Skåne, Sweden
Skåne, also called Scania, län (county) and traditional landskap (province), southern Sweden. Skåne county was created in 1997 from the counties of Malmöhus and Kristianstad and is coextensive with Skåne province. Occupying the peninsular southern tip of Sweden, it is bounded by water on three sides—the Baltic Sea on the east and south, The Sound (Öresund) on the west, and the Kattegat (strait) on the northwest. On the north it borders the traditional provinces of Halland and Småland and on the northeast the province of Blekinge. The capital of the county is Malmö. |
Hovs Hallar nature reserve, Skåne county, Sweden.
© Steffen Hoejager/Shutterstock.com |
In the southern part of the county, geologic faulting has produced a series of ridges trending northwest-southeast. The area is drained by the Kävlinge River and several streams, but the fault-formed coast has few harbours. Farther north and inland from the flat coastal region, with its beaches and summer resorts, are plains that are among the most fertile in Sweden. Deciduous trees, notably beech, predominate in the southern part, while coniferous trees are found toward the north. Medieval churches and 16th- and 17th-century castles and manor houses are characteristic of the area. After numerous battles Skåne was ceded to Sweden by Denmark in the Peace of Roskilde (1658).