Sights in Skåne
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Domkyrkan
Lund’s twin-towered Romanesque cathedral, Domkyrkan, is magnificent. Try to pop in at noon or 3pm (1pm and 3pm on Sunday and holidays) when the marvellous astronomical clock strikes up In Dulci Jubilo and the wooden figures at the top whirr into action. Within the crypt, you’ll find Finn, the mythological giant who helped construct the cathedral, and a 16th-century well carved with comical scenes.
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Kulturen
Kulturen, opened in 1892, is a huge open-air museum filling two whole blocks. Its 30-odd buildings include everything from the meanest birch-bark hovel to grand 17th-century houses. Permanent displays encompass Lund in the Middle Ages, vintage toys, ceramics, silver and glass (among many others); ask about guided tours in English. The popular outdoor cafe flanks several rune stones.
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Historiska Museet
Behind the cathedral, Historiska Museet has a large collection of pre–Viking Age finds, including a 7000-year-old skeleton. It’s joined with Domkyrkomuseet, which explores the history of the church in the area; the rooms filled with countless statues of the crucified Christ are supremely creepy.
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Malmöhus Slott
Malmö's castle has an intriguing history, although not much remains of the older citadels built on the site: today, with its red-brick, Functionalist buildings (dating from 1937), it looks more like a factory! Some of the Malmö Museer are based inside the castle.
Erik of Pomerania built the first fortress here in 1436, to control the growing medieval town and Öresund shipping. This castle was destroyed between 1534 and 1536 during a popular uprising in Skåne. In the years immediately after the rebellion, King Christian III of Denmark had the castle rebuilt in forbidding late-Gothic and early-Renaissance styles.
The most famous prisoner at Malmöhus Slott (from 1567 to 1…
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Malmö Museer
Various museums in and around Malmöhus Slott (castle) make up the Malmö Museer. There are cafe-restaurants inside all the museums. Inside the castle, the intriguing aquarium has a nocturnal hall wriggling with everything from bats to electric eels, and local swimmers like cod and pike. It’s associated with the Naturmuseum (Natural History Museum). The unmissable Malmö Konstmuseum boasts a fabulous collection of Swedish furniture and handicrafts as well as Scandinavia’s largest collection of 20th-century Nordic art, while the Stadsmuseum (City Museum) combines exhibitions on the region’s cultural history with more international themes. Ask for the English-language inform…
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Foteviken Viking Reserve
If you mourn the passing of big hairy men in longboats, find solace at one of Sweden’s most absorbing attractions, about 700m north of Höllviken. Foteviken Viking Reserve is an evocative ‘living’ reconstruction of a late–Viking Age village. Entry price includes a fantastic one-hour guided tour (Swedish, plus English), departing at 11am, 1pm and 2.30pm. Around 22 authentic reconstructions of houses with reed or turf roofs have been built on the coast, near the site of the Battle of Foteviken (1134). These belong to various tradespeople, like the town’s jarl (commander of the armed forces), juror and scribe; and the chieftain, whose home has wooden floorboards, fleeces …
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Fredriksdals Friluftsmuseum
One of Sweden’s best open-air museums, Fredriksdals Friluftsmuseum is based around an 18th-century manor house, with a street of old houses, a children’s farm, a graphics museum and blissfully leafy grounds. Local wildflowers grace the beautiful botanic gardens, and there’s a wonderful summer program of activities and performances in the French baroque open-air theatre. The museum entrance, located just off Hävertgatan, is an easy 250m walk south of the Zoégas bus stop on Ängelsholmsvägen.
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Sankt Petri Kyrka
This red-brick Gothic beast is Malmö’s oldest church, built in the early 14th century. Protestant zealots whitewashed the medieval frescoes in 1555, but the original wall-paintings in the Krämarekapellet (inside at the rear of Sankt Petri Kyrka) have been successfully restored. There’s a magnificent altarpiece dating from 1611 and a votive ship in the south aisle, dedicated to all who died at sea in WWII. Much of the church has been rebuilt; the 96m tower went up in 1890.
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Teknikens och Sjöfartens Hus
The excellent Teknikens och Sjöfartens Hus is a short way to the west. It's a technology and maritime museum, with aircraft, vehicles, a horse-drawn tram, steam engines, and the amazing 'U3' walk-in submarine, just outside the main building. The submarine was launched in Karlskrona in 1943 and decommissioned in 1967. Upstairs is a superb hands-on experiment room for kids, which will keep them (and you!) enthralled for ages.
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Dunkers Kulturhus
Just north of the transport terminals, the crisp and white Dunkers Kulturhus houses an interesting town museum and temporary art exhibitions (admission includes entry to both), plus a concert hall, urbane restaurant and cafe, and design-savvy gift shop. The building’s creator, Danish architect Kim Utzon, is the son of Sydney Opera House architect Jørn Utzon.
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Kärnan
Dramatic steps and archways lead up from Stortorget to the square tower Kärnan, all that remains of the medieval castle. The castle became Swedish property during the 17th-century Danish-Swedish War, and was mostly demolished once the fighting stopped. The tower was restored from dereliction in 1894, and the view from the top (34m) is regal indeed.
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Bärnstensmuseum
Trapped in sticky resin 40 million years ago, insects fight, mate and feed in pieces of amber at the Bärnstensmuseum. It’s small but interesting; museum staff acted as advisors to the makers of Jurassic Park. The museum is near Höllviken’s southern edge, just off the coast road towards Trelleborg.
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Humanitetens Hus
Run by the Red Cross, Humanitetens Hus has poignant exhibitions on the theme of courage and responsibility. Among the permanent fixtures is one of 36 famous ‘white buses’ used by the Swedish Red Cross in WWII to save 20,000 people from concentration camps.
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Drottens Arkeologiska Museum
Subterranean Drottens Arkeologiska Museum contains the foundations of an 11th-century church, as well as a grisly collection of skeletons that build a picture of the Middle Ages through their diseases and amputations. Entrance is through the Gattostretto restaurant.
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Turning Torso
In the distant northwest of the city, you may catch sight of the eye-boggling Turning Torso, a brand-new apartment block that twists through 90 degrees from bottom to top. Inaugurated at the end of August 2005, it's now Sweden's tallest building at 190m high.
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Form/Design Center
Form/Design Center showcases cutting-edge design, architecture and art against the 16th-century Hedmanska Gården. Pore over design magazines in the cafe or bag Scandi-cool design, fabrics and toys in the gallery shop.
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Koggmuseet
Koggmuseet is a small museum about cogs (14th-century trading vessels), with two beautiful reconstructed medieval ships moored outside. Weather permitting, you can enjoy a sailing on the small cog.
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Sofiero
About 5km north of the town centre, Sofiero is an impressive former royal summer residence and park with wonderful rhododendrons (best seen in full bloom in May and June) and top-notch summer concerts. Bus 219 runs out there.
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Skissernas Museum
The wonderful Skissernas Museum has the world’s largest collection of sketches and designs for public artworks, from both Swedish and foreign artists, including Henri Matisse, Fernand Léger and Diego Rivera.
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Citytunnelutställningen
One rather odd attraction is Citytunnelutställningen, where you can descend beneath Malmö to look at the drill that's slowly boring a tunnel from Centralstationen to the Öresund Bridge!
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Tropikariet
Tropikariet is a semi-zoo, with reptile house, aquarium and exotic furry critters housed in faux natural habitats. It’s just opposite the entrance to Fredriksdals museum.
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Norra Hamnen
Take a stroll along Norra Hamnen from here to admire the sleek and attractive apartment buildings and restaurant-bars, which are all part of a very successful harbour-redevelopment project.
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Malmö Konsthall
Malmö Konsthall, south of central Malmö, is one of Europe’s largest contemporary art spaces, with exhibitions spanning both Swedish and foreign talent.
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Rooseum
At the time of research, the extraordinary Rooseum, a turbine hall turned contemporary art gallery, was shut indefinitely. Contact the tourist office for updates.
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Thottska Huset
Across the road from St Gertrud Quarter, Thottska Huset is the oldest half-timbered house in Malmö (1558). It's been turned into a restaurant, so you can take a look inside.
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