Heading north from Malmö in southern Sweden, you arrive at four charming towns, Lund, Glumslöv, Helsingborg and Höganäs.
University town
Lund is a university town, with the towering cathedral, Domkyrkan at the center of the town, built circa 1090-1145. Don’t miss Kulturen (Cultural History Museum), an open-air museum with dozens of buildings, silver, textiles, ceramic and art. Along with the University of Uppsala, Lund is one of the two ancient Swedish universities.
Archeologists date the foundation of Lund to around 990, when Scania was part of Denmark. From 1103 it was the seat of the Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lund. Denmark ceded the city to Sweden in the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, and its status as part of Sweden was formalized in 1720.
Related: The Castles and Manor Houses in Southern Sweden
Memorable views in Glumslöv
About 30 km (19 miles) north, along the coast, Glumslöv offers memorable views. From the hill above the church, on a clear day you can see 30 churches and seven towns, including Copenhagen and Helsingør in Denmark.
Gantofta til Glumslöv is a 18.3 kilometer point-to-point trail located near Gantofta, Skåne, Sweden that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options.
Related: Europe’s Most Beautiful Garden- in Sweden
Historical Helsingborg
Helsingborg, 60 km (37 miles) north of Malmö is an interesting town of cobbled streets, dominated by the ruined 600-year-old fortress Kärnan. The streets vary from wide avenues to small alley-ways. Kullagatan, the main pedestrian shopping street in the city, was the first pedestrian shopping street in Sweden.
More than 70 ferries to Helsingør in Denmark leave from its busy harbor.
Following the Swedish orthography reform of 1906 the spelling of many place names in Sweden was modernized. In 1912 it was decided to use the form Hälsingborg. In preparation for the local government reform in 1971, Hälsingborg city council proposed that the new, enlarged municipality should be spelled Helsingborg.
The ceramics town
Höganäs, 20 km (12 miles) north is nationally known for its ceramics industry and artists. The large pottery, Höganäs Keramik, merits a visit. Höganäs AB is one of the world’s biggest iron powder manufacturer with subsidiaries around the world. The company was founded by Count Eric Ruuth in 1797 which makes it one of Sweden’s oldest companies.
Höganäs began as a small fishing village in the parish of Väsby, documented in 1488 in the written form Høyenæss. In the middle of the 17th century it had 17 homes. Coal was found in the area, and mining started in 1797. In 1798 a railway with wooden rails was built. It was the first of its kind in Sweden and was used to transport coal from the mine to the harbour.
The population started to grow and new dwellings were built for the miners. During the 19th century more industries were built using clay for making ceramic products. The coal mines were closed in the 1960s. In 1936, when Höganäs got the title of a city it had 6,915 inhabitants. Since 1971 Höganäs Municipality, encompassing the Kullaberg peninsula has totally around 24,000 inhabitants.
Feature image (on top): Road to Kärnan Tower in Helsingborg
Four Charming Towns in Southern Sweden, compiled by Tor Kjolberg