just as five Scanian stations are served partly (Hässleholm andOsby) or entirely (Ballingslöv,Hästveda andKilleberg) by Småland local trains, the ScanianPågatåg trains serveMarkaryd in Småland.[39]
There are basically three ticket systems:Skånetrafiken tickets can be purchased for all regional traffic including to Denmark, while the DanishRejsekort system can only be used at stations served byØresundståg and equipped with special card readers. Additionally, Swedish national SJ-tickets are available for longer trips to the north.
TheE6motorway is the main artery through the western part of Scania all the way fromTrelleborg to the provincial border towards neighbouringHalland. It continues along the Swedish west coast to Gothenburg and most of the way to theNorwegian border. There are also several other motorways, especially aroundMalmö. Since 2000, the economic focus of the region has changed, with the opening of a road link across the Øresund Bridge toDenmark.[40]
Land usage in Scania, showing hardwood forests (light green), pinewood forests (dark green), fields (yellow), garden and fruit (orange) and residential areas (red)Aerial view of Scania nearLundPrunedwillows andrapefields are typical for this area of Sweden.
Unlike some regions of Sweden, the Scanian landscape is generally notmountainous, though a few examples of uncovered cliffs can be found atHovs Hallar, atKullaberg, and on the islandHallands Väderö. With the exception of the lake-rich and densely forested northern parts (Göinge), the rolling hills in the north-west (theBjäre andKulla peninsulas) and the beech-wood-clad areas extending from the slopes of the horsts, a sizeable portion of Scania's terrain consists ofplains. Its low profile and open landscape distinguish Scania from most other geographical regions of Sweden which consist mainly of waterway-rich, cool, mixedconiferous forests,boreal taiga andalpine tundra.[43] The province has several lakes but there are relatively few compared toSmåland, the province directly to the north. Stretching from the north-western to the south-eastern parts of Scania is a belt ofdeciduous forests following theLinderödsåsen ridge and previously marking the border between Malmöhus County and Kristianstad County. The much denserfir forests — typical of the greater part of Sweden — are only found in the north-easternGöinge parts of Scania along the border with the forest-dominated province ofSmåland. 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, in the middle of the province, is the largest of such lakes.[citation needed]In the winter, some smaller lakes east of Lund often attract youngEurasian sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla).[citation needed]
Typical Scanian coastline, here southern peak of Ven island in Øresund. The yellow colour indicates sand rather than chalk, while white colour at similar cliffs indicates chalk rather than sand
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 ofVen, between the towns of Helsingborg andLandskrona, and in parts of the south and south-east coasts. In other Swedish provinces, steep coastlines usually revealprimary rock instead.[citation needed]
The two major plains,Söderslätt in the south-west andÖsterlen 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 Swedishsugar beet comes from Scania; the plant needs a longvegetation period. The same applies also tomaize,peas andrape (grown for its oil), although these plants are less imperative in comparison with sugar beets.[44][clarification needed] The soil is among the most fertile in the world.[citation needed]
In thePaleogene period southern Sweden was at a lower position relative to sea level but was likely still above it as it was covered by sediments.[46][51] Rivers flowing over theSouth Småland peneplain flowed also across Scania which was at the time covered by thick sediments.[46] As the relative sea level sank and much of Scania lost its sedimentary coverantecedent rivers begun toincise the Söderåsen horst forming valleys.[46] Duringdeglaciation these valleys likely evacuated large amounts of melt-water.[46] Therelief of Scania's south-western landscape was formed by the accumulation of thickQuaternary sediments during theQuaternary glaciations.[48]
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 ofPoland and north of theAlps, and includes theBritish Isles, northern and centralFrance and the countries and regions to the south and southeast of theNorth Sea up to Denmark. A smaller north-eastern part of Scania is part of the pinewood vegetation zone, in whichspruce grows naturally. Within the larger part,pine may grow together withbirch on sandy soil. The most common tree isbeech. Other common trees arewillow,oak,ash,alder andelm (which until the 1970s formed a few forests but now is heavily infected by theelm disease). Also rather southern trees likewalnut tree,chestnut andhornbeam can be found. In parkshorse chestnut,lime andmaple are commonly planted as well. Common fruit trees planted in commercial orchards and private gardens include several varieties ofapple,pear,cherry andplum;strawberries are commercially cultivated in many locations across the province. Examples of wild berries grown in domesticated form areblackberry,raspberry,cloudberry (in the north-east),blueberry,wild strawberry andloganberry.
Location of some SMHI temperature stations in Scania
Scania has the mildest climate in Sweden, but there are some local differences.
The table shows average temperatures in degreesCelsius at tenSwedish 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.
st.no
Station
Approx Latitude
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Annual
5320
Smygehuk
55
−0.1
−0.3
1.4
4.6
9.4
14.0
15.6
15.7
12.9
9.4
5.2
1.7
7.5
5223
Falsterbo
55
0.3
0.0
1.7
5.1
10.1
14.7
16.4
16.4
13.7
10.0
5.7
2.3
8.0
5337
Malmö 2
55.5
0.1
0.0
2.2
6.4
11.6
15.8
17.1
16.8
13.6
9.8
5.3
1.9
8.4
5433
Simrishamn
55.5
−0.1
−0.3
1.7
4.9
9.5
14.6
16.3
16.1
13.1
9.2
4.9
1.6
7.6
5251
Örja
55.5
0.0
0.0
2.2
6.1
11.5
15.3
16.5
16.7
13.5
9.4
5.2
2.2
8.2
6203
Helsingborg
56
0.6
−0.1
2.0
6.0
11.2
15.3
16.7
16.6
13.6
9.9
5.2
1.8
8.3
5343
Lund
55.5
−0.6
−0.5
2.0
6.0
11.5
15.4
16.8
16.5
13.1
9.1
4.5
1.1
7.9
5353
Hörby
55.5
−1.6
−1.5
1.0
5.4
10.4
14.4
15.5
15.3
11.9
8.0
3.6
0.1
6.9
5455
Kristianstad
55.5
−1.0
−1.0
1.4
5.2
10.3
14.7
16.1
15.7
12.3
8.5
4.0
0.6
7.2
6322
Osby
56
−2.2
−2.1
0.6
5.0
10.5
14.4
15.5
14.9
11.3
7.4
2.8
−0.7
6.5
For comparison, some northern locations within Sweden
[59] 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 does not differ much (see table above).
The highest temperature ever recorded in the province is 36.0 °C (97 °F) (Ängelholm, 30 July 1947) and the lowest ever recorded is −34 °C (−29 °F) (Stehag, 26 January 1942) Temperatures below −15 °C (5 °F) are relatively rare even at night, while summer temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) 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.
Map of the 33 municipalities of Scania. The western, yellow coloured municipalities, close toØresund, have much higher population densities than the eastern ones
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.
Municipalities that have a coast on Øresund or border a municipality that does (in yellow on the map)
Bjuv
14,813
115.3
128.5
Burlöv
17,079
18.9
903.7
Eslöv
31,761
419.1
75.8
Helsingborg
132,254
344.0
384.4
Höganäs
24,986
150.8
165.7
Kävlinge
29,513
152.6
193.4
Landskrona
42,751
148.3
288.3
Lomma
22,415
55.6
403.1
Lund
118,542
448.5
264.3
Malmö
328,494
166,3
1975.2
Staffanstorp
22,572
106.8
211.3
Svalöv
13,217
387.3
34.1
Svedala
20,039
218.1
91.9
Trelleborg
42,744
339.9
125.8
Vellinge
33,725
142.6
236.5
Åstorp
14,849
92.2
161.0
Ängelholm
39,836
420.1
95.1
Other municipalities (in white)
Bromölla
12,314
162.5
74.4
Båstad *
14,224
209.8
67.8
Hässleholm
50,171
1268.5
39.6
Hörby
14,882
419.4
35.5
Höör
15,591
290.9
53.6
Klippan
16,741
374.3
44.7
Kristianstad
80,854
1246.3
64.9
Osby
12,704
576.2
22.0
Perstorp
7,089
158.8
44.6
Simrishamn
18,950
391.4
48.4
Sjöbo
18,359
492.2
37.3
Skurup
14,997
193.6
77.5
Tomelilla
12,913
395.9
32.6
Ystad
28,562
350.1
81.6
Örkelljunga
9,640
319.6
30.1
Östra Göinge
13,609
432.0
31.5
* A small part of Båstad municipality is located within the neighbouring province ofHalland, 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 entireSweden.
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 theDanishCopenhagen region at north-eastZealand, on the other side of Øresund Sea, is even more densely populated. The north-east part ofZealand (or the DanishRegion Hovedstaden without theBaltic island ofBornholm) has a population density of 878 inhabitants/km2, most ofGreater Copenhagen included.
By adding the population of western Scania to the same ofMetropolitan 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 widerØresund Region 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 theGreat 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 inScandinavia with Finland.
In1658, the following ten places in Scania were chartered and heldtown rights: Lund (since approximately 990), Helsingborg (1085), Falsterbo (approximately 1200),Ystad (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,Falsterbo and Skanör were merged. The concept ofmunicipalities was introduced in Sweden in 1863, making each of the towns acity municipality of its own. In the 19th and 20th centuries, four more municipalities were granted city status, Trelleborg (1867),Eslöv (1911),Hässleholm (1914) andHöganäs (1936). The system of city status was abolished in 1971.
Over 90% of Scania's population live inurban areas.[62] In 2000, theØresund Bridge – the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe – linked Malmö andCopenhagen, 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.[63]
The followinglocalities had more than 10,000 inhabitants[64] (year 2010).
It has been estimated that around 1570, Scania had about 110,000 inhabitants.[66] But before theplague 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.[67][68]
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 ofwheat andrapeseed 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 likeProvence in southernFrance andZeeland in theNetherlands.[69] Among the many authors who have described the "foreign" continental elements of the Scanian landscape, diet and customs areAugust Strindberg andCarl 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 asVasa's history is to the Scanian."[70]
In Ystad, singer-songwriterMichael Saxell's popular Scanian anthemOm 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 fertileplains, thedeciduous forests and the relatively mild climate make the province culturally and physically distinct from theemblematic Swedishcultural landscape offorests and smallhamlets.[71]
The house of magistrateJacob Hansen inHelsingborg, built in 1641.The Old Church of Södra Åsum inSjöbo Municipality — a typical example of a medieval Danish Scanian church.
Traditional Scanian architecture is shaped by the limited availability of wood; it incorporates different applications of the building technique calledhalf-timbering. In the cities, the infill of the façades consisted of bricks,[72] whereas the country-side half-timbered houses had infill made of clay and straw.[73] Unlike many other Scanian towns, the town ofYstad 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.[74] 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 inElsinore (Helsingør). Among Ystad's half-timbered houses is the oldest such building in Scandinavia,Pilgrändshuset from 1480.[75]
InGöinge, located in the northern part of Scania, the architecture was not shaped by a scarcity ofwood, 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 byGustav II Adolf and the second byCharles XI in the 1680s, entire districts were levelled by fire.[76] In Örkened Parish, in what is now easternOsby Municipality, the buildings were destroyed to punish the different villages for their protection of members of theSnapphane movement in the late 17th century.[77] An original, 17th century Göinge farm,Sporrakulla Farm, has been preserved in a forest called Kullaskogen, anature reserve close toGlimåkra inÖstra 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.[78]
A number of Scanian towns flourished during theViking Age. The city of Lund is believed to have been founded by the Viking-kingSweyn Forkbeard.[79] Scanian craftsmen and traders were prospering during this era and Denmark's first and largestmint was established in Lund. The first Scanian coins have been dated to 870 AD.[80] The archaeological excavations performed in the city indicate that the oldest knownstave church in Scania was built by Sweyn Forkbeard in Lund in 990.[81] In 1103, Lund was made the archbishopric for all of Scandinavia.[82]
Many of the old churches in today's Scanian landscape stem from themedieval 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 themedieval,Romanesque orRenaissance churches of Danish Scania looked like. Many Scanian churches have distinctivecrow-stepped gables and sturdy church porches, usually made of stone.[citation needed]
The first version ofLund Cathedral was built in 1050, insandstone fromHöör, on the initiative ofCanute the Holy.[82] 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 theRhine valley andItaly, 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.[81] The cathedral was altered in the 16th century by architectAdam van Düren and later byCarl Georg Brunius andHelgo Zetterwall.
Lund skyline, with the Cathedral towers.
Scania also has churches built in thegothic style, such asSaint Petri Church in Malmö, dating from the early 14th century. Similar buildings can be found in allHansa cities around theBaltic Sea (such as Helsingborg andRostock). 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 inDalby. 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.[citation needed]
Scania has 240 palaces and country estates—more than any other province in Sweden.[83] 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, thelanded 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.[84] 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 usingDutch 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.[85]
Scanian dialects have various local native idioms and speech patterns, and realizes diphthongs and South Scandinavianuvular trill, as opposed to the supradental /r/-sound characteristic of spokenStandard Swedish. They are very similar to the dialect ofDanish spoken inBornholm,Denmark. Theprosody of the Scanian dialects has more in common withGerman,Danish andDutch (and sometimes also withEnglish, although to a lesser extent) than with the prosody of central Swedish dialects.[86]
Famous Scanian authors includeVictoria Benedictsson, (1850–1888) from Domme,Trelleborg, who wrote about the inequality of women in the 19th century society, but who also authored regional stories about Scania, such asFrån Skåne of 1884;Ola Hansson[87] (1860–1925) from Hönsinge, Trelleborg;Vilhelm Ekelund (1880–1949) from Stehag, Eslöv;Fritiof Nilsson Piraten (1895–1972) fromVollsjö,Sjöbo;Hjalmar Gullberg (1898–1961) from Malmö;Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991) from Hagstad,Perstorp;Hans Alfredsson (1931–2017) andJacques Werup (1945–2016), both from Malmö.Birgitta Trotzig (1929–2011) fromGothenburg has written several historic novels set in Scania, such asThe Exposed of 1957, which describes life in 17th century Scania with a primitive country priest as its main character and the 1961 novelA 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.[88]
Scanian culture, as expressed through the medium of textile art, has received international attention during the last decade.[89] The art form, often referred to as Scanian Marriage Weavings, flourished from1750 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.[90] 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 adowry.[91]
According to international collectors and art scholars, the Scanian patterns are of special interest for the striking similarities withRoman,Byzantine andAsian 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.[91] The Scanian textiles show how goods traded along theSilk Road broughtCoptic,Anatolian, andChinese 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.[91] Regionally derived iconography include mythological Scanian river horses in red (Swedish:bäckahästar), with horns on their foreheads and misty clouds from their nostrils.[91] The horse motif has been traced to patterns on 4th- and 5th-centuryEgyptian fabrics, but in Scanian art it is transformed to illustrate theNorse river horse of Scanianfolklore.[92]
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:
Crown Prince Carl (from his birth in 1826 until he became king in 1859)
From his marriage, in 1905, King Gustaf VI Adolf had his summer residence atSofiero 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 fromStockholm. He died at Helsingborg Hospital in 1973.
Football has always been the most popular arena and team sport within the province. Clubs are administered bySkånes Fotbollförbund.
Malmö FF has wonAllsvenskan 23 times,Helsingborg IF 7 times and was one of the twelve clubs in the league's first season, 1924/25. AlsoLandskrona BoIS was among the twelve original clubs, but has never won. These three clubs are historically the most famous football clubs in Scania. But alsoIFK Malmö,Stattena IF,Råå IF (the latter two clubs are both from Helsingborg) as well asTrelleborgs FF have participated.
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 alsoRögle BK (from Ängelholm) have participated at the highest level of Swedish ice hockey during quite a lot of seasons.
^Haugen, Einar (1976).The Scandinavian Languages: An Introduction to Their History. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1976.
^Helle, Knut (2003). "Introduction".The Cambridge History of Scandinavia. Ed. E. I. Kouri et al. Cambridge University Press, 2003.ISBN978-0-521-47299-9. p. XXII. "The name Scandinavia was used by classical authors in the first centuries of the Christian era to identify Scania and the mainland further north which they believed to be an island."
^Olwig, Kenneth R. "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, p. 3: "The very name 'Scandinavia' is of cultural origin, since it derives from the Scanians or Scandians (the Latinised spelling of Skåninger), a people who long ago lent their name to all of Scandinavia, perhaps because they lived centrally, at the southern tip of the peninsula."
^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, 25-71.
^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.
^Helle, Knut (2003). "Introduction".The Cambridge History of Scandinavia. Ed. E. I. Kouri et al. Cambridge University Press, 2003.ISBN978-0-521-47299-9.
^abMcCallion, Malin Stegmann (2004).The Europeanisation of Swedish Regional GovernmentArchived 3 October 2008 at theWayback Machine.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.
^Last part ofhttp://www.trafikverket.se/Privat/Vagar-och-jarnvagar/Sveriges-jarnvagsnat/Vastkustbanan/ "Enligt vår nuvarande planering kommer utbyggnaden till största delen vara klar 2012–2014. Några sträckor kommer då att återstå, bland annat sträckan genom Varberg och sträckan Ängelholm–Helsingborg. Tunneln genom Hallandsås planeras vara klar 2015." No dual tracks exist between Helsingborg and Ängelholm
^as stated in the train map info,"Linjekartor - Skanetrafiken". Archived fromthe original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved11 September 2014., and press for PDF "Linjekarta fær tåg (pdf)" Note though that this PDF also shows a part of the Copenhagen rail network
^SCB.Jordbruksstatistisk årsbok 2006. (Agricultural Statistic Yearbook 2006). Published online inpdf-formatArchived 3 January 2007 at theWayback Machine by Statiska Centralbyrån (Statistics Sweden). (In Swedish). Retrieved 10 January 2007.
^Hogan, C.M. (2004).Kullaberg environmental analysis. Lumina Technologies prepared for municipality of Höganäs, Aberdeen Library Archives, Aberdeen, Scotland, 17 July 2004.
^Lundin, Jonas (13 November 2013)."Söderåsen ingen riktig ås".Lokaltidningen Landskrona Svalöv (in Swedish).Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved25 October 2017.
^Folkmängden i Sveriges socknar och kommuner 1571–1991
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^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, pp. 21–37. (ISSN1470-3610).
^A letter from the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf describes a raid in 1612: "We have been in Scania and we have burned most of the province, so that 24 parishes and the town of Vä lie in ashes. We have met no resistance, neither from cavalry nor footmen, so we have been able to rage, plunder, burn and kill to our hearts' content. We had thought of visiting Århus in the same way, but when it was brought to our knowledge that there were Danish cavalry in the town, we set out for Markaryd and we could destroy and ravage as we went along and everything turned out lucky for us." (Quoted and translated by Oresundstid in the section"Skåne was ravaged"Archived 19 July 2011 at theWayback Machine.)
^Herman Lindquist (1995). Historien om Sverige – storhet och fall. Norstedts Förlag, 2006.ISBN978-91-1-301535-4. (In Swedish).
^Bjurklint Rosenblad, Kajsa.Scenografi för ett ståndsmässigt liv: adelns slottsbyggande i Skåne 1840-1900. Malmö: Sekel, 2005.ISBN978-91-975222-3-6.Abstract in English at Scripta Academica Lundensia, Lund University.Archived 23 July 2009 at theWayback Machine
^Gårding, Eva (1974). "Talar skåningarna svenska?" (Do Scanians speak Swedish?).Svenskans beskrivning. Ed. Christer Platzack. Lund: Institutionen för nordiska språk, 1973, p 107, 112. (In Swedish)
^"Poems" of 1884 and "Notturno" of 1885 celebrate the natural beauty and folkways of Scania. The result of a globetrotting life style, Ola Hansson's later poetry had various continental influences, but like many other Scanian writers', his authorship often reflected the tension between cosmopolitan culture and regionalism. For larger trends and a historic perspective on Scanian literature, see Vinge, Louise (ed.)Skånes litteraturhistoria del I,ISBN978-91-564-1048-2, andSkånes litteraturhistoria del II,ISBN978-91-564-1049-9, Corona: Malmö, 1996–1997. (In Swedish).
^Infotek Öresund.Litteraturhistoria, MalmöArchived 5 January 2007 at theWayback Machine. Fact sheet produced by Infotek Öresund, a cooperative project between the public libraries of Helsingborg, Elsinore, Copenhagen and Malmö, published online by Malmö Public Library, 4 November 2005. (In Swedish).
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