Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (landskap) of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne 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 33 municipalities that are autonomous within the Skåne Regional Council. Scania's largest city, Malmö, is the third-largest city in Sweden, as well as the fifth-largest in Scandinavia.
To the north, Scania borders the historical provinces of Halland and Småland, to the northeast Blekinge, to the east and south the Baltic Sea, and to the west Öresund. Since 2000, a road and railway bridge, the Öresund Bridge, bridges the Sound and connects Scania with Denmark. Scania forms part of the transnational Øresund Region.
From north to south Scania is around 130 km; it covers less than 3% of Sweden's total area. The population is over 1,418,000. It represents 13% of the country's population. With , Scania is the second most densely populated province in Sweden.
Historically, Scania formed part of the kingdom of Denmark until the signing of the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, when all Danish lands east of Öresund were ceded to Sweden.
In the Alfredian translation of Paulus Orosius's and Wulfstan's travel accounts, the Old English form Sconeg appears.North, Richard (1997). Heathen Gods in Old English Literature . Cambridge University Press: 1997, , p. 192.Svenskt ortnamnslexikon, 2003 Frankish sources mention a place called Sconaowe; Æthelweard, an Anglo-Saxon historian, wrote about Scani;Björkman, Erik (1973). Studien über die Eigennamen im Beowulf . M. Sändig, , p. 99. and in Beowulf's fictional account, the names Scedenige and Scedeland appear as names for what is a Danish land.
When the first local government acts took effect in 1863, each county also got an elected county 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 33 municipalitiesRegion Skåne. Municipalities in Skåne. Official site. Retrieved 24 August 2007. () in Scania. The municipalities have municipal governments, similar to city commissions, and are further divided into parishes ( församlingar). The parishes are primarily entities of the Church of Sweden, but they also serve as a divisioning measure for the Swedish population registration and other statistical uses.
In 1999, the county council areas were amalgamated, forming Skåne Regional Council ( Region Skåne), responsible mainly for public healthcare, public transport and regional planning and culture.
The province was divided in two administrative counties 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 two county councils (landsting) were amalgamated forming Region 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 a blue shield. Vårt vapen. Region Skåne. (In Swedish). Retrieved 4 April 2008. The 33 municipalities within the county also have coats of arms.
The Scania Griffin has become a well-known symbol for the province and is also used by commercial enterprises. It is, for instance, included in the of the automotive manufacturer Scania AB and the airline Malmö Aviation.
By the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, all Danish lands east of Öresund were ceded to Sweden. First placed under a Governor-General, the province was eventually Sweden proper the kingdom of Sweden. Denmark occupied parts of the province (1676–1679) during the Scanian War and again briefly in 1710 during the Great Northern War. The last Danish attempt to regain its lost provinces failed after the 1710 Battle of Helsingborg. In 1719, the province was subdivided in two counties and administered in the same way as the rest of Sweden. In July 1720, a peace treaty between Sweden and Denmark again confirmed the status of Scania as part of Sweden. 3 juli 1720 - Riksarkivet - Sök i arkiven . Sok.riksarkivet.se. Retrieved on 24 June 2015. Fredstraktat, tillige med dend: over bemelte Freds-tractat forfattede ... - Google Břger . Books.google.dk. Retrieved on 24 June 2015.
The relatively strong regional identity in Scania is often referred to in order to explain the general support in the province for the decentralization efforts introduced by the Swedish government.Kramsch, Olivier and Olivier Thomas (2004). Cross-border Governance in the European Union . Routledge, 2004, . On the basis of large scale interview investigations about Region 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".Peterson, Martin (2003). "The Regions and Regionalism and Regionalism: Regionalism in Sweden" . CoR Report Sweden, The Interdisciplinary Centre for Comparative Research in the Social Sciences, EUROPUB Case Study (WP2). Final Report.
On 28 November 2017, Region Scania ruled that the Scanian flag would become the official regional flag of Scania.
There are basically three ticket systems: Skånetrafiken tickets can be purchased for all regional traffic including to Denmark, while the Danish Rejsekort system can only be used at stations served by Øresundståg and equipped with special card readers. Additionally, Swedish national SJ-tickets are available for longer trips to the north.
The E6 motorway is the main artery through the western part of Scania all the way from Trelleborg to the provincial border towards neighbouring Halland. It continues along the Swedish west coast to Gothenburg and most of the way to the Norway border. There are also several other motorways, especially around Malmö. Since 2000, the economic focus of the region has changed, with the opening of a road link across the Øresund Bridge to Denmark.
The car ferry service between Helsingborg and Helsingør has 70 departures in each direction daily . Helsingborg ferry, compare prices, times and book tickets . Directferries.co.uk. Retrieved on 24 June 2015.
There are three minor airports in Sturup, Ängelholm and Kristianstad. The nearby Copenhagen Airport, which is the largest international airport in the Nordic countries, also serves the province.
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. In the winter, some smaller lakes east of Lund often attract young Eurasian sea eagles ( Haliaeetus albicilla).
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 of Ven, between the towns of Helsingborg and Landskrona, and in parts of the south and south-east coasts. In other Swedish provinces, steep coastlines usually reveal primary rock instead.
The two major plains, Söderslätt in the south-west and Österlen 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 Swedish sugar beet comes from Scania; the plant needs a long vegetation period. The same applies also to maize, peas and rape (grown for its oil), although these plants are less imperative in comparison with sugar beets.SCB. Jordbruksstatistisk årsbok 2006. (Agricultural Statistic Yearbook 2006). Published online in pdf-format by Statiska Centralbyrån ( Statistics Sweden). (In Swedish). Retrieved 10 January 2007. The soil is among the most fertile in the world.
The Kullaberg Nature Preserve in northwest Scania is home to several rare species including spring vetchling, Lathyrus sphaericus.Hogan, C.M. (2004). Kullaberg environmental analysis. Lumina Technologies prepared for municipality of Höganäs, Aberdeen Library Archives, Aberdeen, Scotland, 17 July 2004.
In the Paleogene period southern Sweden was at a lower position relative to sea level but was likely still above it as it was covered by sediments. Rivers flowing over the South Småland peneplain flowed also across Scania which was at the time covered by thick sediments. As the relative sea level sank and much of Scania lost its sedimentary cover antecedent rivers begun to river incision the Söderåsen horst forming valleys. During deglaciation these valleys likely evacuated large amounts of melt-water. The Terrain of Scania's south-western landscape was formed by the accumulation of thick Quaternary sediments during the Quaternary glaciations.
The table shows average temperatures in degrees Celsius at ten Swedish 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.
Source: Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, SMHI. From http://www.smhi.se/polopoly_fs/1.2860!ttm6190%5B1%5D.pdf , the number and name of all Swedish meteorological weather stations are available. By the use of the station number, the average temperature for each months and annual average is available at http://data.smhi.se/met/climate/time_series/month_year/normal_1961_1990/SMHI_month_year_normal_61_90_temperature_celsius.txt The exact location of the stations is given in the internal Swedish "Coordinates of the reich", however four figured stations numbers that begins with a "5" is located between the 55th and 56th latitude, "6" between 56th and 57th latitude etc. 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 (Ängelholm, 30 July 1947) and the lowest ever recorded is (Stehag, 26 January 1942) Temperatures below are relatively rare even at night, while summer temperatures above 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.
+ Population of Scania by municipalityinhabitants | |||
Municipalities that have a coast on Øresund or border a municipality that does (in yellow on the map) | |||
128.5 | |||
903.7 | |||
75.8 | |||
384.4 | |||
165.7 | |||
193.4 | |||
288.3 | |||
403.1 | |||
264.3 | |||
1975.2 | |||
211.3 | |||
34.1 | |||
91.9 | |||
125.8 | |||
236.5 | |||
161.0 | |||
95.1 | |||
Other municipalities (in white) | |||
74.4 | |||
67.8 | |||
39.6 | |||
35.5 | |||
53.6 | |||
44.7 | |||
64.9 | |||
22.0 | |||
44.6 | |||
48.4 | |||
37.3 | |||
77.5 | |||
32.6 | |||
81.6 | |||
30.1 | |||
31.5 |
* A small part of Båstad municipality is located within the neighbouring province of Halland, 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.
By adding the population of western Scania to the same 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 wider Øresund 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 the Great 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 in Nordic countries.
Over 90% of Scania's population live in urban areas.The Foundation for Recreational Areas in Skåne. "Information about the Skaneled Trails" . Region Skåne. Retrieved 20 October 2006. In 2000, the Øresund Bridge – the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe – linked Malmö and Copenhagen, 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.Peter, Laurence. "Bridge shapes new Nordic hub" . BBC News, 14 September 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2006.
The following localities had more than 10,000 inhabitants (year 2010).
The figures here are from two different sources. Folkmängden i Sveriges socknar och kommuner 1571–1991B. R. Mitchell: International Historical Statistics 1750–1993
757,000 |
778,000 |
843,000 |
882,000 |
983,000 |
1,023,000 |
1,068,000 |
1,129,000 |
1,228,000 |
1,303,600 |
1,322,200 |
In Ystad, singer-songwriter Michael Saxell's popular Scanian anthem Om 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 fertile , the deciduous forests and the relatively mild climate make the province culturally and physically distinct from the National emblem Swedish cultural landscape of Taiga and small hamlets.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. ().
In Göinge, located in the northern part of Scania, the architecture was not shaped by a scarcity of wood, 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 by Gustav II Adolf and the second by Charles XI in the 1680s, entire districts were levelled by fire.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" .) In Örkened Parish, in what is now eastern Osby Municipality, the buildings were destroyed to punish the different villages for their protection of members of the Snapphane movement in the late 17th century.Herman Lindquist (1995). Historien om Sverige – storhet och fall. Norstedts Förlag, 2006. . (In Swedish). An original, 17th century Göinge farm, Sporrakulla Farm, has been preserved in a forest called Kullaskogen, a nature reserve close to Glimåkra in Östra 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. Skåneleden: 6B. Breanäsleden (In Swedish). Official site by The Foundation for Recreational Areas in Skåne and Region Skåne. See also Göingebygden, official site by Skåne Nordost Tourism Office and The Snapp-hane Kingdom . Official site by Osby Tourism Office.
A number of Scanian towns flourished during the Viking Age. The city of Lund is believed to have been founded by the Viking-king Sweyn Forkbeard. Scanian craftsmen and traders were prospering during this era and Denmark's first and largest mint was established in Lund. The first Scanian coins have been dated to 870 AD.Hauberg, P. (1900). Myntforhold og Udmyntninger i Danmark indtil 1146. D. Kgl. Danske Vidensk. Selsk. Skr., 6. Række, historisk og filosofisk Afd. V. I., Chapter III: Danmarks Mynthistorie indtil 1146 , and Chapter V: Myntsteder published online by Gladsaxe Gymnasium. (In Danish). Retrieved 10 January 2007. The archaeological excavations performed in the city indicate that the oldest known stave church in Scania was built by Sweyn Forkbeard in Lund in 990.City of Lund. Touchdowns in the History of Lund . Official site for the City of Lund. Retrieved 10 January 2006. In 1103, Lund was made the archbishopric for all of Scandinavia.
Many of the old churches in today's Scanian landscape stem from the medieval 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 the medieval, Romanesque or Renaissance churches of Danish Scania looked like. Many Scanian churches have distinctive crow-stepped gables and sturdy church porches, usually made of stone.
The first version of Lund Cathedral was built in 1050, in sandstone from Höör, on the initiative of Canute the Holy.Terra Scaniae. Lunds Domkyrka . (In Swedish). Retrieved 11 January 2007. 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 the River Rhine and Italy, 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. The cathedral was altered in the 16th century by architect Adam van Düren and later by Carl Georg Brunius and Helgo Zetterwall. Scania also has churches built in the gothic style, such as Saint Petri Church in Malmö, dating from the early 14th century. Similar buildings can be found in all Hanseatic League cities around the Baltic Sea (such as Helsingborg and Rostock). 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 in Dalby. 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.
Scania has 240 palaces and country estates—more than any other province in Sweden.Region Skåne (2006). What is typical Skåne?. Official site. Retrieved 22 January 2007. 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, the landed 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.Terra Scaniae. 1600-talet. (In Swedish). Retrieved 27 January 2007. 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 using Dutch 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.Bjurklint Rosenblad, Kajsa. Scenografi för ett ståndsmässigt liv: adelns slottsbyggande i Skåne 1840-1900. Malmö: Sekel, 2005. . Abstract in English at Scripta Academica Lundensia, Lund University.
Famous Scanian authors include Victoria 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 as Från Skåne of 1884; Ola Hansson"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, , and Skånes litteraturhistoria del II, , Corona: Malmö, 1996–1997. (In Swedish). (1860–1925) from Hönsinge, Trelleborg; Vilhelm Ekelund (1880–1949) from Stehag, Eslöv; Fritiof Nilsson Piraten (1895–1972) from Vollsjö, Sjöbo; Hjalmar Gullberg (1898–1961) from Malmö; Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991) from Hagstad, Perstorp; Hans Alfredsson (1931–2017) and Jacques Werup (1945–2016), both from Malmö. Birgitta Trotzig (1929–2011) from Gothenburg has written several historic novels set in Scania, such as The Exposed of 1957, which describes life in 17th century Scania with a primitive country priest as its main character and the 1961 novel A 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.Infotek Öresund. Litteraturhistoria, Malmö . 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).
Scanian culture, as expressed through the medium of textile art, has received international attention during the last decade.See for example: Monument to Love and Textiles de Skåne des XVIIIe et XIXe Siècles. Scanian textiles from the Khalili Collection exhibited at the Swedish Cultural Centre in Paris and the Boston University Art Gallery. Retrieved 15 January 2007. The art form, often referred to as Scanian Marriage Weavings, flourished from 1750 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.Keelan, Major Andrew and Wendy Keelan. The Khalili Collection - An Introduction. The Khalili Family Trust. Retrieved 15 January 2007. 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 a dowry.
According to international collectors and art scholars, the Scanian patterns are of special interest for the striking similarities with Ancient Rome, Byzantine and 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. The Scanian textiles show how goods traded along the Silk Road brought , , and China 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.Hansen, Viveka (1997). Swedish Textile Art: Traditional Marriage Weavings from Skåne. Nour Foundation: 1997. . Regionally derived iconography include mythological Scanian river horses in red (), with horns on their foreheads and misty clouds from their nostrils. The horse motif has been traced to patterns on 4th- and 5th-century fabrics, but in Scanian art it is transformed to illustrate the Norse mythology river horse of Scanian folklore.Lundström, Lena (2003). "Vattenväsen i väverskans händer". Curator's description of the exhibition "Aqvaväsen" at Trelleborgs Museum in Vårt Trelleborg, 2:2003, pp. 20-21. Available online in pdf format . (In Swedish).
The Dukes of Scania have been:
From his marriage, in 1905, King Gustaf VI Adolf had his summer residence at Sofiero 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 from Stockholm. He died at Helsingborg Hospital in 1973.
Malmö FF has won Allsvenskan 23 times, Helsingborg IF 7 times and was one of the twelve clubs in the league's first season, 1924/25. Also Landskrona BoIS was among the twelve original clubs, but has never won. These three clubs are historically the most famous football clubs in Scania. But also IFK Malmö, Stattena IF, Råå IF (the latter two clubs are both from Helsingborg) as well as Trelleborgs FF have participated.
Handball is also a relatively popular team sport.
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 also Rögle BK (from Ängelholm) have participated at the highest level of Swedish ice hockey during quite a lot of seasons.
Rugby league is played in Scania by the Skåne Crusaders who play in the Sweden Rugby League.
Tennis is associated with Båstad during the Swedish Open.
Scania has a large amount of golf courses, of which Barsebäck Golf & Country Club is the most well-known.
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