Simrishamn Things to Do

Another of those cosy seaside villages with pretty houses that the region is famous for. Baskemölla is quiet, without any shops, but has a hostel and a very nice restaurant in an old farmhouse which doubles as the hub for the Art exhibition Round in the region around Easter every year. You can also stroll around in the seaside meadow nature reserve from there to the village harbour which is a delightful walk.

These stones are so famous you may already have seen them on my Sweden and Ystad pages and I have started on a separate page about their village - Kåseberga. So far not with much more info than here but I hope to remedy that. Kåseberga belongs to the eastern Ystad area, which is a part of Österlen, so they deserve mentioning everywhere. No one really knows what they have been used for but they are at an interesting angle to the bend in this stretch of coastline at certain times of the day so something astronomical springs to mind. High up on a cliff above Kåseberga fishing village, with only the sea below, they are inspiring! There is an ongoing fight between a local and the Swedish National Heritage Board as this local man has his own theories and keeps giving visitors his own leaflets...There are now thoughts of opening the area to archaeology to try to settle this mystery.

Probably the best kept medieval fortress in Scandinavia, Glimmingehus, from 1499, today hosts medieval days, theme days about certain historical topics, and general guided tours as well as ghost walks. Summertime there is a good restaurant here too.

It's not a huge impressive castle by any means but what is interesting with it is its odd features such as wash basins in windows and other unexplainable things, as well as plenty of innovative death traps for intruders, something which was no longer in fashion when the fortess was built. There are lose stones in staircases and gaps to pour hot tar from above the main entrance...the Danish lord who owned it was quite paranoid even for his days...If you want to see more, please have a look at my travelogue below.

Stenshuvud is one of the smallest national parks in Sweden, but then it is competing with the vast spaces of the highlands! It has a nature exhibition and paths through meadows with unusual plants and frogs, down to a great beach. Who needs Thailand?! From the beach, you have a great view up to the "headland" at the top. There is also a famous café with an "eat-all-you-can" cake and cookie buffet at the main entrance. The picture here shows the characteristic headland in the far distance from Knäbäckshusen beach just outside the park. What makes the park so special is the fact that it shows a landscape in use by humans for centuries. This is what they have to preserve here today, so the keepers work with some forestry, sheep and so on instead of letting the landscape overgrow.

Well, not really but it is said that they still hold secret meetings here at Backåkra now and again. The reason is that this was the favourite retreat for former UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskiöld when he could no longer stay at Abisko in Lappland (had to be close to an airport serving New York) so he often took guests here. When he tragically died, it turned out that he had donated the old Skåne farm to the Swedish Touring Board so today it is open for everyone to visit summertime. There is a meditation place across the meadows, which themselves have been turned into a nature reserve. The farm is not that special compared to others in the area but the meadows down to the sea are spectacular (see pic under "General"). There is a touring club hostel along the main road nearby.

There are several rock carvings in the area, showing that people have inhabited this part of Scandinavia for a long time. Fishing has been good and the landscape gentle. The most famous rock carvings are maybe these ones, just a couple of kilometres south of Simrishamn town centre. There are others in the village of Gladsax.

One of many gems around the coast and not completely off the beaten path since its 1000 locals see a considerable addition in summer but nevertheless not the first village people consider for a stay. Skillinge once had one of the largest fishing fleets in Sweden and today, some have still kept their ships but face difficulties with new regulations and fishing moved to nearby Simrishamn. The village has a nice harbour restaurant, picturesque alleyways and a small museum as well as an old sailing ship which takes you out a few times a week in summer. On a clear day, you can see out to the Danish island of Bornholm from the harbour.

The famous Brösarps Backar is a part of Skåne which is unusually hilly for this otherwise flat landscape and with rolling pastures where cows graze and well known for its flowers in spring. There is also a steam train running from Brösarp to St Olof summertime.