Massume 3000 square kilometers of landscape with forest and 1000 lakes, sprinkle a few small towns over it and add an archipelago of 800 islands – and the holiday destination is complete! Anyone who thinks of Sweden in Germany usually thinks of Småland, Dalarna or Värmland.
But there are other regions in Sweden that are less well-known but no less attractive – like Blekinge, Sweden’s smallest province on the Baltic Sea coast. The 150,000 inhabitants describe their homeland as the “garden of Sweden”, and this is not only due to the location in the mild south-east of the country, but also to their different nature.
In her novel The Wonderful Journey of Little Nils Holgersson with the Wild Geese, Selma Lagerlöf describes the landscape of Blekinge as a “staircase with three steps”: the coastal strip with its skerries, small sandy beaches and light deciduous forests forms the first step. The middle tier has farmland and numerous lakes. The final stage is at an altitude of 130-170 meters. With its barren soil, scattered boulders and dense coniferous forests, it forms the transition to the Småland highlands.
Karlshamn received the nickname “Nest of Sins”
It’s still early in Karlshamn and the air is cool. A little jogging drives away tiredness. The town of 20,000 on the Baltic Sea coast is still sleepy, and the seagulls are dozing too, their heads hidden under their feathers.
Narrow, cobbled streets, laid out like a chessboard, colorful wooden houses, old warehouses and merchant villas from the 17th century. As early as 1664, the town, which was originally called Bodekull, received its town rights from the then King Charles X and was named after him two years later.
View of Karlshamn: The city of 20,000 is located on the Baltic Sea coast
Those: For Pixl
The location on the Baltic Sea was excellent, as the port was one of the deepest in the country. In this way, the Frisholmen fortress in the harbor entrance, today’s Kastellet, provided good protection against the Danes, who wanted to retake this region.
At that time, many German sailors and merchants lived in this area, and they played a large part in making Karlshamn a thriving trading town. The city grew – despite several major fires and the plague in the 18th century. Chewing tobacco, which is pushed as a small ball under the lip, is still sold here today.
Due to the settlement of punch factories and Sweden’s largest playing card printing works, Karlshamn soon earned the nickname “nest of sins”. Äkta Carlshamns Punch is still made locally today.
But the residents of Karlshamn also had to endure poverty and hunger. The emigrant monument in the harbor park “Karl Oskar and Kristin” by Axel Olsson stands for more than a million Swedes who set out from here in the years 1846 to 1930 on an uncertain journey to a new life across the Atlantic towards New York to escape from poverty.
The Blekinge Archipelago is a biosphere reserve
We continue jogging towards the east – always following the small, orange arrows pointing the way. These are signposts for the ARK 56, a network of more than 500 kilometers of interconnected trails along the 56th parallel just waiting to be discovered and experienced by walkers, cyclists and water sports enthusiasts.
The Blekinge archipelago with its archipelago has been declared a biosphere reserve by Unesco to preserve the high natural and cultural values for the environment. It is made up of 47 nature reserves, and each one has its own distinctive characteristics and landscapes.
You also pass Karlshamn’s cold bath house near the harbour, which was awarded the city’s architecture prize in 2015. The building, designed by White Arkitekter, is reminiscent of a saucer floating above water. Here you can swim in the sea all year round and sweat in the sauna.
Anglers from all over the world are drawn to Mörrumsån
For the next stage, the jogging shoes are exchanged for an e-bike. A quick glimpse of the sea, the deep blue that meets the light blue of the sky on the horizon, then with a light tailwind you head north-west inland on the 270-kilometer-long Sydostleden cycle path.
After almost an hour, a noise can suddenly be heard, which is getting louder and louder. It seethes and hisses, and you can hardly understand your own words. The river Mörrumsån normally flows calmly on its 186 km journey through southern Sweden to the Baltic Sea.
Many anglers are drawn to Mörrumsån, mainly because of the salmon
Quelle: picture alliance / Wolfram Stein
But at Kungsforsen, the royal waterfall in the small town of Mörrum, it is particularly wild. Around 10,000 anglers from all over the world are drawn to this stretch of water every year, as Mörrumsån is Sweden’s best sport fishing waters, especially for salmon, but also for sea trout.
The fish migrate up the river from the Baltic Sea every year to spawn in fresh water. It is a perfect place for fishing – the ancestors knew that. Salmon fishing was first described in 1231.
Because of Corona, the holidaymakers were mainly Swedes
The river and the visitor center with shop, exhibition, aquarium, research and science station as well as restaurant and accommodation called “Mörrums Kronolaxfiske” is an international attraction. Fishing permits usually sell out quickly, especially for the small island in the river – the best and most popular fishing spot in the region.
Even King Carl XVI. Gustaf is regularly in Mörrum to fish here. Is the king’s love for the small town of Blekinge the reason why Princess Adrienne, his granddaughter born in 2018, bears the title of Duchess of Blekinge? In any case, Blekinge had never been a duchy before.
This cyclist uses his break for a little cuddle
Quelle: www.visitblekinge.se/Nature by Andreas
“This year, however, the rush was not quite as great,” says Håkan Andersson, head of Visit Blekinge, the regional tourist information office, neither in Mörrum nor elsewhere in the province. “In the first half of 2020, 56 percent fewer tourists from abroad came to Sweden than in 2019. Nevertheless, we had a good season in Blekinge, as the Swedes who otherwise enjoy long-distance travel are now increasingly vacationing in their home country,” says the 59-year-old.
He looks calmly to the future: “Blekinge is also being discovered more and more as a travel destination by German vacationers, and I am optimistic that they will be vacationing in Sweden again in 2021.”
With the e-bike we go to the Sölvesborgsbron
After a fish lunch we continue cycling towards the west, past the small idyllic bay of Pukavik and a stop in Norje. Known as the place where the Sweden Rock Festival usually takes place, it is worth taking a break at Norje Boke Camping.
Back on the bike, the e-bike struggles against the strong wind – and soon the next highlight is in sight: the Sölvesborgsbron, at 760 meters the longest bicycle and pedestrian bridge in Europe. It was completed in early 2013 and is an attraction with its round arch design – also for the Swedes, who like to hold a fika, the popular coffee break, here at the seating on the bridge.
The Sölvesborgsbron is the longest bicycle and pedestrian bridge in Europe at 760 meters
Quelle: Getty Images
The bridge colossus made of steel, iron, screws and wood weighs 700 tons. “Kissing stops” are available for couples. But even those crossing the bridge who don’t kiss should stop in between, because the view is really picturesque: on the one hand the city center and the marina of the small town of Sölvesborg, which has around 8,500 inhabitants, on the other the Ljungaviken district on the Listerland peninsula, including the beach and golf course. A walk in the historic old town is worthwhile, including a look at the 13th-century church of Sankt Nicolai.
If you still have a few days left, you should leave Blekinge and drive the Sydostleden to the southern end of Simrishamn. The path leads almost exclusively along the picturesque coast, where the blue of the sea meets the lush green of the country everywhere. The salty air and the strong Baltic Sea wind are free.
Source: Infographic WORLD
tips and information
Getting there: By ferry to Trelleborg, continue by direct train to Malmö in 35 minutes. The Öresundståg train runs every hour on the Malmö–Karlskrona route. Stops include Sölvesborg, Mörrum, Karlshamn, Bräkne-Hoby, Ronneby and Karlskrona. From these stations continue by bus to the Blekingeleden hiking trail, blekingetrafiken.se. The 270-kilometer Blekingeleden hiking trail connects Sölvesborg in the west and Bröms in the north-east in twelve stages, visitblekinge.se/de/wanderweg-blekingeleden
Corona rules: From January 21, 2022, presentation of the EU digital COVID certificate or a negative COVID-19 test result is required to enter Sweden. Further information on entry requirements, the local pandemic situation and applicable restrictions and regulations can be found on the Foreign Office website.
“Don’t go to the gym, don’t party – call it off!”
The Swedish government is introducing tightened measures to combat the spread of the corona virus in the wake of the rapidly increasing number of infections. The Prime Minister is making an urgent appeal to the population.
Accomodation: “Hotell Humbla” in Sölvesborg, a villa with a large garden, double room from 113 euros with breakfast, hotellhumbla.se; Apartment in Hälleviks Havsbad, 200 meters from the sandy Östersjön beach, from 600 euros for a week and four adults, hallevikshavsbad.com. A wide range of hotels is also available at visitblekinge.se/en/hotel-in-blekinge
Nature guide: If you want to get to know the biosphere reserve in the Blekinge Archipelago, you can download the free app “ARK56”. Here nature lovers can learn all about the different paths on foot, by bike, in a kayak or on a boat, ark56.se
Bike tours: The national cycle route Sydostleden is 270 kilometers long and runs from Växsjö to Simrishamn through Sweden’s southeast, sydostleden.se/de. Bikes and e-bikes can be rented from Ingvar Ryggesjö’s Travelshop. He also has a transport service for bikes, travelshop.se
Information desk: visitblekinge.se; visitsweden.de
This article was first published in December 2020.
Participation in the trip was supported by Visit Sweden. Our standards of transparency and journalistic independence can be found at axelspringer.de/unabhaengigkeit.
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