Skanör

The romanesque church in Skanör

Skanör (Danish: Skanør) is a town in Vellinge Municipality and part of the conurbation Skanör med Falsterbo in southwestern Scania, Sweden. City facilities include hotels, restaurants, a harbour, a medieval church and an elementary school. A greenbelt called Skanörs vångar will be a new residential area in Skanör.

The Harbour

Aerial view, with Falsterbo in top-left

The Harbour of Skanör is big. It is a fishing and guest harbour. In the summer, there is a market called Sillamarknaden with a funfair and a beer tent and live bands. A locally famous janitor is a frequent visitor to the fair and one of its many attractions.

"Jollebryggan", situated on the north part of the harbour, is a bridge deck which both old and young residents use for casual swimming. The older residents can be observed early mornings from late April to early October at "Jollebryggan", the younger residents usually use the bridge deck for night swimming.

For many years the restaurant and night club "Badhytten", situated in the harbour, was Skanör's most popular entertainment establishment. "Badhytten" attracted local residents as well as exotic celebrity guests and made Skanör the St. Tropez of Sweden. Celebrities such as Zlatan Ibrahimović and Mona Seilitz were known to frequent "Badhytten" on their rare trips home to Sweden. However, "Badhytten" burned down in January 2009, just before major renovations were to be carried out.

Göranssons

"Göranssons" is the local supermarket, built 1969, where locals traditionally meet and gossip. Before "Göranssons" was established in Skanör, locals brought livestock, produce and other goods to the town square to trade. Archaeological evidence shows that the town square was located approximately where "Göransson's" is today.

Marianneboden

"Marianneboden", named after locally renowned Marianne Karlsson, was an infamous small novelty store, originally situated on Skanörs main street "Mellangatan" and from 2004 the store share space with Göranssons. It closed in 2009.

Gåsaloppet

"Gåsaloppet" (goose race) is traditionally celebrated every midsummer at noon. Residents team up by six to run with home-made skiis through the streets of old Skanör. The first prize is a painting and clogs by late painter Hans "Gåsamålarn" Andersson. During the 13th century people had goose races through the streets of Skanör to celebrate midsummer. The tradition was reinitiated and reinvented 1984 by Hans "Gåsamålarn"Andersson but is now hosted by composer and "Kontrapunkt" TV-show host, Sixten Nordström.

Skanörs IP

Skanörs IP (Idrottsplats) is the home arena of SFIF, Skanör Falsterbo Idrottsförening. It has hosted many great games such as the defeat to TFF in 1987.

Möllan

Möllan is an ancient windmill on the outskirts of Skanör, situated at the beginning of the road to the harbour of Skanör. The origins of Möllan can be traced back to the twelfth century A.D. At this time, Skanör was Northern Europe's largest trading harbour for herring. At the annual herring market, up to 70000 people gathered in Skanör to buy and sell herring. Möllan was built on order of the Danish king to simplify the grounding of herring bones. Ground herring bones, known as "Sillamjöl", was a common ingredient in the medicine of the time and also a popular aphrodisiac.

At the end of the 15th century the herring in the waters outside Skanör mysteriously disappeared. This was the beginning of the end for Skanör as a major trading and fishing port. However, the residents of Skanör quickly found other uses for the windmill. At about the same time as the herring disappeared, Skanör's town square (see reference to "Göranssons") became a central trade location for the farmers of Scania, or Skåne as it was then called. Möllan was thereafter used for hundreds of years to ground wheat, barley and other agricultural products of the region into flour.

Today, Möllan is a gathering place for many different festivities. One of the highlights is when the ruling political party, Moderaterna, uses the lawn in front of Möllan for its annual address to the residents of Skanör.

Film: The Goose Race

The 26th Goose Race (Gåsaloppet) was a great success with 16 teams participating. Winner for the 3rd year in a row was the team Lollipop. Best dressed team was "The Vikings"! See the film by clicking on this link: http://vellinge.com/cmarter.asp?doc=2959.