Map of Scania

Scania^{[dead link]} (Swedish: Skåne) is the southernmost county, as well as a traditional province, in Sweden. It is known for its rich agricultural fields, its old history, long beaches, Danish heritage and a distinguishable accent. With 1.25 million inhabitants, it is one of the most populous and densely inhabited regions of Sweden, with a strong local identity.

• 56.2412.861 Ängelholm - known for its 6 km long beach and for clay pigeons - a kind of ocarina
• 56.13072912.9338442 Åstorp
• 56.4291812.8785173 Båstad
• 55.83861313.2999394 Eslöv
• 56.04241212.7209965 Helsingborg - the gateway to Denmark, with Helsingör 5 km across the Öresund
• 56.19600212.5769216 Höganäs
• 55.90967313.54737 Höör
• 55.79690713.1139328 Kävlinge
• 56.02063814.1256529 Kristianstad
• 55.87941612.83700410 Landskrona
• 55.70831313.19916411 Lund - famous for its long-standing university and cathedral.
• 55.59318913.02142312 Malmö - the third largest city of Sweden, which evolved from an industrial city centered around a shipyard to a modern model of a sustainable community with one of the best biking infrastructures in the world
• 56.28421612.49723613 Mölle - small picturesque port town. Known for views and fish dishes.
• 55.55079314.34788114 Simrishamn
• 55.37234613.18119815 Trelleborg - Sweden's southernmost city
• 55.47465213.03220616 Vellinge
• 55.4346213.82536517 Ystad - home of fictional detective Kurt Wallander, created by Henning Mankell

• Ales Stenar — a 67-metre-long stone ship formed by 59 large boulders of sandstone, a megalithic monument from the Nordic Iron Age
• Kullaberg Nature Reserve
• Österlen — picturesque southeastern district
• Stenshuvud National Park
• Söderåsen National Park
• Ven Island

See also: Nordic history

During the 10th century, Scania was conquered by Danish king Harald Bluetooth, and remained under Danish rule for the most part of the next 700 years. Harald founded Lund, where a cathedral was built during the Middle Ages, making the city Scania's political centre. The Dano-Swedish wars during the 16th and 17th centuries devastated the province. In January 1658, Swedish King Charles X Gustav made the bold decision to lead his army from Jutland on a march across the ice towards Zealand. The Danes surrendered, and in the Roskilde treaty the same year they were forced to cede Scania, and several other territories, to Sweden. King Charles XI enforced a brutal assimilation policy in Scania, which included the foundation of the university in Lund, to promote the Swedish language. Dano-Swedish hostilities continued into the early 18th century, but Scania has remained a part of Sweden since then, though with a strong identity on its own.

Scania contains Sweden's most productive farmland, and since the completion of the Öresund Bridge in 1999, Malmö and Lund form a prosperous urban region together with Copenhagen. While most of Scania is flat, the ridges and hills in the north-east are significant. Northeastern Scania is an important geoclimatic borderland, as well as the historical borderland between the old Danish lands Scania, Halland and Blekinge and what was then Sweden. Unlike the rest of Scania which was dominated by agriculture, this part is dominated by forestry and mining. Red Spruce and Scots Pine are everywhere, and while the forests may seem "wild" they usually aren't.

If you're a beginner Swedish speaker and don't speak it very well, you'll find that the local dialect is hard to understand, at least in the countryside, often even for native Swedish speakers. This accent can be traced back to the endangered local language Scanian (skånska), which once bridged the dialect gap between Swedish and Danish, but which has mostly been replaced by Standard Swedish with a Scanian accent and dialect words. If you do try to speak Swedish and don't understand what you're being told, ask for it to be written down, as the written language is the same.

The good news is that English is spoken by nearly everyone, apart from some elderly people.

Skånetrafiken ^{[dead link]} provides comprehensive rail and bus service in the region.

With a flat scenery and milder climate than the rest of Sweden, Scania is suitable for cycling.

• Ventrafiken runs a domestic ferry line between Landskrona and Ven.

Fertile and populous, Scania is more shaped by man than the rest of Sweden, full of palaces, manors and churches.

Sofiero is a palace and gardens just north of Helsingborg, a former royal summer residence and renowned as one of Europe's largest collections of rhododendrons, more than 10,000 plants with 500 different varieties.

Lund's Cathedral is the foremost Romanesque cathedral in the Nordic Region. Awarded three stars in the Michelin tourist guide.

Glimmingehus, near Simrishamn, is the best-preserved medieval castle in the Nordic region.

Skåne Zoo near Höör is the only Scandinavian zoo with Scandinavian animals only.

In the northeastern part of the region, there are several interesting places. See the Kristianstad for details. Svarta Bergen is a former quarry of black dolerite that has a small museum. Nyteboda forest has been left untouched for close to 200 years, and has some very large pines aged more than 250 years. Interesting plant life including some very rare orchids. The BRIO Lekoseum is a toy museum for the famous Swedish brand of wooden toys. Hovddala Slott is a fortified manor house from early 12th century. Sporrakulla Gård is a museum farm from around 1700.

• Hiking on Skåneleden.
• Golf. From central Scania you can reach around 70 golf courses in 50 minutes. Choose from European Tour favourites and tranquil, friendly golf clubs. Barsebäck ^{[dead link]}, host of the Solheim Cup 2003, is classed as the best golf course in Sweden. PGA of Sweden National Golf Resort close to Malmö is considered one of the best golfing centres of northern Europe.
• The relatively mild climate makes Scania appropriate for water sports.
• Cycling through the flat scenery.
• Fishing is pretty good and a lot of people come from Denmark and Germany for that purpose.
• Hunting is also quite common and the great moose hunt takes place in October every year.
• In autumn the forests are prime territory for mushrooms and berries (lingonberry and common bilberry are everywhere).

See also: Nordic cuisine

As Scania is Sweden's breadbasket, and its gateway to central Europe and historically part of Denmark, traditional Scanian cuisine differs much from the rest of Sweden; known for being sweet, greasy, and salty. Some local delicacies are eel, goose and böckling (smoked herring), and different kinds of dairy products and meats.

Malmö offers a wide selection of haute cuisine and ethnic restaurants (in particular Middle Eastern cuisine), and the region of Österlen has a lot to offer in the way of food.

An iconic dessert is spettekaka, a meringue-like dry egg and sugar based dessert that is a must try for anyone visiting the region.

The toponymous Skåne Akvavit is a brand of hard liquor.

Malmö and other cities have some issues with street crime, but are generally comparably safe.

• Blekinge
• Bornholm is an island, and the only remnant of Eastern Denmark.
• Småland consists of deep forests.
• Zealand and the Danish capital of Copenhagen